1. What’s your favorite Dr. Seuss book?
I never read Dr. Seuss as a child – he’s a pretty English-speaking-world thing. But reading some of his stuff as an adult, I really like Oh, The Places You Go.

2. If you could live in any home on a television series, what would it be?
I love how Monica’s flat in Friends is decorated. Plus, it’s huge, cheap and in New York.

3. What’s the longest you’ve gone without sleep?
New Year’s 2001. I drove from the middle of Sao Paulo state to Rio de Janeiro in a bus overnight from the 30th to the 31st and didn’t sleep a wink. Then spend the day sightseeing in Rio, then the night partying on the Copacabana. Left Rio again around noon on the 1st by bus. But this time, I slept like a baby. Nothing in the world could have kept me from sleeping. That was, what, around 50 hours or so without sleep.

4. What’s your favorite Barry Manilow song?
I don’t think I consciously know any Barry Manilow song. I’m sure I’ve heard some and I know who he is, but I couldn’t tell you “Oh, that’s a Manilow song!”

5. Who’s your favorite Muppet?
I don’t know… I never much cared for the Muppets, I have to admit (probably because I never saw them as a child). Maybe Miss Piggy?

6. What’s the habit you’re proudest of breaking?
I quit smoking, three months now, almost.

7. What’s your favorite website?
https://kalafudra.wordpress.com/ *g*
No, seriously, I’m just trying to cut down my reader because I started working and I just don’t have that much time anymore and it’s freaking impossible.

8. What’s your favorite school supply?
Notebooks. In all forms and sizes. Love them.

9. Who’s your favorite TV attorney?
It used to be Ally McBeal, until that fifth season that ruined everything. Nowadays it’s Alicia Florrick. But I have to admit that I don’t watch many attorney shows.

10. What was your most recent trip of more than 50 miles?
Visiting L.

11. What’s the best bargain you’ve ever found at a garage sale or junk shop?
I usually only ever buy books at those sales and they aren’t worth much (or if they were, I wouldn’t know). But I found a beautiful edition of Gulliver’s Travels and one of Casanova’s memoirs.

12. Where were you on September 11, 2001?
In Brasil. It was pretty early in my exchange year and my Portuguese was sketchy at best. My hostmom picked me and my hostsis up from school and she started talking really excitedly and I only caught the words New York, guerra [meaning war] and death. But since my hostuncle was called Guerra (don’t ask me why, but Brasilians have a thing for weird nicknames. I also knew a guy named Devil and one named Underpants), I initially thought that said hostuncle had died in New York. It wasn’t until I saw the news footage that I understood what was going on.

13. What’s your favorite tree?
I never thought about it. But I myself own a small baobab and it’s totally the pride of my gardening skills. :)

14. What’s the most interesting biography you’ve read?
I don’t read many biographies. What comes to mind right now is The Indian Clerk by David Leavitt. I reviewed it here.

15. What do you order when you eat Chinese food?
Depends on my mood of the day.

16. What’s the best costume you’ve ever worn?
I’m not big on dressing up. But when I was 7 or so, I was dressed as a garbage bag for Fasching (carneval) and I still think that that was the most creative costume I ever wore.

17. What’s your least favorite word?
I’m not sure. “Proactive” is pretty high up on the list, though.

18. If you had to be named after one of the 50 states, which would it be?
Probably Idaho since that’s the one my father lived in for a while. I don’t have any connection to any of the other state.

19. Who’s your favorite bear?
Bussi Bär.

20. Describe something that’s happened to you for which you have no explanation.
I’m pretty good with explanations. I’m just not sure whether they’re the right ones.

21. If you could travel anywhere in Africa, where would it be?
There is much I’d still like to see in Africa. I’m not sure whether I’d like to revisit the DR Congo or see something new. Like Tanzania or Madagascar.

22. What did you have for lunch yesterday?
Nothing special, a sandwich.

23. Where do you go for advice?
My mom, my friends.

24. Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?
The dictionary. Translating in both directions, German-English and English-German, depending on what I’m trying to say.

