BBC World Service and NPR are back in my life!

So funny how a little thing makes a difference.

I bought a little radio with multiple frequencies and now I can get BBC out of Berlin, Armed Forces Network and sometimes Radio 4. The last one is out of the U.K. It's not the most well-looked-upon station and there are jokes about those of us living in France listening to it. Well, British people, would be more the target... It's less about being a snob than not getting the signal and the fact that British rugby and soccer ("foot") don't interest me much... I did catch one of the political programs once. Let's just say that I doubt many of my friends back in the U.K. would be listening to it. Will spare you the details but I don't actually know many people who belong to the BNP....

I love my BBC World Service. I listened to it a lot in Paris. Go figure, I got their signal out of Berlin better in Paris than here on the German border. Problem is that the signal is much stronger at night. Some Italian station keeps butting in. I want to yell "Prego! Prego!" at the radio.

I do have it to wash the dishes at night. I really missed it and am glad to have it back.

The Armed Forces Network is good, although the signal also can fade. A little too much ESPN news (sports for my non-American friends) but it has a lot of NPR too. I have those Car guys, the two Jewish guys (are they brothers?) who give car advice out of Boston. Sounds boring but they're actually quite interesting and fun. I really want to call them and say "I drive a Toyota Yaris, bought in France but make in Slovakia which makes a funny noise in First..."

ASN has really good commercials. First, they give little historical snippets of heroic war incidents that you wont get out of a history book ("...and then he was recaptured, held for captivity... awarded the metal of...") Then there are the public service announcements that remind me that if I'm feeling suicidal, to talk to my commanding officer or the base chaplain...

Not surprisingly, there are a lot more German channels than English language ones. Funny how I used to hear German and think "Oh blah, blah in German". Now I wisk through the dial and think to myself "Oh I'm not in the mood to hear a financial program" or "Politics again!" or "Okay, two minutes to hear the weather and then I'll keep turning..." I can't honestly understand all of it but a heck of a lot more than I used to and I can now dicipher at least the content.

I just wish it all were a bit clearer and more consistent. Daniel walks in and scolds me "You scream bloody murder (rough translation) at me when my radio in the car doesn't come in clean and then I hear you listening to this?!?"

Sorry honey, even static just sounds better in my native language...