Deutschland

Hello again internet people.

Some weeks it is difficult to summarize the important points. For the most part, everything was completely normal. I rode my bike to work, worked, did some running, watched X-Files, and comically failed at learning German.

Today was the typical long run. Thanks to a tip from a colleague, I ran to Lorch where there is a nice little fitness trail. It was difficult to enjoy it fully since I had already ran for 50 minutes before I found the trail. Next time I'll ride my bike there.

Have I talked about our pigeons yet? Of course there are a lot of pigeons around our apartment... we live directly above an outdoor restaurant and a fountain. It is strange because most of the time these fellas don't sound like the pigeons I grew up watching in films. Don't get me wrong, every now and again I'll hear their trademark "cooo". But it's not their primary noise. No... their favorite noise to make is sound of someone dry-heaving. All day, every day.



We had more hot days this week. It is a new experience, sitting in an office covered in sweat. In the afternoon, when walking past coworkers in the office, you get a strong whiff of body odor. You immediately think, "oh my gosh, they smell so bad". BUT... it quickly hits you... that smell could just as easily be me! I'm not blind - I can see sweat stains on my armpits, forearms, back, and butt. There's no way of knowing where the smell originated! All you can do is keep your head (and arms) down, and leave for home as quickly as possible.

Speaking of the office... coworkers of mine were discussing the movie Office Space recently. One was recommending it to others. He called it a great example of the absurdities of the American workplace. I had always watched it and thought, "that's funny... that's totally a typical workplace". It had never occurred to me that Germans could watch it to "learn" about Americans. It's brilliant.

Lastly, I was discussing fast food with a young, poor college student. We have McDonald's and Burger King here in Schwäbisch Gmünd. The quality and prices are all the same as in the US. While he likes the food well enough, he says he never eats there. He says it's TOO EXPENSIVE. I think that is beautifully hilarious. I'm sorry... if you can't convince college kids that your terrible food is worth the money, then you are dead in the water.

And that's the biggest lesson I will take back from Germany. Everywhere I look, everyone is emphasizing the importance of personal time, of family, and of health. It's very inspiring. I will always work in a place where I can leave on time, spend time with Elizabeth (and maybe some kids), and be healthy. Otherwise, what are we working so hard for?

Until next week.

Another fantastic week behind us. Everything is beginning to feel very normal for us. Of course, we don't communicate with anyone yet... but we're making progress. Our next step should be to make some friends. In the meantime, Mulder & Scully have been pretty good friends of ours.

First, the biggest news: I got a haircut! Oh my goodness I don't like it. It is not typical American at all. And I suspect that it will require some sort of hair product to look normal. But that is beside the point. I got my hair cut! It's more expensive here, but it's nothing terrible. No, she didn't speak any English. Good thing I have easy hair.

As you know, I'm not satisfied with my German inadequacies. Well, this week I found a 3DS game with a German option! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, for the next few weeks I will be playing Pokemon Ruby completely in German. The language is all too complicated for me. It will certainly result in my missing a lot of useful in-game information. Whenever I'm feeling spunky, I try to translate the sentences/words that I don't recognize. My hope is that I will absorb some language subtleties. But why in the world do all of the Pokemon have new names? I always considered them to be proper nouns.

Last weekend we saw fireworks! Did I talk about that already? First, we went with our German teacher to watch her friends play jazz. They were very good, but they are brand new, so their set was a little short.



Next, we stopped at the local Döner shop. We ate way too much, like always. But isn't she cute anyway:



We walked our food over to the city garden. There was a large outdoor (free!) concert. There were good bands and some neat decorations.



It literally seemed like everyone from the city was there. The event ended with a big firework show. Elizabeth will have to show you pictures of that one.

And now it's Saturday and ridiculously hot. But it's okay... being in the top floor of an non-air conditioned apartment in 95+ degree heat builds character.

So, I'll be building character over here. You all have a wonderful Saturday afternoon!

There weren't too many big things this week.

On Wednesday, Elizabeth went to the library with our German teacher. Elizabeth got her very own library card! And yes, I talked her into going with me on Saturday. We went to the very top... to the small children books. It is upsetting how difficult all of the "6 year old and under" books can be. There's not a single book out there that I feel comfortable with. Against our better judgement, we checked out a Calvin & Hobbes book, haha. Anyone familiar with those comics should know that it's a terrible choice for beginners like us.

BONUS! The library was having a sale of old books that day. We bought "Ramona" for 50 cents!! I dedicated about 30 minutes to it on Sunday and almost got through 2 entire pages. I hope this German version lives up to my childhood memories. Next I'll need to find "Superfudge" for sale. I have fond/nauseated memories of that book, rocking back and forth on a boat on the way to Canada with the family.

It doesn't look like I'll be getting my own library card, but I think it would be fun to make library trips a regular thing on the weekends (since it isn't open when I get home from work). That also is a very strong memory from my childhood. I hope they don't mind me writing in their books :)

Lastly, I ran an uneventful 15 mile run on Saturday and I still haven't gotten a haircut. Elizabeth keeps hinting that I have a mullet... which I strongly disagree with considering the hair on the top of my head is much longer than the hair on the back. It looks quite terrible. I might stop going outside soon.

Later!