Sonntag, 1. Mai 2016
Long Time No Chat
Greetings, delightful American friends. And big congratulations to everyone I know who was part of either the Derby Marathon or the Flying Pig (or both??!).

May is here. Flowers are blooming. Insects are buzzing. People are constantly outside. City festivals are nonstop.

Quite honestly, I've never experienced a people that enjoyed sunlight more than the people here in southern Germany. When the sun is shining, no one stays inside. The Marktplatz is currently overflowing with people.

I cannot adequately express how completely opposite Americans can be. Especially me personally. I enjoy being inside. Inside is where I do things I deem as "productive" (with the exception of yesterday's 2-hour run and today's 1-hour run). Outside is nice, but it also has annoying bugs and instantaneous sunburn.

Why do they love the sunshine? For one, it isn't as frequent here as it is in Kentucky. All too often are days gray and cloudy. Therefore, when the sun shines, everyone leaves work early and heads outside*. Additionally, people are more relaxed. People can enjoy themselves without "making the absolute most out of every second."**

In short, I'm learning a lot about myself and how I interact with the world. Both good and bad.

[*Side note 1: There seem to be many more convertible cars here than in KY, in order to take full advantage of the sun.]

[**Side note 2: while Americans aim for the feeling of "Cloud 9", the German people are much more practical. They are satisfied reaching "Cloud 7".]

So, I've been alone in Germany for two weeks now. I wish I could say I was productive... but nearly all of my time was spent working, running, and grocery shopping. And yesterday, Other Kyle accompanied me to the "weekly" Flohmarkt. Other than that, I beat NES Metroid and watched "Flaked" starring Will Arnett. I must say - Netflix really knows how to produce good shows. Daredevil, Seven Deadly Sins, Unbreakable KS, Love, Orange is the New Black, Jessica Jones... and several others.

Oh yeah, I also finished "Seven Years in Tibet" yesterday. It was the April (and March, haha) book from Rach's Virtual Book Club. I enjoyed reading about that culture as it was in 1950. But now I must find the movie (with Brad Pitt and Mako). IMDB.com has a pretty good review. As of now, I don't know what the May Virtual Book Club book will be. If we pick one quickly, perhaps Elizabeth can grab a copy for me.

If not, I have plenty more books anyway. "Autobiography of a Yogi" isn't going to read itself. I've never been a fan of reading. It's hard for me to sit down and complete one thing at a time (I'm listening to music right now). Oddly enough though, I've read more books this year in Germany than I have in the past 10 years. If I had to guess: Because I'm so frequently overloading myself, I'm being pulled toward activities that force me to slow down. But that's only a theory.


Let's see... do I have any photos that you'd be interested in? Nope. Only cat pictures. No one needs to see any more of those.

Here. Listen to random German music instead (Sorry if it's region-locked. I tried to check for that):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RveIJFR7LV4

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