Can We Have Another Potato? Just One?

There have been several days in my travels these past two and a half weeks that I have felt like a passive blob--doing little more than sitting, eating, and talking to friends and strangers. And yet, by day´s end, ready for sleep as if I´ve put in a full day´s work. After some reflection, it became clear how much energy is demanded by switching language gears--simply trying to listen and understand new words and expressions every few days--first Germany, then France, then Germany, then Poland...now Spain. The fruits of my labor in the language arena include "Konnen wir noch eine Kartoffel Haben?" (Can we have another potato?)--which came to use when Anne and I were sitting at a restaurant at Burg Arras (Arras Castle). The plate we ordered included four potatoes and a boatload of quark (cream sauce)--we needed just one more potato to create the perfect ratio of potato to quark. As the photo illustrates, my German lesson paid off.