How I Stay Humble

Model of Elegance ... or Shaggy Yak?

There are so many avatars to choose from! I've got the stick insect ones, the plush one, the middle-aged short one, the cartoony crow. There are sliders to make my nose a teeny bit longer, more upturned and perkier, ginormous. Free hair and clothing abound. One can look glamorous, serious, or just plain silly. Every now and then, though, "glamorous" wins out. I can put on a fabulous outfit, outrageous hair, and shimmering skin and preen in front of my camera. I can teleport around the grid to visit my haunts and strut my stuff. But I don't get vain, oh no, not when I have friends.
It just takes one friend to tell me I look like "a shaggy yak in that hair" and my humility button gets a reset. I am so grateful to my friends ... eventually.
It does, however, encourage me to stick to my sandbox most of the time.

Goethe Institute

I recently visited the Goethe Institute in Second Life. Thanks to a friend of mine from NYC and even earlier from South Carolina, I can't stop myself from saying "Go-thee" in my head instead of "Gerteh" - which means I need some German Immersion now! Unfortunately, they don't seem to be doing this at a time I can join them. Sigh. Of course, I could go to some of the German sims in SL and just blunder my way through.
The Goethe Institute in SL has German language instruction, a museum, and some fascinating very, very short films on language made by people in India. The Goethe Institute has centers around the world. There was one not far from where I lived in New York City called Goethe House. They are there to promote Germany, German as a second language, and cultural exchange in general. Wow, what a concept! I especially liked the film on German HipHop. All of the exhibits have the capability of translating German to English for the rest o' youse what don't shpreck the lingo.