Snacksgiving

Oh how exciting traveling is! Except when you're at an airport way too early, and especially when that airport is JFK, which doesn't only lack an area to rest before checking in but also working WiFi. Oh well, there's no doubt I can survive without internet, it just makes me feel a little lonely and disconnected. But just yesterday was Thanksgiving, so I better express some gratitude instead of complaining! Especially since this time I made it to New York without any traffic problems and near-heart-attack moments - not jinxed!

So what did I do all this time in the US? it feels like mostly eating...
My time in Essex with Bhava was wonderful and also a humbling experience. To most people it would clear that she's not some kind of superhero, who manages her own business and to be patient, caring and inquisitive with me, listening to all my problems and even knowing when to ask for help with hers. This ridiculous assumption was one of my problems and lead to some serious frustration when Bhava was busy and I couldn't do anything to help her. I felt sad and out of place that one day in the middle of my visit. You know, long-distance friendships are tough, we only get to spend a limited time in our actual presence! So maybe things we a bit loaded.
Another problem of mine seems to be that I have become quite sensitive (not going on about explaining that at this point, let's just say I like my love and peace). And yet being emotional works two ways, and how could I be deeply passionate within being vulnerable at some point?

So Bhava and I spent some great first two days in Essex talking lots, bonding and hanging out at the café (yes, I was mostly slacking off, she was working). Friday last week her boyfriend Schuyler came back and we actually went out for dinner, only to ruin the last part of the night with a stupid political discussion. For the first time I understood why you sometimes strictly avoid certain topics in conversations! Well, we got over it and later that day had a great night at Joey's, who's also a business owner and who I met in Vermont back in 2013. He's one of the funniest and most hard-working guys I've ever made acquaintance with, and now he even has a great girlfriend, cute dog and friendly cat!
Sunday we went out for brunch (thanks for that voucher, Nadine!) and Monday it snowed heavily, it was fantastic! In the morning Bhava had said we might go climbing, which due to all of her work was rather a hope than a plan, but of course when it seemed there was no time for climbing I was frustrated. Do you know these moments when your inner voice (read: ego) tells you that someone is ignoring you on purpose? Well, because of my insanely high expectations towards Bhava and my sensitivity I guess I had to be sad for a bit, but eventually understood that not everything is about me!

Also if I was just a little more patient sometimes, because not only did we quickly resettle with each other, but also shared an intimate moment last night, that displayed all the affection I had craved for. After an impressive Thanksgiving with two families and three kilos of food, Schuyler, Bhava and I were about to watch some TV. Then it suddenly appears there were more urgent matters, some suffering that needed to be expressed. Bhava really opened up and we listened, hugged and comforted her as best we could. In the end she isn't perfect of course and also struggles to make everybody happy!

Oh dear, it turns out I'm not only needy but also quite stupid sometimes! I mean I knew we're all human and yet usually I  keep expecting others to succeed and myself to fail. Hopefully I continue to learn from my distress and to grow stronger still.
So before and during this Thanksgiving I was catered for and taken care of by amazingly friendly people!I'm grateful to Schuyler's parents especially, who took me in as a stranger and patiently walked over their property with me even before breakfast! But also Bhava, her mother and Schuyler went out of their way to make me happy!

So this Thanksgiving I am grateful for all kinds of friendship, because it mirrors the love we're trying to give to ourselves!

Eatex

With a critical face on, I take a sip from my cup. The coffee is a little cold, but definitely not too sweet. Well, actually this cappuccino is not a coffee but an espresso drink and also I made it myself, with almond milk and hazelnut flavored syrup. Who knew there's a whole science to coffee making, and even more so to selling. I've always wanted to work in a café, so goof timing visiting Bhava and her brand new business! Besides, here they even use an ipad as a cash machine, where you just press some buttons when taking in an order - easy peasy! Or so I thought... Here's what I learned:

- Coffee = drip coffee (or filtered, as we'd call it in Germany)! Cappuccino, latte etc = espresso drink!
- forget the metric system, learn what ounces (oz) are
- English is a quick language! Use context to understand that "How long have you been here?" isn't about the length of my shift or even my visit in the States, but a question about since when the café has been opened.

My first time behind the counter went like this:
Customers come in. I'm nervous. Since I know the owner of this place, I don't wanna screw this up. They stare at the menu behind me. Then they ask, "What's the soup of the day?" Damn it, gotta go ask in the kitchen. Then they order something I don't understand, please don't mumble, open your mouth! Alright, the woman wants coffee cake! I press the according button and smile overconfidently. The man wants 2 tacos, so I double click on the item. A coworker confirms if he wants a set of tacos or 2 sets of tacos. Of course one set only. Oops. When they finish their order I realize I forgot WHICH coffee cake they wanted, so I have to ask again. Well, this didn't go as planned.
Other failures on my first day as a working class hero include trying to give out change and then having to look at the coins for a long time to understand what they are, or almost dropping plates, cookies or drinks and of course forgetting all my English vocabulary. I make up for my incompetence by being super friendly, motivated and patient with indecisive customers. But most people coming to the café are super nice themselves and I have an easy time working! Everybody always asks "How are you doin?" and chit chats about the weather or something similar appropriate. I know it's superficial and yet I enjoy the positive way of opening up a conversation just like that!

Ever since I came to Essex Junction, VT, and into Bhava's busy business life, I've been sincerely impressed with she's accomplished in such a short time. She started out baking from home and selling mostly vegan and gluten-free products in supermarkets and then finally opened up her own place. The SWEET ALCHEMY bakery & café isn't only comfy and has sweet treats to become diabetic for, but also offers proper food like wraps, pasta, tacos and even dosa, that's so animal-free and healthy, I could eat there every day for months and never get bored or sick! Not to mention the cool people working there or the fantastic view from the windows, but instead of going on ranting, I might as well post a few photos.
More about my time in Essex (or Eatex, as 'essen' is eating in German) next time!

