Laufen & Lernen

Yesterday on my way to the Munchner Stadtlauf-Halbmarathon (Munich city run-half marathon), I ran into a man, just a minute from our flat, who told me I was going the long way, and to follow him (he was also wearing his official race shirt). So, he led me to the start, and we chatted a bit on the way. I mentioned that I thought it was strange that we did not get bibs (numbers) for the race, and he said the Stadlauf is just "for a joke". He also mentioned that he came here 26 years ago, and that he came from Indonesia, but was certain to mention that he was not Muslim, but Chinese, and that Americans hate Indonesians. I felt embarrassed.

Anyway, we parted ways near the start as he locked up his bike, and I wandered around a bit trying to find the starting line. Eventually, I figured it out, and held my ground. During races there is usually an MC blathering on about something over the loud speaker until the race begins--the Stadtlauf was no exception. I understood exactly two parts of the announcement:

1. The MC said, “Shake your booty”. This was preceded and proceeded by German, so I have no idea what the context was.
2. There was a countdown from 20 (zwanzig), which I understood, joining in with the crowd to finish the countdown to one. At this point in time, the race was already 10 minutes late, so the excitement was building. But we got to one (eins), and nothing happened.

I was starting to think that maybe I was in the line for the 5K walk instead of the 21K. Actually, I was certain of it. And I was too embarrassed to ask the folks pressed up against me if my hunch was correct. But finally they let us go, and people ran. You know, as well as you can run when you are packed in like cattle on a fairly narrow street. I had taken the first few steps in my first race outside of the U.S.A.

The run was beautiful, but mostly through the Englisher Garten and along the Isar, so while I enjoyed the scenery, I didn’t see as much of the city as I was hoping. It was a hot and humid day, at least by my San Francisco standards, which made for an uncomfortable event. I took my time, and finished in 2:34, sweaty, happy, but missing my running buddy back home.


That was yesterday’s challenge; today’s was starting language lessons. There are 12 of us in the class, I am the only American, and the only monolingual individual--I think (there is one Canadian in my class who claims to know some Italian).

Everyone speaks English, but English is verboten! The entire class is held in Deutsch. Ja. This is going to be fun. Afterwards, I went to the monster bookstore in the city center and purchased my books. Being the cookbook whore that I am, I also purchased a cool vegetarian cookbook, auf Deutsch, to help me learn. We’ll see how that goes.

In general, I am starting to feel a bit more at ease. I am learning the area, and learning to navigate the public transportation system. I am learning which vendor at the market has the best pickles (mmmmm). I am learning that in the German alphabet, "I" is pronounced "E". It is a process....

comMUNICHation

I was looking forward to being reunited with Todd and the beasts after what simultaneously felt like minutes, and well…just about 3 months of separation. I mostly held it together as I finished school, and dealt with all of our belongings, and the house. Mostly.

Anyway, I think being away from Todd for so long gave me a new appreciation for some of his quirks… the culmination of this appreciation being a full-blown panic attack on the airplane. My ears got hot. I couldn’t breathe. I needed to lay down, and considered rolling out of my seat and into the isle. Surely someone would notice that I needed a little help. Sigh. I considered the possible consequences of a public display, and instead I got up out of my seat, held on for dignity’s sake, and walked s l o w l y behind the beverage service to the bathroom at the rear of the plane (this felt like an eternity). A little cold water on the face and some breathing room did wonders. My near-death experience went unnoticed.

Seven or eight hours later I was collecting my bags (all four of them) from the luggage carousel. Todd and his friend and co-worker Mark greeted me after I made it through customs, and we managed a short train ride and a very short walk back to my new home. The cats were underwhelmed by my arrival. I sat on the floor and drank a beer.

Over the past seven days, the beasts have warmed up to me. I’m helping the process along with food and catnip. Today’s dinner had corn in it. Yes, cat food with corn. (Stay tuned for next week’s discussion of the unique nature of German cat shit.) Yesterday’s dinner had Provencal spices (krauter), and what looked like little chunks of red bell pepper. Deeeeeelish!

The weather here has been HOT. Good for walking around the city, good for sitting in Biergartens (one of my new favorite things), not so good for sleeping. I went out today and bought a couple of fans so that maybe I can sleep tonight. Mostly, my time has been spent getting familiar with the city, getting lost in the city, and shopping for stuff for the house. Before my arrival, there were 2 beds, 2 computers, one projector, one side table, and some beer. We still don’t have much more than that, but I am working on it…

This Sunday I am doing a half marathon here in town. It will likely be hot and miserable, and I am not at all physically prepared, but it will be an amazing way to see more of the city, and I’m sure that if I don’t die, I will have only good stuff to report. I managed to pick up my official race t-shirt yesterday. Getting one little thing can be a half-day affair when you don’t know where the hell you are, and you don’t speak the language. Anyway the shirt is orange microfiber, and it says German stuff on it; I imagine it reads “only assholes and foreigners would run in this heat”. Just kidding, I know the German word for asshole (Arschloch).

On that note, Monday is the start of my language classes. 5 weeks, 5 days a week, for 4.5 hours a day. I can’t express how much I am looking forward to this. I am worse than monolingual, I am monosyllabic. I try to communicate in broken German, but I can’t understand a single thing anyone says to me. Nein and Danke are my two favorite words. Often, I am reduced to pointing and grunting with a pseudo-Germanic accent.

I will try to update at least weekly, we’ll see how that goes. Also, I hope to share some photos, as soon as I get around to taking them, and figuring out the best way to share them. Until then, Auf Wiedersehen!