25. Have you ever been snorkeling? Scuba diving?
I went scuba diving once. It was in really murky waters and I don’t think I saw a single fish. It was a pretty sad affair. But hey, now I can say that I went scuba diving.

26. Have you ever been stung by a bee?
Of course. Various times. I survived. Barely.

27. What’s the sickest you’ve ever been?
I’m a pretty healthy person and so far, I never got seriously sick. The worst was probably 3 years ago, when I went to a huge music festival for the weekend and slept in the car for two nights and it was fucking freezing and the sleeping bag I had was too thin. After that I was sick for a whole week, with fever and a cold and not really being able to get out of bed and absolutely unable to write a paper for uni, my head was so screwed. [It was a two page paper, for crying out loud.]

28. What’s your favorite form of exercise?
No excercise? Dancing maybe.

29. What’s your favorite Cyndi Lauper song?
I have never thought about that. Time after Time or She Bop probably.

30. What did you do for your 13th birthday?
I have no idea. I just looked into my diary from the time, but apparently, it wasn’t worth mentioning. But I was absolutely obsessed with boys I don’t even remember anymore at the time.

31. Are you afraid of heights?
No.

32. Have you ever taken dance lessons?
Yes. Unsuccessfully. I’m not cut out for ballroom dancing and the dancing school sucked. I had three lessons, then quit the course.

33. What’s your favorite newspaper?
Der Standard.

34. What’s your favorite Broadway / West End musical?
For that, I’d actually have to know what musicals are Broadway/West End.

35. What’s the most memorable class you’ve ever taken?
One of the classes I have the fondest memories off was in my first semester at uni, when I was studying Cultural and Social Anthropology together with C. We had some classes together, but one of them was about Technology and Materials (as used in different cultures) and it was amazingly funny, topped off by a studying session where we giggled us high.

36. What’s your favorite knock-knock joke?
I never got the appeal of Knock Knock jokes. They’re something very particular to the US.

37. What’s your least favorite commercial?
Oh, there are many, many commercials that suck. It would be unfair to choose one.

38. If you could go to Disney World with any celebrity alive today, who would it be?
I’m thinking a day at Disney World with Stephen Fry would kick ass.

39. Do you prefer baths or showers?
Showers for every day, baths for relaxing, soaking, reading.

40. What’s your favourite newspaper comic strip?
Don’t have one.

41. What’s your favorite breakfast food?
I’m not really much of a breakfaster. But the traditional English breakfast that doubles as lunch is awesome. [BAKED BEANS! BAKED BEANS!]

42. Who’s your favarite game show host?
I don’t really watch game shows.

43. If you could have a super power, what would it be?
Manipulate time.

44. Do you like guacamole?
Sure.

45. Have you ever been in a food fight?
No. Though that is not strictly true… I once cracked an egg on a guy’s head. Because he kept bothering me and for a lack of better option, I threatened to crack an egg on his head if he didn’t stop. And he didn’t. So I followed through on my threat. [First rule: Never make threats you are not prepared to realize. Second rule: Realize your threats.]

46. Name five songs to which you know all the lyrics.
I’m a bit of a lyrics sponge. It only takes me 3-5 listens to know a song by heart. So, there are really many songs I know by heart.

47. What’s your favorite infomercial?
I don’t watch infomercials. Fucking waste of time.

48. What’s the longest you’ve ever waited in line?
I don’t know. Probably rather long since I really don’t mind waiting.

49. What’s on the cover of your address book or day planner?
I always work pretty hard on my calendar. That’s what it looks like this year (from the outside):

50. Have you ever taken a picture in one of those little booths?
Sure, several times. But definitely the best one was taken last year at the Beatlemania exhibition in Hamburg, where you can take a picture of yourself with a Beatles haircut. That’s me with Ringo’s hair:

[Sorry the quality is so crappy, I don’t own a scanner so I had to take a photo of the photo.]