B Chronicles: April 2008

Best Birthday Gift

When I decided to make this move I swore I would be here by my birthday. Well I made it and when I went to meet Johanna to go out for a birthday celebration I got the greatest gift.....the keys to my new apartment. I feel very excited although I can't move in until the first. The next few days will be spent looking for a bed and bicycle.

Most of my birthday was spent walking around Münster so Ryan could see a little more of it. In the evening I met Johanna to go to Cafe Kelim for the best chocolate cake and tea in Münster. Definitely a favorite spot of mine. My other new roommate, Alvaro, joined us briefly as well and I think the three of us will get along just fine.

Later we went to a party at Ryan's new flat. Funny, we are here for two days and are getting invited out. In fact, while in the gas station to buy beer for the party we were randomly invited to another barbeque. The German people are so open and friendly, genuinely curious. I feel excited to meet more people and learn more German. I know that I will eventually run into some walls, but for now I am enjoying the easefulness of the situation.

Arrived

Well, I have made it safely to Germany. Not just safely, but very well taken care of on the way. My flight on Air India, after all the boo hoo's, was maybe the best flight I have taken. Although the plane was a little older that is what gave it character. Our flight attendants wore saris, my fellow passengers were very quite travelers, and the food was the best airplane food I have had. The flight was far from full as well so after dinner I went to the back and took up a four seated row to myself to make a bed and Ryan had one to himself as well. Not bad.

Lugging my two bags around the train station and finding them a spot on the trains wasn't fun, but it got done and we didn't miss any connections making it on time to Münster. Johanna (my new roommate) was there waiting for us and took us off to get food before dropping us off at a friends flat where we will be staying for a week until I can move into my place. The flat isn't far from where I was the last time I was here, so I took a little walk to test and refresh my memory about what could be found along the main street and how to get to Johanna's place.

Ryan discovered he has hay fever and so passed out around 5:00 p.m. I forced myself to stay awake until 9:00 so I could more easily get used to the time difference. I think it worked.... I ended up sleeping until 10:00 a.m. which was very needed. I hadn't slept very well for over a week.

Both Ryan and I walked over to Johanna's for breakfast which was lovely. My first look at my new home....that really helped it sink in some. I will be excited when I get to really move in there next week.

Johanna turned out to be our saving grace. Aside from picking us up and finding a place for us to stay for our week of homelessness she had a whole system set up when we arrived to hunt for an apartment for Ryan. Armed with two NaDann's (like a craigslist for Münster but in print), some highlighters, paper, and a phone we started looking for potential roommates. Johanna called everyone and set up appointments for us to go see places then even went to a few with us. It was fun looking around and at a few, without Johanna there, it forced me to use my German. Some people got wide eyes and nervous smiles when they heard Ryan spoke no German yet. Others got very excited at the thought of a foreigner as a roommate and that they would be able to practice English with him.

After an all day hunt and a lot of walking Ryan got a place. It was the last one we looked at (at 8:00 P.M.) and they called us the same evening. Originally he would have been able to move in until the 15th of May, but they arranged it so he could move in on the first because they liked him so much.

This transition, so far, has been so easeful. It feels as though everything is falling into place gracefully and makes me think that, yes, I have made the right decision here. It feels nice to to have no plans, no things I have to do. I have time to make all my arrangements and whatnot. This weekend I will call Annerie, a friend from my last visit, who has some work opportunities for Ryan and I. I will explore this city. I will, I hope, buy a bicycle. And I will celebrate my birthday. Woohoo!

Chicago

A good introduction on the way to the city.

How the day was spent: walking, walking, walking, walking.....with a lot of lovely people, weather and food.

Then we stopped walking and just rode a water taxi. Ahhhh.

DeKalb

The above photo pretty well sums up my weekend spent with Ryan's brother and his family. Not in that it left me hung over, but that it was creatively fun. This was Solveig being a silly headless one on the stairs.

Again I was given a warm welcome and felt at home. Ryan's two nieces are wise beyond their age which made for colorful and intelligent conversation with play mixed in. Since I often still feel like a kid it was a fun conversation. I also got to pass on my newly discovered craft of crochet. Both girls were sponges and got excited about making something. I enjoyed the fact that I could relate to them and hang out in a way that didn't involve watching a movie or playing on the computer. Good old fashion fun. Just the way I like it.

Ryan's little nephew, Martin, is nearly six months old and adorable. It was fun to have a little one around for the weekend. As much fun as it was to see Gabe grow there is something amazing about an infant. He (Martin) is so attentive and observant. He has beautiful wide eyes and looks around everywhere.

