I’m sure that most people agree that a graduation is a reason to celebrate. This year we’re celebrating my graduation (though I’m not even that close to finishing yet). Still, I’m the kind of person who doesn’t mind celebrating something with a good dinner, some good fellowship, and a lot of laughter and tears. And since my graduation is next in line, and since my graduation is a good excuse to celebrate, I did exactly that: have fun and enjoy myself!
Yes, I’m back in Germany. And that means I get to enjoy some of the culinary treasures which are so very typical for Germany. Like Schupfnudeln and yes, Sauerkraut (though I’ll tell you a little secret – for those non-Germans among my readers: Germans don’t eat Sauerkraut all the time. As a matter of fact, in my family, Sauerkraut is a culinary rarity which only happens few times a year, if at all). And another little secret: the one cooking Sauerkraut this time wasn’t a German, just my very North American roommate who loves to eat Sauerkraut. Still, I’m happy about eating all these yummy dishes, and this time I’m not complaining that North Americans are so biased when it comes to Germans eating Sauerkraut.
Another year has passed, and for me that means I’m back in school again. That on the other hand means lots of homework, but it also means meeting new people (my classmates), meeting old people, learning much about different countries (as we all come from all over the world) and sharing my life with some of my closest friends. But now I’d better get going. I gotta get back to school, and back to my assignments …
I heard about Paul basically the day my sister got him. But now I was actually able to meet him, big paw and all. And he’s just as cute as cat can be, though rather on the cheeky side of things. He can be cuddly, if he wants to, but most definitely he is full of mischief. His favorite place is on the topmost platform of the cats’ climbing tower, where he thrones and takes his naps, and from which he jumps to the opposite side of the hallway (jumping against the wall, to be precise) in order to catch flies. Well, maybe I should add “a little stupid” to his many character traits as well, since jumping against straight walls and slithering full speed underneath furniture (which will also land him against a wall) isn’t the most intelligent thing to do for a cat. But then, he always manages to get himself away from those walls unscathed; so maybe he isn’t that stupid after all. Just a bit off the wall, that’s all. Well, …
The time has come again. The time for me to get back on the road. This summer I’ll literally be living in weekly increments, hopping around from place to place like a gypsy. It also means dealing with crowded highways (yes, they’re called Autobahn, but you can rarely go as fast as you want due to the traffic and other limitations), impatient drivers, long hours on the road, and the hope that I’ll get my car through inspection, or else I might be in deep trouble!
We have cherries! I assure you, we do. The problem is that for the last two years, I missed those cherries by an inch or so, or maybe it’s a little more accurate to say that I missed picking those cherries by just a couple of days. Too bad when you have to leave before the cherries get ripe. And now, I’ll have to see them on the pictures, yearn for them, and … maybe find a cherry-alternative in the supermarket.
So, you see, the one thing I like about where I live now is the fact that it’s actually warm in the summer (well, maybe too warm once we get into June, July, August – admitted!). So, when I got off that airplane the other day, I was very surprised to find that – late in the evening – the temperature back home was pretty much the same as the temperature at where I’d gotten onto the plane. Big surprise here. And that first night home, nothing ever cooled off. But then, I was way too early to celebrate the fact that Germany can actually be nice and warm in the summer. Ever since that storm we had the other day, I’m feeling back in refrigerating land. Brrr. This is not what summer means to me. (And if it stays this cold, maybe the cherries won’t be ready til I have to leave this place again later this week … big sigh there now!)
Home is … enjoying chocolate spread and cheese, all in one day! Home is … watching the cherries on the cherry tree turn red and hoping that I’ll be there to pick them. Home is … feeling chilled even on an afternoon in late June. Home is … looking at the sky and finding a piece of blue between the clouds. Home is … actually seeing clouds. Home is … hearing the birds sing in the trees. Home is … not having to worry that my shoes will get all filthy as soon as I step out of the door. Home is … surfing online without waiting for a page to open. Home is … being able to go the bank, and when you look out of the window you get to see this:
We had an emergency rescue just the other day. Except that, we didn’t really need an emergency rescue. But look what happened: here I was sitting in a book store, reading, when all of a sudden two firefighters showed up at the door, full gear and all, crawling on all fours into the room. Sounds scary? Except that suddenly I remembered a fact: we were having a block party and our town’s firefighters had been invited to join the party. They were just having a bit of fun showing off, and I guess I was being rather amused!
Guess what happened the first day after I arrived at home? Yes, we got stuck in a storm. Now, I don’t usually mind storms. But this one not only dropped the temperature down to what I consider uncomfortable measures of cold, it also blocked our road on the way home. A friendly firefighter who was on the scene even kindly recommended to us (though not demanding it) to not take the road underneath the bridge because it was flooded and other cars had gotten stuck in the water, so we took a little detour to a store. And by the time we were done shopping, fortunately, the water was gone! Yay for newly renovated bridges that can’t handle a bit of rain, but drain the water quickly afterwards!
