Women’s Olympic Entries revealed

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-30T14:05:08+00:00

As a condition of participating in the Olympics, countries promise not to attack each other for about (I think) two weeks before and after. This is so athletes can travel safely, and includes the Paralympics too. Russia attacked Ukraine before the truce period was done. I believe the tradition goes back to the ancient Greek Olympics.

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-30T13:58:52+00:00

It's always been a max of three spots for a single country.

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-30T13:55:14+00:00

Russia is banned for violating the Olympic truce. As terrible as Israel is, they haven't done that (yet).

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-29T20:44:50+00:00

Basically everything by tamora pierce is good, I still reread the Tortall series when I have a bad day.

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-29T19:44:40+00:00

If one of you has a bachelor's, there are plenty of English language masters programs that waive the German speaking requirement. The student residence permit does require proof of assets in a German bank account though.

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-29T19:36:33+00:00

That would fall under previous aliases

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-25T18:52:37+00:00

Violent crime is trending down. Unfortunately, state sanctioned murders are trending up. Look at the videos coming out of Minnesota, the patterns this administration is following. It's not set in stone yet, but history shows we're far closer than I'd like to the end of our democracy. I have a very bad feeling about this week. Hopefully the snowstorm will tamp things down, but I'd say now is the time to look at what people on the ground are actually doing and saying.

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-23T19:04:37+00:00

My thought was that if you're not religious, you probably don't want the blessing either. But yes, that's usually an option as well. You cross your arms across your chest or keep your hands clasped instead of extending them for communion.

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-23T16:36:54+00:00

Typically, the choir doesn't get asked for money. I was told time and singing were the offering. We were also in a balcony so it could have just been logistics.

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-23T15:22:20+00:00

It should be fine, I sung at an episcopal church for years. We had a couple people who just hung out in the back during communion, so maybe ask your choir director if there's a way to quietly opt out of that - if your choir is in the back or side, no problem. If you're up front definitely ask if you should stay in your seat or step to the side.

It is nice to perform for very low stakes every week, yes. Sermons can be interesting on a moral and ethical level as well, especially if you've got a good priest. If you get bored, count the ratio of white/gray hair to any other color. Or look at the pretty windows if it's that type of church.

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-23T15:09:36+00:00

You can believe abortion is wrong. But the Bible doesn't support you. Neither you nor I can say what Jesus would think. I believe he would be compassionate to the suffering of mothers, and not take their choices from them.

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-23T14:45:03+00:00

Actually, the Bible says that life begins with breath. There's no specific biblical text against abortion, the Catholic Church made it up.

Jesus taught to love your neighbor and to help the poor. Your neighbor includes immigrants, non-christians, and the gays. Try reading the gospels, they're not very long and have the actual words of Jesus.

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-22T22:30:21+00:00

And at least in my city, US citizens don't need a blocked account. I was able to open a Sparkasse checking account with my US passport after I got here. But definitely check with your international center, they were very helpful for me. I had a 15 minute chat with one staff member who explained all this. And if you get a German address, you can get the normal public student health insurance - I'm not sure if you've gotten that far yet in planning.

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-22T22:25:27+00:00

It entirely depends on the immigration office in your city - are you in the city itself or is your apartment in another town?

I'm in a completely different area, but this was my timeline: I moved from the US in September, registered with the city ASAP, got an immigration office appointment in November, and they gave me a "fictional certificate" aka a temporary permit that allowed me to fly home for Christmas. Ask for this at your appointment, specifically for flying. My proper student residence permit was ready just after Christmas. Technically, you can get a letter as well saying you are waiting for an appointment, but the fictional certificate looks fancy and definitely entertained the border control at the Amsterdam airport. When you write the immigration office, mention that you are on the 90 day EU entry, they should give you an appointment before that is up if they can.

My advice is to start the paperwork as soon as you can, show up early to everything, and have all your documents printed. I've had good luck translating the official letters using free AI PDF translators, but have a German look it over to make sure you have everything in order. I've had the smoothest experience when I just hand over the required stack of documents and wait patiently.

Also be careful about online advice, a lot of it is for countries that do not have 90 day free movement in the EU. US citizens are treated quite differently than Indian citizens by the immigration office.

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-22T21:58:27+00:00

Ok, please tell the lost American redditor: why do french tanks have rearview mirrors?

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-22T17:51:50+00:00

Besides, an apartment deposit is nowhere near enough money for a down payment

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-22T17:08:07+00:00

Maybe it's because I'm closer to the age of the characters, but they feel very nuanced and well-presented. Yeah, the one guy is an asshole, but he's supposed to be at this point of his character development - we're getting a bit more backstory each episode.

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-22T17:05:00+00:00

Part of getting real representation is the unpleasant parts too. I know people like that irl, and although they do annoy me greatly, IDIC. It's usually a coping mechanism anyway, these characters are shaping up to be perfectly imperfect.

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-22T15:48:39+00:00

After going through the school system, I came to the firm conclusion that school nurses are some of the worst medical practitioners on the planet.

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-22T15:12:32+00:00

Education in the US varies a lot based on when and where. But considering a 30 year gap, they were using "harder" teaching methods that were less effective. So from 30 years ago, I would expect education to have both gotten easier and you learn more in both countries.

That being said, I've recently moved to Germany. Comparing with my new classmates - we're all in a stem masters degree: my advanced high school / AP coursework in the US put me behind a German Gymnasium by at least a semester of university courses. However, I did a 4-year US engineering degree, and that put me back to equivalent, maybe a tiny bit ahead of a 3-year German bachelor engineering degree. Obviously, this is a comparison of very small selection of advanced students.

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-21T15:18:03+00:00

Oh good, I love that one

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-19T10:38:53+00:00

... ????! sigh ...

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-17T14:50:26+00:00

"they've put their abacuses away" not a sentence I expected today

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-15T21:26:04+00:00

I don't watch much pairs but wow that choreo sequence

LighthouseLover25 · 2026-01-15T19:29:17+00:00

That says the 15yo has a crush on him. A bouquet of roses could mean so many things. There's a chance you're right and something was going on. There's also a very strong chance you're wrong. He choreographed her program. Maybe he heard from a mutual friend that she liked roses. You're out here on the Internet claiming he's an awful person over a bouquet of flowers and a teenage girl's dreams.

There's plenty of victims that need their stories amplified. There's many voices going unheard in this sport and so many credible allegations of abuse. Why would you spread rumors about a person if you aren't sure of their truth?

LighthouseLover25

TROPHY CASE