I am officially spoiled

I realized today that one of the reasons I don't gush about Felix and Carolin is not because they aren't cute and charming, but because I have a very bad habit of comparing them to Will and Coal. Anyone who saw me on Thursdays last year has met Coal (and possibly Will as well) and can understand why this comparison would make anyone feel bad. Comparing is never flattering and often offensive, so needless to say, I try to stifle these tendencies. But I have to tell you something now about Will and Coal. Today I got a pretty large care package from the Taylor Family. On the top of the package were three paper airplanes and an invitation to Coal's birthday which was in August. One of the airplanes had instructions on the side of it telling me that if I opened the folds I would find "a bunch of bugs." I did as I was told and found a crayon picture of squished bugs! How entertaining is the mind of an eight year old. Along with pictures and even a couple of exemplary homework-themed enclosures I got some of the my personal favorites from home: coffee from Wandering Goat, Chai Tea, and popcorn! I won't list all of the things that were in the box because it would take too long, but I will simply declare myself delighted, overjoyed, and honored to know such wonderful and generous people. Every time I receive something from the people at home whether it is an email, letter, package, or even just a comment here it brings not just a smile to my face but one of those stupidly-big-showing-most-my-teeth-and-some-of-my-gums smiles. So thank all of you, for reading and for thinking of me. I am honored and spoiled by your affection.

Delight

This evening brought me exquisite joy. There were very many things that made it particularly wonderful. I hadn't realized that Fate was so good at multitasking. I originally wrote this blog four or so hours ago, but the even got even better so I decided to change the whole post instead of posting again. To start my evening, I called my best friend on the off chance that she would be available, have her phone with her, and not screen the unknown number. I was in the deepest of luck. Most of my communication with all you that I love has been written either electronically or handwritten. This is an extremely efficient way of keeping up with the people you love, but unfortunately intonation and even some measure of personality gets lost in the transition to stale paper. Getting to hear her voice made me laugh like I haven't laughed much since I got here. While I was talking to her Over the Rhine was playing on my speakers and out the window was one of the most stunning sunsets I have yet beheld here in Germany. After a wonderful half hour of talking with her, I went downtown to retrieve my bicycle which I had left there a couple of days ago and decided to risk it and ride it back. You see, I don't yet have lights on my bike and that is illegal after dark, and apparently they fine you a nice little wad if they catch you, but I yet again eluded the authorities and arrived home ticketless. At home I packed myself a thermos of hot chocolate, an apple, bundled up, scoured the house for a flashlight (I found two), and headed down my tree lined path to find a clearing from which to watch the stars. After some minimal rambling I landed in a little courtyard near the soccer fields and laid down with some good music and and open eyes. I sat there for about an hour and a half. Quiet, gentle, freezing cold, I burned my tongue on the chocolate and lay there thinking about the fact that really Germany isn't too bad, that these are the moments in life that make it all seem like someone else's romanticized adventure, and that it had been far too long since I had watched the stars.

Blasen

I have resorted to using a German title for this blog because it is all about bubbles, and I actually want you to read it instead of skipping over to another entry. But lest there be any confusion, Blasen is German for Bubbles.
Carolin and I played with bubbles this afternoon. It has been a very long time since I have done anything entertaining with bubbles other than gallantly spit them toward the bride and groom as they make their soggy way toward the getaway car. Years, I think, since I have actually taken the time to observe them as they make their graceful way to the sky and then, with an understated *pop*, cease to exist. I was thrilled today with the reflection that it is one of the most beautiful things to watch that stately progress from the initial formation of the bubble to its gentle termination. They are all purity and delicacy. If one looks very closely, one can see the soap on the surface cluster and swirl and eventually begin to dissipate. Not that you should begin a campaign to stem the tide of untimely bubble death at the undersized hands of our youth, for yet another of the many charms of the bubble consists in the very laughter that chasing the glimmering containers of air affords. They live the briefest and yet the most charmed of lives, and I will always be thankful to them for entertaining me and my companion for nearly a half an hour.
Ahh, how to end this eulogy? I can't think of a way at the moment, and alas, a moment is all that I have allotted to blogging for the evening. So there it stands. The End.

Of things that make me happy

Today was a bit like Christmas. Embarrassingly so. How could Christmas be embarrassing, one might ask. Well, the timing is slightly embarrassing. My four-month-early Christmas fell one day after my host mother’s birthday, and in all honesty, I got more and better presents (except for the digital camcorder that she got). So with that tantalizing trailer I will launch myself into the story. And the story starts on Monday. The funny thing about Mondays in Germany is that although they are not generally acknowledged to be the horror-inducing day they are thought to be in the US they are, in fact, just as Monday-ish. So Monday was a downer. I was beginning the last week all-day childcare and was feeling rather homesick to boot. But then came Monday night. When I checked my email there was one from Seanne, who I have known for just about as long as I can remember. She and her husband are going to be in Berlin visiting her old hometown, and she was going to call me the next day to work out the details of me hanging out with them for a weekend. That evening she also put me in contact with one of her close friends who lives nearby so that I can know someone here. Tuesday morning arrived and, it being Sabine’s birthday, we all slept in and I had a half day while the family went off to celebrate. Half way through my breakfast the expected call arrived from Seanne, and we ironed out the details of my weekend in Berlin, which included buying my train ticket. But all of that was merely leading up to the glorious today. Early this afternoon, after a surprisingly smooth morning, the postman arrived with a package from me. I opened it to find that Teal is one of the sweetest people that I know. She had sent not only Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but also some Saturday Market honey sticks, and gifts that my mother had bought me from Michigan. It was so touching and exciting that I couldn’t stop humming (which is always a good sign). Then, not too much later, the doorbell again sounded its cheerful alarm and two other packages were delivered to me. The first that I opened was my much anticipated copy of the Trumpet Child from Over The Rhine (sixteen days before you can get it in stores, folks) and I immediately put it on the speakers for the pleasure of all. The second package was the soundtrack to the new movie Once, which my dear friend Matt Williams sent to me, and it is only out of great self control that I have deferred playing this second CD so as to spread out my enjoyment for another day. So what is the moral of this story? (Yes, this time I do have a moral) It is: surround yourself with good and kind-hearted people, so that when you are forced to leave them they will send things with or to you that will cause you to remember how wonderful they are. Thank you Teal, Mom, Josh, Erin, Robby, Heidi, Matt and Over the Rhine. You have made my month!