School has started … once more. That means, my schedule is soon going to fill up again with work meetings, conferences, student visits and the like. But it also means I get to start over again with a bunch of all fresh students whom I just met, who are excited to be in school and who’ll hopefully make my life as teacher not too difficult!
I did something crazy the other day (October Holiday). I did. Despite the fact that all those in their right mind will do everything to avoid going into town or out of town, I took my bicycle and went into town. And I learned something. I learned that even bicycles can get parked in in our town – parked in, meaning blocked by the ton of other vehicles that are parked all around me so that there’s almost no way of getting out. You see, I always knew that it’s possible for cars to get blocked by other cars while parking. But now I know that around here, people are just as capable of blocking a bicycle so that it’s almost impossible to get out.
The beginning of October always is a favorite time for me. 1. We celebrate the national day of this country. 2. Two days later, we celebrate my own country’s national day. Much celebrating, for sure, and what matters most is the fact that our entire school is on holiday … no work! But it also means that many other people don’t work, which then means super crowded streets, and almost nothing goes in the stores because of all the crowds of people.
If you happen to have a bicycle, you’ll know that every once in a while it’ll need cleaning. I’ve had my bike for several years now, and not once did I really clean it (aside from washing off dust when I couldn’t see the color of the bike anymore). So, the plan is to hopefully clean my bike very soon. The problem, however, is that I don’t even know where to find stuff you can use for cleaning bicycles. Back home, I could go to pretty much any bike store or even some department stores/supermarkets and I’d be able to quickly find exactly what I’m looking for. Here, however, things are a little more complicated. Because I don’t even know where to begin looking for something like that. My first guess, of course, was the bike store where I got my bike. But a quick stop brought no success. But then, in one of the supermarkets I got my creative juices flowing. I found something you use to clean cars. That’s not too far off, …
So, those of you who’ve been around my little world for a while know of all the drama I had in the spring, trying to get my bathroom fixed (which has a major leak). Finally returning home after a summer away, of course, I was very curious what had happened to all the mold, the water in the bathroom floor, the fixing that had been promised. And lo, and behold, when coming home, the first thing I noticed was that things had been “fixed.” Of course, that fixing that took place was not the kind of fixing that I was hoping for … because it looks like all new and pretty on the outside, but the problems on the inside still persist. So, the story continues …
I have a mind for traveling. So, today, I’ve been out and about for a very long, short day (because my day will be lots shorter – 6 hours, to be precise – than the average day is). I also got to spend lots of time at various airports, and then I got to meet my hero – who went out of his way to make sure I’d catch my connecting flight. And when I say “out of his way”, I really mean, he went far beyond anything I’ve ever experienced before: he organized a vehicle to quickly get me from one terminal to the other (and he came along with me to make sure I’d find the right check-in counter immediately); he called at the check-in counter before I arrived so that all my stuff (boarding pass, luggage tag, etc.) was ready before I even got there; he by-passed the line to get my boarding pass and stuff to directly hand it over to me and take care of my luggage, and he showed …
So, here’s the deal: I’m leaving home to go home. Does that sound confusing to you? It sure is for me. Because I’m glad to go home to where my real life takes place with work, friends, and all the obligations. At the same time I’m sad to be leaving home, where I’m among like-minded people, where also a lot of my friends live, and where my family is, too. So, these days, I’ve been slowly saying good-bye. Good-bye to my little hometown, to all the old familiar places, and I’ve been trying to imprint on my mind all the details of home and the life that I’m going to be leaving behind here. It’s a very slow good-bye!
We have a lovely visitor among us this days. My sister, coming all the way from the south to see me. This, however, means that my time in Germany is coming to a closure (because she came to see me one last time before I’m heading out). It also means that I won’t be here any more when the time of the apple harvest comes (which is almost here already), nor will I be able to enjoy the plums, and nuts and all the other yummy things that are growing in my parents’ backyard. So, actually, though it makes me very happy to see my sister, it also makes me very sad, because of what her coming really means.
I got a little treat today. Or should I say, a rather large treat? (Because as a matter of fact, it was so huge, that I had to share part of it with someone else.) If anything, it was a rich treat. A chocolate-rich chocolate cake – more something like mousse au chocolat. Definitely on the delicious side of things, and definitely a treat. But before you start complaining about how I can share such delicious things on my blog without giving you a chance to really share in it, keep in mind that this is my last good treat in a while. Soon, I’ll turn my back on good ol’ Germany again, and then such treats will be something I relish in my memories for quite a while …
Autumn is coming. Definitely. After a couple of really nice, warm late summer day, things have changed. Sweater weather is what I would call it. In fact, we’ve started heating up the home because it’s been so chilly outside. But I thought, it was a perfect opportunity to make a little field trip to our backyard …