Montreal: about cats, graffitis and Spanglench

Around 6am my eyes swing open. Again, it's far too early to get up and surely contradicts countless complaints I made all through the time I had to get up at 6.30am to go to work. This time I'm falling back asleep, yesterday I was too excited and probably jet lagged...
Around 8am I'm up making coffee, quickly chatting with my host Roxanne, who is actually off to work. A whole day in front of me and I'm equipped with food, music, wifi and heating, plus a bike and a metro card to further explore the place I flew to all the way from Europe! Full of energy, I'm pacing along the kitchen window, opening the backdoor for fresh air and watching the fat neighbor's cat watching me from down in the yard. Then the fury ball turns around and shits right into one of the grassy patches, at least covering it's business carefully after completion. I return to the table to write about the fascinating things happening to me in Montreal when the cat turns up at the window, silently meowing and demanding entrance. Sure enough! It' freezing out there, so we cuddle for about a minute until he wants to get out again. Guess what, after I release the cute but stupid thing, it shows up on the window and demands to be let in. Note to self: no cultural differences in feline behavior here.

Alright, this is just one amazing event I can tell you about. Basically I'm deeply content to be here in this cosy wooden house full of friendly people and able to have so much spare time to cuddle cats and watch them doing their business. As mentioned, it's freaking cold here and as I learned it's not a good idea to try out the freedom of not wearing a bra. But my sore nipples are a different story...
Since I got here, things have been smooth and I felt comfortable with almost every new thing and person. I'm staying with Roxanne (French-Canadian) and Ibrahim (Mexican), who couch surfed with me last year around my birthday. My party was one of the best experiences in Germany for him, so he's returning the favor by spending his free day taking me on a tour around the city. First we visit the nearby market and I shop as many fruits and veggies as my small backpack can carry, then we explore the area by bike, mainly looking at awesome graffitis. Since it's forbidden to wear headphones on bikes, Ibrahim brings his speakers, and the Tequilla song and other 60s rock music make the temperatures just below 0ºC more bearable. I love this way of seeing a city, though the roads are bumpy, many houses in need of renovation and due to the grey weather the scenery looks rather dull. Well, I wasn't forced to come here in November, right?
Taking lots of pictures of those graffitis (most of them are from a contest), we end up chatting with a man in front a a huge car I had quietly complained about, and he actually turns out really nice, showing off his brand new shirt. Ibrahim takes me to a bar and we have Poutine (aka Pommes mit Bratensosse), mac'n'cheese (not a computer but pasta) and some local beer in lack of a hot drink. Hey, it might be only 2pm here, but long after 4 in Germany, if you know what I mean!

They speak mainly French in Montreal and while I'm trying to learn some Spanish in preparation to Mexico, I get completely confused. "Vous avez finit?" - "Si claro!" - facepalm. I know about 200 French words and maybe 50 in Spanish, which doesn't help when meeting Ibrahim's girlfriend who speaks only French and Spanish. Roxanne speaks all of them, Ibrahim, too. Together we speak Spanglench. Also we have a fun night cooking, playing Schweinewuerfeln and watching the neighbor's cat getting stuck in the cupboard. I even get out my ukulele and play some songs, sponsored by the red wine Santa Julia. I don't even manage to read more than a few pages of my book before falling asleep around 11pm. I'm happy with this sleeping rhythm!

That should be enough to give you, dear reader, a detailed impression of my new old life of free time and wandering about. Hopefully you're all well and know I'm still thinking of you, especially when seeing dog graffitis and waving crabs, eating poutine, hearing Madonna's Material Girl or doing fitness! Which I will do right after breakfast. And then I will explore downtown Montreal and the underground city that arises when temperatures fall. Indeed, life is good.

PS: You will find visual impressions of my adventures at parhelia.smugmug.com

CANUSAMEX

No more job, no more excuses, just a partially planned trip and a bit of money saved.
How does she do that?, people are asking. Here's my ABC of leaving.

A) write packing and to-do lists, it helps keeping sane!
B) don't forget your passport!
C) say your goodbyes and leave!

Never before I felt like I really needed to leave a place so urgently, Dresden and esp. my appartment, I'm so done with you!
Also never before I felt I'm leaving so many great friends behind, just bringing their faces to my mind brings tears back to my eyes. I must be the luckiest person alive! It means so much and I'm not taking it for granted to have people in my life who care about me.
When I thought about writing a letter to my former flatmate and telling him what a dick he has been treating us disrespectfully, I realized I don't need that anger anymore. Somehow all these beautiful moments with friends, cooking dinner, going climbing, drinking coffee and going for walks (read: slacking off), it all paid for the worse parts of my days!

Here we go then, same old new me, who will:
Complain less, eat better and worry no more!
Just kidding, how could I not eat sweets?!

So my joyful, sad and excited self will fly to Montreal, CA, on Sunday and see the city for 3 days. Then I'll take the bus to Essex, VT (USA), and see Bhava for a week, which will be simply awesome! After that short detour, I'll continue to my actual destination: Mexico!
Arriba! :)

So goodbye Dresden, my heart is heavy leaving all my dear friends and not seeing Maik for a month! I'll think of you often and remember the stupid things we said!
No I gotta go, my bullshit-barometer has reached it's sentimental high, besides I object crying in trains.
Sniff.

Love,
Lia