Deutschland

Hello, good people.

I know that it has been too long. Many of you have wanted to know about our Barcelona trip, my marathon, my new nephew, my birthday... so today I'll do my best to get everyone up to speed. And, in a fun twist, I might toss in a little unrefined German. Everything in my head is a jumble of terrible German and worsening English, so it's only fair for everyone to suffer along with me.

First of all, Barcelona was fantastic. We stepped off the airplane to find my old boss, Eva, waiting for us at the gate. It was great to see her after so many years. She took us around her city, showed us the birdseye view, and took us out to an early dinner (9pm) at a favorite restaurant of hers. I must say, she is looking very well. Being back home suits her.

We'll need to visit her again one day when we have more time...

The remaining days in Barcelona were full of tourist activities like museums, lavish treats, churches, parks, packet pickup... you know, normal stuff. Packet pickup war relativ einfach. We arrived right as it opened, so we grabbed our stuff and hurried out.

Only after taking some fun photos:




Naturally, the marathon was fun. I kept it slow enough not to hurt myself, because in April I begin some relatively heavy Berlin training. Running along the beach was nice, and every single guy felt comfortable enough to pee on the side of the road! Europe is a little different than the US.

Nach dem Marathon (und unseres Schläfchen) we stumbled upon a little bar with impressive American and Barcelona beers. We stayed and chatted with the bartender. And tried beers. And a couple more. It's amazing how great the feeling of "I don't know how this beer will taste" can be.

Four hours later, the beer was not sitting well with me. Apparently I've never drank after a marathon before. And I doubt I ever will again. Live and learn.

Oh... and here's a picture of a sexy giraffe. Because everything is sexy in Barcelona:




Auf jeden Fall, we are home now, so it's back to the grind. But at least it's almost my birthday! Ich werde 30! We are going somewhere next weekend... because, you know, Germany doesn't work around Easter. We have both Friday and Monday off work.

Am Donnerstag hatten wir Deutschunterricht. Wir lernen viel, but there's only so much you can learn in 10 months. Every once in a while, my coworkers will try to speak German with me. Ich verstehe nichts (wie immer), und man kann the look of disappointment on their faces sehen.

Am nächsten Donnerstag ist unserer letzte Unterricht. Das macht mich nervös. I have learned very little so far. I cannot have any casual conversation with anyone. Ich versuche zu lernen. Lord knows I try. It's all I think about. Frag mal Liz, was ich heute gemacht habe. Sie würde sagen: eat, run, and study. And watch TV (anschauen? I don't even know how to say THAT, haha).

Das deutsche Leben ist anstrengend. Ich will sagen: "Egal! Es bleibt jetzt so." Aber ich kann das nicht. When I come home in 2018, I will be completely grey.

Other Kyle watched our cats while we were in Barcelona. But somehow they are still ridiculously needy now. So I'll go now and pet them some more.

Bis nächstes Mal!