Deutschland

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

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!

Hello again,

Another 2 weeks have passed with very few noteworthy events. Luckily, Elizabeth has done a great deal of planning our future vacations. We should have good stories shortly. Beginning with a brief trip to Barcelona!

We are very excited to see Barcelona. Of course, the area is beautiful and I will be running/walking a potentially visibly breathtaking marathon. But we are also excited because my old boss lives in the area. She has agreed to spend some time with us during our visit! She is the number one reason why coming to Germany was even an option. It has been far too long since I have seen her.

Aside from that, I have been sick, so I've not been getting into too many shenanigans. We didn't even go to the Flohmarkt this week. We are just twiddling our thumbs waiting to meet my new nephew!

So, instead of our own stories, here are some German things.


Jetzt haben wir den Salat / Now we have the salad



This saying is used when a mess occurs that was entirely avoidable.


da steppt der Bär / there's a tap-dancing bear



"Come on out with us tonight. You'll have a great time!"


seinen Senf dazugeben / they add their mustard



This is a person who always gives their opinions, whether requested or not.


da ist Hopfen und Malz verloren / Hops and malts are lost on that



It's a lost cause.


And I'll end with one last simple word...