My host father asked if I wanted to go to the consumer electronics expo with Thimo and him. I really wasn't sure what to expect, but I agreed. They said we would leave around 9. So I got up around 8, showered, ate, got ready to go. It's now 9:30 and no one is ready. In fact, no where near ready. It becomes apparent that we must go shopping for some pants for Thimo. See....it's a lie...the Germans are not punctual.
My hostdad, Thimo, and I go shopping. I play the role of mother, making sure the pants fit him. He's like any other 12 year old boy. He doesn't like this or that. It takes forever, but who am I kidding when I shop I take hours too. Just the day before they bought him a new jacket, more like sweater/fleece I'd say. He wore it for one day and decided it was too small. So I inherited a new jacket...a man's jacket.
We leave for the expo around noon. It's right off one of the train stops. There is a booth where you stand on a waterfall canvas covering the ground. They took a picture and supposedly they make it 3D somehow and email it to you. It's supposed to look like we're actually falling down the waterfall. I'm anxious to see this.
We proceed inside....my first reaction. HOLY COW!! This thing was huge! My hostdad said it's like the one in Las Vegas, which I knew nothing of. The first room we entered was the appliances. They had vacuum cleaners, irons, mixers, robot vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, etc, etc. I was like one giant geek....standing there with my mouth open. I really wanted to take pictures to capture the ambiance of this place. So we asked at the desk - the lady called another lady over, who then picked up the phone and called someone, who then called someone else. Apparently no one had ever asked if you could take pictures. What a tourist I am! The short of it, yes I could.
They had GORGEOUS models with all the products. I swear they pulled these women off the runway. As my hostdad says, "Sex sells." And then there was the German company....who had average women with what looked to be pajama pants and a giant nightshirt. They obviously didn't get the memo.
Everything at the show was a prototype. You couldn't buy anything there. 3D TVs were a very popular item. They had tons of showrooms for them. I don't really see what all the hype is about. I didn't see Avatar, but the shows they had on seemed fine without 3D. There were tons of companies there, with products I didn't even know they made. Like I had no clue Samsung made appliances. I got to see all the new phone prototypes. So many trying to compete with the iPhone and Android. Then they had the other extreme...heavy duty computers and laptops for gaming. Jeez, I literally couldn't lift the laptop! It was the biggest thing I've ever seen. As the salesman said, it's really a desktop. And then the desktop....whew...I half expected that thing to beam aliens out of it any moment. It had so many vents and it was GINORMOUS! No way could you set that thing on a desk. It would take up the whole thing.
Really, it was a very cool experience seeing all that! The rest of Saturday was uneventful. Just spent the rest of the day with the family. We had something good for supper, but I can't remember what it was....and it wasn't bread!!
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