|
|
7:53 p.m. - July 11, 2002 Anyway, I went over there, and Anna (the host mom) said something to the effect of how she didn't buy my a farewell gift yet, because she didn't know what to get me, so she was going to take me to the city and have me pick out something. Toni (I guess that's how they spell "Tony" in Germany) was being his usual, obnoxious self; for a 70 year old man, he's pretty darned obnoxious. Anyway, they still make a big deal of me being Chinese. Oh well. At least my friends here in Germany don't make that big of a deal, but I had to live with Anna and Toni for a month, and it got really, really old. Also, Toni said something to the effect of, "You haven't lost any weight!" Hmm. I'm not fat; I'm just perfect for my build. I could stand to lose several pounds, but I'm really around my natural weight. Seriously. For some reason, that annoyed me. Sure, in Regensburg, I lost a ton of weight because I didn't eat as much and walked everywhere, which is healthy. But Munich is much larger, so I take the subway where I need to go. I hate it when people sort of insinuate that I need to lose weight when I needn't to, and if I'm happy with my weight, then why must I look like all the skinny girls in magazines? I mean, if you think about it, people said Renee Zwellinger was "fat" in Bridget Jones' Diary, but I thought she looked perfectly normal, and I saw her in an interview for some other movie a year later, and she was so skinny it was scary. Anyway. Toni gave me an American silver dollar from 1922 and warned me not to pay anyone with it, because it obviously costs more than a dollar. Of course. And Anna took me to the city and wanted to buy me a pendant and something Boarisch (Bavarian). So we looked at jewelry--unlike some girls out there, I'd rather watch paint peel than look at jewelry (so guys looking for a girl that's not going to demand diamond baubles, you may want to consider me). I did manage to pick out a simple, plain pendant that cost 15 Euros--I hate spending other people's money, especially since I don't know how much money they actually have. After that, Anna wanted to look for a Bavarian gift for me, and we found this incredibly cheesy alarm clock with this picture of King Ludwig II, and when the alarm goes off, the doors open and there's a mini oompah-pah band inside, playing Bavarian music. I laughed so hard when the saleslady showed it to me--Anna specifically told her that she wanted to get something Bavarian for me, so the lady pulled out an apron, an ugly tablecloth, a pillow, and this clock. I am so strange, but that's part of the fun of being me. I love strange things. Well, what I'm going to do with this clock, I don't know... I was originally thinking that I'd spend maybe two or three hours with my host family, but I ended up with Anna for at least six hours. At least Toni didn't tag along in the city; he hates the city. I wouldn't be able to stand it if he had been with us. I'm so tired. Tomorrow I need to close out my bank account, mail the last two packages. If I am awake tomorrow, I'd like to try and see Lehnbachhaus, which is a museum that has lots of paintings, including those by the Blaue Reiter group (Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, etc.) Maybe I can even see a movie at night...I also have to clean my room and wash my curtains and a blanket I'm giving away...that sort of thing. I hate moving out. It really is horrendous. Tonight I'm meeting a friend of mine; our Abschieds get-together (Abschieds...I guess it would be "farewell") and we're going to Tollwood, which is sort of fun, like an outdoor festival/new-agey thing, to talk and maybe get a beer. I've to give her some of my books. But I think Emily will cry when she sees just how many books I'm leaving with her. And now, to continue the host family thing--from 3 February 2002: "Anyway, I also saw my host family a few weeks ago -- did not write about it, should have. Anyway I brought that plate, cloisoinne, from TJMaxx, but it was made in China, so they made a big deal out of it. Then my host dad asks if I know how it was made, so I said No, and then he disappears from the kitchen and I'm left talking with my host mom, and then about 10 minutes later, he calls us into the living room and I go in, and he's got a Kinowand set up, as well as a slide projector, so I got to see five reels of their slideshow of their trip to China. Augh. 'Twas boring. And I found out that I was originally supposed to be staying with their son's family."
|