Twenty years after German unification, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday she has found some habits of her communist East German upbringing hard to break, such as stockpiling consumer goods.
The 56-year-old German leader told Superillu magazine that she tended to overstock her cupboards “because you used to just get what you could in an economy where things were scarce.”
“Sometimes I just buy things because I see them even though I don’t really need them at the time,” she told the magazine which was founded in East Berlin during the communist era and which specializes in issues facing eastern Germany.
Merkel, who lives in a private apartment with her chemist husband in Berlin’s city center, said she also still has a hankering for typical foods in the German Democratic Republic, as the repressive state was known.
Soljanka, a meat and pickled vegetable soup, schaschlik (kebabs) and lecso, a thick Hungarian vegetable stew, are a few of the eastern delicacies Merkel said she still savors.
Merkel said it took her several years to adopt western terms in her vocabulary, long opting to shop at a Kaufhalle (shopping hall), as such stores were known in the east.
“But it occurred to me that since the 15th or 16th year of German unity, the word ‘supermarket’ has passed my lips more easily,” she said.
Germany on Sunday will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the unification of east and west after 40 years of division, prompted by the fall of the Berlin Wall in a peaceful revolution in November 1989.
East Germany’s planned economy was marked by chronic shortages of consumer goods, just one factor feeding its citizens’ dissatisfaction with the “Farmers’ and Workers’ State,” as the communist leaders called the country. (AFP)
在德國統一後二十年,總理梅克爾週一表示,她依然難以擺脫當年於共產東德長大時所養成的一些習慣,例如囤積生活用品。
這位五十六歲的德國領袖向Superillu雜誌表示,她總是將食物櫃塞得滿滿的,「因為在物資稀少的經濟體制下,你總是習慣盡量買。」
她告訴這份在共產時代創刊於東柏林,並專門報導東德事務的雜誌,「有時我看到東西就買,也不管當時是否有需要。」
跟化學家丈夫住在柏林市中心私有公寓的梅克爾表示,她還是非常想吃當年稱為德意志民主共和國的傳統食物。德意志民主共和國就是當年以高壓統治人民的東德。
梅克爾說,她還是喜歡吃東德食物,就像soljanka,一種酸辣有加肉的醃製蔬菜濃湯,還有schaschlik(中東烤羊肉串)與lecso,某種匈牙利燉蔬菜。
總理表示她花了好幾年時間,才慢慢熟悉西方用語,就像到超級市場購物時,她比較習慣講Kaufhalle(東德慣用語,意指超市)。
她說,「但是德國統一後第十五或十六年時,我才開始始用『supermarket』(超級市場)這種說法。」
在分隔長達四十年後,德國將於週日歡慶統一二十週年。德國因一九八九年十一月的和平革命,導致柏林圍牆倒下,正式統一。
東德的計畫性經濟曾使該國長期缺乏物資,以致於國民對這個共產領導人稱為「農民與工人的國家」感到不滿。
(法新社/翻譯:吳岱璟)
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
It’s no secret that Japanese people have a deep affection for noodles. Like in the rest of East Asia, noodles are an important staple food, second only to rice. Japanese people have enjoyed noodles for over 1,000 years. The first noodles came from China and were introduced around 800 CE. As time passed, noodles in Japan not only became widespread but also developed some unique Japanese characteristics. The three most popular types of noodles in Japan are ramen, soba, and udon. Ramen, typically made from wheat flour, is usually thin and firm. The dough is kneaded and left to
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
Continued from yesterday(延續自昨日) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang As with many aspects of Japanese culture, there is etiquette to follow when you enjoy noodles. To fully experience noodles like a local on your next visit to Japan, consider these simple guidelines. First, be careful where you put your chopsticks. Don’t leave them sticking up in the broth or set them at the side of the bowl. When you have finished eating or if you’re taking a break, place them on the chopstick rest next to the bowl. Also, it is impolite to wave chopsticks around or bring them above mouth-level. Second, don’t take too