And then they began a report on teenage pregnancy. A year ago, they covered the story of a girl who got pregnant at the age of 13. Her boyfriend was 14, and due to an excess of vodka, neither of them remember anything that happened that night... I wonder if they count as like half virgin because they don't have any memory of unvirgin activities.
Her child was born when she was 14. Her boyfriend said he only had 2 to 3 hours after going to school, doing homework, and playing soccer. However, he was excited for the baby to be 5. Then, he could be the soccer trainer for the young kid, and they could play soccer together.
This year, the girl was alone. The father hadn't been able to hold out.
In Hellersdorf, a borough in East Berlin, eight percent of mothers are younger than 20. When the reporter originally interviewed the young mother, she was the only mother in her school. However, now there are several other teen mothers. The interviewee stated that some of the other girls wanted to become mothers, and that not all of them were accidental pregnancies. The reporter suggested that in some instances, pregnancy was a means for gaining attention.. Crazy.
In looking for Utah teen pregnancy stats, google directed me to this blog for mature audiences that remarked that for the author, "Getting pregnant in high school was as much of an option as turning into a Mighty Morphin Power Ranger was."
According to national data in 2005, Utah's pregnancy rate was
3.34%.
However, I can imagine the German government, particularly former Chancellor for Family Affairs, Ursula von der Leyen, is happy for any births they can get. According to reports released in August 2009, the birth rate in Germany is the lowest of all 27 European Union states, at 8.3 kids per 1000 people in 2008. The death rate is 10.3 per 1000 people.
Speaking of death rate...
In June 2009, Joanna K. couldn't take it any longer, and stabbed her boyfriend with a kitchen knife. They had been living together since September 2008, after two of Joanna K.'s previous marriages had failed.
For the death of her boyfriend, Joanna K. was charged with murder.
Guess what her penalty was?
Lifetime in Prison.
Just kidding. Four and a half years. That's it. The judge stated that because her boyfriend had told her that she was "too old, too fat, and too ugly," the "massive insults" had placed her in a state of decreased accountability. And she was drunk.
Four and a half years is how long it took me to get a Bachelor degree. Granted, the time didn't exactly fly by, but I'm not convinced that's long enough to teach someone not to kill. Perhaps I shouldn't judge... but I'm definitely not moving in with any anyone who meets the description "too old, too fat, and too ugly."
In fact, instead of moving in, I'm actually looking forward to moving out, or at least getting out. We just booked 70-euro flights to Athens last night. We don't leave until March, but even looking at the sunny pictures of Athens makes me warm inside.
Here in Berlin, we just finished the 14th day without sun. According to an article in the free newspaper I subscribed to as a student at the Free University, the weather in Berlin, and the surrounding state Brandenburg broke a weather on Sunday, with only 12 days without sun. The previous record was 11 days without sunshine which was set in March/April 1964.
This article reports that Berlin has only seen 1.7 hours of sun in the whole month of January. That seems a little depressing to me.
Oh, but our Turkey trip came through. 7 days in 3 cities in Turkey in 4- and 5-star hotels with breakfast. 149 euros plus 30 euros for the flight from Berlin. Right now, it's 17C degrees in our destination airport. However, that trip's also not until March. I still have to try to stick it out until the end of February and do well with my finals.
Well, here's to more sun, fewer teen pregnancies, and fewer old, fat, and ugly murderesses.
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