In all the weekend was both relaxing and stimulating. It was fun to see Ryan interact with his nieces and be called, what he says is his proudest title, "Uncle Ryan". It ended with a family dinner, including his sisters and parents, with pizza and arcade games. Yum.

Cary

Okay. Okay. I realize that I am five days in to my adventure and there hasn't been a blogging word. Those days have been filled with riding around Ryan's home town, going on walks, and hanging out with his family. With the sending off of my camera I haven't taken as many pictures I normally would. I think a walk with a borrowed camera is in order.

After a miscommunication at the airport where two hours were spent, by both parties, waiting for each other both Ryan and I found each other and made it to his families house in Cary, IL. My first two thoughts when making the forty minute drive were, one, it is so flat. Not a hill in sight. At least no hill by Utah standards. Two, there are no fences! For some reason it is that fact that continues to surprise me. Driving and looking out at many subdivisions I see nothing but large homes in the middle of even larger fields of lawn. Green and green and green. No landscaping. No visual division of properties. Nothing in the yards but grass and occasionally a tree or two. My mind is boggled.

Our first evening was spent taking a walk through the "woods" of Ryan's childhood. They are on the edge of Ryan's house and parallel the road. Walking along the road we discovered a pastime unique to this one street...golf carts. The road, Spring Beach, is unincorporated so many residents, after getting home, will hop is their golf carts and head down to a neighbors house to have a beer in the garage. Having returned from our walk we took the golf cart for a spin to the Spring Beach Inn neighborhood bar to meet his step mom, MaryAnn. Funny thing, driving a golf cart to a bar. After about ten minutes someone came in to warn MaryAnn that the twins, Ryan's sisters, were marching down the road to the bar. They thought she was somewhere else and were following us because we told them where we were going and that they couldn't join, so we blew her cover...oops. I guess they don't like her to drink. We found that out while she was getting yelled at outside. They're nine. Kind of funny.

The next day I got to meet Ryan's grandparents. Most of them have passed so we met at their graves as well as the woman, Marge, who played a large mother role in his childhood. I think it was good for Ryan to visit them all and I was happy to be there to support him as well. We also drove out to see his maternal grandmother in Crystal Lake. He has talked a lot about her and I have felt very excited to meet her. Truth be told, it was her that i was most worried about "impressing" as well. She was so sweet, warm, and welcoming and shared many fun stories and photos. I sense that she is a very important woman in Ryan's life and so was thrilled to meet her.

So the first leg of "meeting the family" has been succesful. Now, on to DeKalb....

Breaking it in

With two days to go I am finding myself surprisingly calm. My days for the last week have been pretty planned out with not much room to just relax, but I don't feel overwhelmed. I think it is coming from a place of readiness. Naturally, I feel excited to go but not to the point of wanting to bring it on sooner or of losing sleep over it. It has been nice to spend time with people I love, and each time I do it gets easier to say goodbye. Each day I feel more grounded than the last about my decision. Funny, I thought I would be having a nervous breakdown by now.

Yesterday was spent all over the place but I did have the chance to take Jane, my sisters dog, on an adventure at Saltair. Having chosen a wrong path I ended up burying my feet in an inch or so of salty sand mud. And as gross as that is, it was lovely. I enjoyed having an hour or so where I didn't have to be somewhere. The day was warm and bright and it certainly lifted my spirits that I could where a skirt and tank top. Woohoo!
I have been super excited about having my camera fixed and I got a few good shots, but the in the last week I keep finding a big mark in the middle of my pictures (as demonstrated in the top photo). I am going to go check it out today, but I feel bummed about it since i just barely got it fixed.

Random Pretties....

More finds from the unconscious clicking of the "next blog" button. Always an adventure:

[deus da chuva e da morte]
Fragment of Thoughts
just a little bit of...
History of Photography
Culture Shoq
Existential Al Ain

Have Fun.

Farewell Tea Hour

I spent this afternoon with my mom and sister at the lovely Beehive Tea Room. It is a jewel of a place located in the center of Salt Lake. Vintage furniture, texture, and both vibrant and dark colors create a magical and cozy atmosphere. In addition to the tea selection they serve selected pastries, sandwiches (delicious), and even Guinness. I had the lavender black tea which was lovely. I love the floral infusion in the earthy tea. And the artichoke spinach sandwich was fabulous on a whole grain bread. Go for lunch and get the special, it works out to be a good deal. The music is always lively but calm so it is a great place to sit and knit, read, or surf the internet with their wi-fi service.