Week zwei: feeling the distance

I've already been here for 2 weeks! Usually when I have a 2-week vacation somewhere, it seems to drag on and last as long as I want/need it to. But so far the time has just flown right by. Uncle Frank is back in town (he was away on business for the first week and a half I was here), so now I'm with the whole family!

I just got back home from my first volksmarch (this one was 10k, appx. 6.2 miles), and I think we're going on another one tomorrow. A volksmarch is a walk through a village, a chance to see the countryside and meet people. After which there is always coffee and delectable cake. Yum. And then you get a prize. I got a cheesy lighthouse tea candle holder thing. :)

Sunday and Monday were spent mostly around the house, resting and relaxing and trying to avoid getting sick.

Tuesday brought the big morning workout, and then we went down to the Toom market (German grocery store, with some other things. Kinda like a Fred Meyer). Do you know that people over here don't deem it necessary to refrigerate eggs? Odd indeed. I picked up some paints, brushes and canvasses to keep myself busy in the downtimes. 

Wednesday we went down to the scwimmbad, which was great. In the building, which had an oddly-sloping roof, there was a diving pool, a snazzy little kinder pool, a huuuge lap pool and a shallow pool, all of which were wonderfully heated. In order to get to the pools you have to walk through an individual changing room to get to a hall (where there are other changing rooms connected), then through the hall to get to the shower rooms, then through the shower rooms to get to the pool areas. Well, after we were done swimming and were walking back to the changing rooms, I managed to catch an eye-full of naked old man. I tried not to notice as I walked past but my face must've betrayed me, because my aunt pointed out I was significantly more red than I had previously been. 

Thursday, Uncle Frank got back into town. Then Aunt Sandy and I went to a thrift store where I found a few treasures, including (in excellent condition, I might add) a 1957 version of the board game Clue, all in German. Cluedo. For €3. It is seriously awesome. I also found a beautiful 15-piece tea set from Bolivia for €5. Then we drove to a cool little village with historic town center, where we wandered around and then got some coffee and cake. 

Friday I hung out by myself at home all day, finding various ways to keep myself entertained. That night we all watched a movie, Reign Over Me. It was sad, but I liked it.

I noticed that I have this constant feeling like something's missing. Much like the billboards missing from the landscape... I didn't notice until someone pointed it out for me. But in this case I realize something is missing and yet I can't figure out what it is. It feels like I left a vital part of me in Oregon; part of my brain or my heart, or an arm... It's very strange to feel as though you're torn like this. Looking at the sky, it certainly looks the same, but it definitely feels different. On some level I'm constantly aware that I'm on the other side of the earth. I didn't think I'd actually feel like I'm far away. It's interesting.