Today was strange. It was the first time since before I left Dallas that I did not have somewhere to be. I had become quite accustomed to rushing from one train to another, one side of the city to another, or just to class as soon as I awoke. Today I slept until noon, that is right, noon. Everyone was out of the house by 8 or 9, and so it was quiet and peaceful. When I awoke I made bread, read some Steinbeck (more on that in a moment), and then the day became a bit more involved.
Before I get to today, let me tell you about last night. Oddly enough, though I am renting a room in someone elses house, Max and Anja told me that I was welcome to host some couch-surfers for the weekend. I thought they were coming this afternoon, but when I arrived home from wandering about the city after class yesterday, they were sitting on the couch with Constantine (Athenian couch-surfer I mentioned previously) waiting for me. The evening was spent hanging out with this group of college-buddies, both at the house, and then later at one of the local, less-than-German neighborhood bar, complete with mid-90s rap and brightly colored walls. We could have been pickier, because, seriously, there is an average of AT LEAST one bar per block, though the average is probably somewhat higher, but we were just interested in sitting and talking over a good Deutsch bier (Franzankaner, to be exact).
On an interesting side note, these guys had also heard of Jim. They too had been made aware of his fame throughout the couch-surfing landscape. It makes me chuckle a bit that, in certain crowds worldwide, Jim Stone is no stranger.
After reading awhile today, these guys came back from town, and we had bread and cheese out on the lawn. I was going to go on a field-trip of sorts with these guys to a semi-local monastery/brewery several kilometers in the outlying hills of Munich, but just as we were going to leave, Svletlino showed up. This was a friend of Max's, who, though Bulgarian, had been studying both German and English for the past few years, and I was told he could be a great help in tutoring me while I was here. I did not realize that Max had told him to come by, but in general accomodating Max-fashion, he had asked him to come this weekend and work with me. We spent the next 3 or 4 hours speaking in German, and he showed me many things. Much of the time was just explaining our life-stories, but doing it in German. He was also very patient, and he is very scholarly and able to explain many things in a very academic sense, not to mention, he had also learned German as a foreign language.
When he left another friend of Max's stopped by to work on his internet connection. He was a native born German, but a transplant to Sri Lanka for much of his life. We talked for 30 minutes, and, once again, it was very enlightening. It has been so interesting getting to talk with people from so many different places. They each have their own specific take on life, and I just feel richer for having met them. I cannot wait to see who else comes through the door of Ausserstrase 14, in Munich.
Before I get to today, let me tell you about last night. Oddly enough, though I am renting a room in someone elses house, Max and Anja told me that I was welcome to host some couch-surfers for the weekend. I thought they were coming this afternoon, but when I arrived home from wandering about the city after class yesterday, they were sitting on the couch with Constantine (Athenian couch-surfer I mentioned previously) waiting for me. The evening was spent hanging out with this group of college-buddies, both at the house, and then later at one of the local, less-than-German neighborhood bar, complete with mid-90s rap and brightly colored walls. We could have been pickier, because, seriously, there is an average of AT LEAST one bar per block, though the average is probably somewhat higher, but we were just interested in sitting and talking over a good Deutsch bier (Franzankaner, to be exact).
On an interesting side note, these guys had also heard of Jim. They too had been made aware of his fame throughout the couch-surfing landscape. It makes me chuckle a bit that, in certain crowds worldwide, Jim Stone is no stranger.
After reading awhile today, these guys came back from town, and we had bread and cheese out on the lawn. I was going to go on a field-trip of sorts with these guys to a semi-local monastery/brewery several kilometers in the outlying hills of Munich, but just as we were going to leave, Svletlino showed up. This was a friend of Max's, who, though Bulgarian, had been studying both German and English for the past few years, and I was told he could be a great help in tutoring me while I was here. I did not realize that Max had told him to come by, but in general accomodating Max-fashion, he had asked him to come this weekend and work with me. We spent the next 3 or 4 hours speaking in German, and he showed me many things. Much of the time was just explaining our life-stories, but doing it in German. He was also very patient, and he is very scholarly and able to explain many things in a very academic sense, not to mention, he had also learned German as a foreign language.
When he left another friend of Max's stopped by to work on his internet connection. He was a native born German, but a transplant to Sri Lanka for much of his life. We talked for 30 minutes, and, once again, it was very enlightening. It has been so interesting getting to talk with people from so many different places. They each have their own specific take on life, and I just feel richer for having met them. I cannot wait to see who else comes through the door of Ausserstrase 14, in Munich.
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