The weekend passed as overall successful, with a few hiccups along the way. Friday I cleaned the house really well which made me feel good. My host parents said I could clean for a little extra money if I'd like, but if I didn't want to they'd hire someone else. Given the fact that I have hours and hours with nothing to do, I took them up on it. It makes me feel like I contribute, so I don't mind. When Piet got home from kindergarten (he's feeling better) we made chocolate chip cookies that turned out really tasty. I was proud, given my limited kitchen skills. Friday evening was pretty quiet around the house so I offered to ride my bike into town and get a movie. Riding my bike makes me nervous because it's a tad too big for me and it worries me to be near cars. I prefer riding in mountains, although it's equally as dangerous. So I made it to the movie store, grabbed Batman Begins, and began the ride home. I was doing fine until the path split and I was in the bike lane very near the cars, instead of on the sidewalk. That would have been fine during the day, but at night it freaked me out because it's hard to see bikes in the dark. Knowing that no one would be on the sidewalk, I attempted to gracefully transition on to it. Failure. The sidewalk was an inch higher than the bike lane and my tire hit it at an angle, resulting in a crash. On a positive note, a nice man smoking a pipe stopped to see if I was okay. I checked myself and other than rattled nerves and a scrape on my foot I was okay. The bicycle was fine with one sad exception, the light that my host parents had just gotten fixed for me was broken and pitifully blinking its last blinks on the ground. Bummer. So I made it home, cleaned my wounds, and watched Batman save Gotham City.
Saturday morning started better than Friday had ended. Jorn's parents came for a visit and proved to be totally lovely people. They came bearing gifts, even for me. They gave me a cute little plant and a bag with a candle and rose shaped candle holder, surrounded by chocolate covered toffees. So grandmotherly : ) We spent the afternoon playing with Piet and eating a big meal of turkey and vegetables, making it feel like an early Thanksgiving. After a walk we sat down again to apple cake and plum cake, both of which were delicious. Oma and Opa stayed for a little longer to play with Piet, then hit the road. The rest of the evening was devoted to digestion and relaxation.
That night I attempted my first solo outing in Edewecht. A local Oktoberfest party had been advertised all over town, and though I didn't know what to expect, I figured it'd be a good way to meet people. I got there at 10, thinking it was already around my bedtime, but the place was not crowded. Apparently I looked like a lost puppy dog because a nice man who worked there camp up to me and asked if I knew anyone there. I said no so he took pity on me and chatted for a while before the crowds came in. After he went back to work I got courageous and went up to a table of young people and asked if they spoke English. Most of them spoke a little, so I stayed with them the rest of the night. It was pretty fun, but as the night went on the fact that they were all still teenagers became apparent. Everybody was talking about everybody and the boys were ready to rumble with any other boy who looked the wrong way at their girl. A quote from Sam the Snowman, "Ah, Youth..." Playing with teenagers wasn't my goal for the night, I wanted to make like minded friends, so after a little dancing I was ready to go home. This desire, however, became a huge ordeal. The party was about a 20 minute walk from my house, and my over protective host parents said it'd be safe and no big deal, but when I mentioned it to the crowd they seemed appalled that I'd walk alone in Germany, and said they'd be going soon and we'd all take a taxi together. Of course, their soon was very different than my soon. At about 4 in the morning, I finally got a ride home in a taxi. If I had known that I didn't have to call a taxi because there were plenty outside of the party I would have marched outside and gotten one myself, appeasing everyone, but I didn't. The night really frustrated me because everyone acted like I couldn't take care of myself. The most frustrating part of being here is that it is hard to get around without speaking the language or really knowing the best way to get places, but no one trusts me to try it out. Situations like this make me really miss my ability to drive my own car and the luxury of knowing where everything is all the time. I'm remembering that it's just been a month and I'll get more independent as time goes by and I figure things out, but man do I feel handicapped at times.
So the biggest downside of getting caught in that pointless fiasco is that I had to run the 5k Sunday morning with only 4 hours of sleep. However, the race went really well and is actually one of the coolest things I've done so far. My host dad dropped me off in Oldenburg and I signed in and got the number 1230 to put on my shirt. I found two really nice women who were also running and stuck with them to find the starting line. There was a super cool energy in the air. The weather was pretty chilly but sunny and absolutely gorgeous. The leaves are changing here and it's breath taking. Everyone seemed in good spirits. I thought it was cool that so many families were running together. The fact that so many people were running at all was cool to me. I think there were 2,000 people who ran the race. I don't know how I placed among the 2,000, but probably somewhere in the middle. I started the race feeling good, but running a lot faster than I usually do around town. A little more than half way through the race I started feeling pretty tired and had to slow down a bit. There was a man wearing a red balloon who was meant to be the 30 minute pace setter. I knew I wanted to do better than 30 minutes, so I tried to stay in front of him, but at some point I decided it best just to stay beside him. He noticed me and started talking to me. Luckily he spoke a little English and asked what time I wanted to make. I said 28 minutes would be good. He said I shouldn't have started so fast, and I agreed. He told me to stay with him, which really helped. I was doing well but then I hit a wall and had to slow down. He went ahead of me for a while and then with just a couple minutes to go he looked back and yelled "c'mon." I sped up and got beside him again, about to die. At the last 30 seconds he tapped me and said, "now go!" and I used my last bit of energy to sprint to the end. Piet and Catrin were at the finish line cheering. I crossed the line at 29.12 seconds, right in the middle of my goal and the dreaded 30 minutes. I was actually really proud. I received a medal with a castle on it and then was inhaled by a huge crowd. Luckily I found Piet and Catrin easily and we started for the car. On the way I saw the balloon man and said thanks for the encouragement. He said I did well, which made me happy. After we got back home and got settled we ordered Greek food which consisted of tons of meat and rice. The lack of sleep, fast running, and heavy food resulted in one long, fabulous nap for me. I got up for dinner then retreated to my room to end the day by watching "Cool Hand Luke." I can't explain how much more I love that movie each time I see it. The quote "What we've got here is a failure to communicate" has always been a favorite of my Daddy, and obviously runs through my mind here a lot. But, the communication between me and my host parents is getting better and better. It's still hard to learn all the little weird things they do around the house that I'd never think of, but when they drive me to a race, cheer me on at the finish, and have a sweater and water ready for me in the car, I know I'm loved and being taken care of. It's amazing to have the opportunity to try new things like an Oktoberfest and a race in a foreign country, all the while having a safe base to come home to. I continue to be in awe of how lucky I am.
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