Days Thirty through Thirty Six - Finishing up

Hey, I've been catching back up to life in the US of A, 

but I'd like to finish this off solidly.

So let's jump back into it.

Whether or not you read this, I don't care.
Writing this for me now.

Okay, Saturday. Slept in super late, then chilled with R and my brother until about midday (which for us is like six-o-clock). My brother had been playing a game called Antichamber, which to him was entirely mind-boggling. This of course meant that he insisted I play it, which I did. I hope my mind grasped it pretty well. Then my sis came in and commanded us to come to Keinstress with her, which I was interested in since before the trip. So we headed out, in the car with my german mom and Ca, through some gorgeous country roads to an isolated campground, which was filled with the booms of 90bpm trap. My kind of crowd. We made our way through the scent of pot, smoke, maze of graffiti-ed metal to a campsite int he back of the festival (super small compared to the last, only 600 or so people). Here lounged the various youthful residents of Lebensgarten, roasting bread and cheese, and I was introduced to the few remaining member I had not yet met. Apparently, this festival actually originated in Lebensgarten, so it's no surprise they were among the attendees. I talked with El, then accepted some strangely cooked cheese from T, and then we headed out to hear the finals of the freestyle battles. It probably would've been a lot more impressive if I understood what they were saying... but in any case, I understood the game. Eight guys dueled off at random, picked from a hat by a crowd member. Sometimes small prizes were offered, and one guy in the back continued cooking pudding throughout the matches. Then, the finals, where the final four paired up in teams, and went two on two, for a two full extended rounds. Their flow was good, and, judging from the reactions of the crowd and the vague translations my sister provided, so were their attacks. Eventually two held the trophy, and a bowl of pudding, and we headed off to a small dance floor. We jived with the slow-tempoed rhythms for a little while, and then off again, back to the campsite. We opted to go for a walk with T, after checking for our stuff, and denying his offer to bring us to the forest hot tub, which was supposed to be pretty cool. We danced a little more, and saw some rap performances, and then it was the walk, out of the locale and onto the moonlit street. After a little while, we flagged down our ride, and headed home. Life was good.

The next day brought with it a new appreciation for my surroundings. First, we walked in a large group down onto the main road, skipping over to T's house to pop in and ask if he'd join us for cake at the local cafe. Then we walked down the dirt, tree-enclosed path that led to the main building. Or so I thought. These paths were usually ringed with seemingly impenetrable bushes, so I was mildly disconcerted when my german mother stepped into one. That was, until I followed them, and realized that hidden in the greenery was a spacious enclave, complete with tables and chairs and a flowering tree. We went into the side of the adjoining buildings wall, and there was an adorable little cafe, with the most stunning spread of cakes and tarts, all made fresh (some even made by T's brother, as I learned later). We sat in one of the benches outside, and I watched the leaves part as more villagers joined us. It was peaceful, and beautiful, and all those things you want in your backyard (minus the lawn, mostly dirt ground).
We returned to the house, just in time to grab our fancier clothing and drive off near Neinberg for a classical concert. I was intrigued, but I can't say particularly excited. That was, until I saw the interior of the stone chapel the performance was going to occur in. Arching pillars and ceiling that stretched up to the sky. Rainbows thrown by tinted glass mosaics as walls. I'm not religious, but I appreciate the beauty held in belief, and this was one I enjoyed immensely. We filed into nearly the back row, as the choir+orchestra prepared to create a modern rendition of several of Bach's works. I was hushed by my sister, and then they began, voices ringing about the church as I leaned back and let it sink in. Several soloists graced the front row, backed up by a string section and a squadron of voices, and they were brilliant. Churches echo like an empty train tunnel, and so classical music was made to accommodate this. To put it in short, it was made for playing in these spaces, and it was another experience entirely. At one point the lead (a low tenor (or something) as was explained by R) began changing pitches with in causal succession, and I realized he was harmonizing, but not with the orchestra. No, he was making chords with the reverberations from the walls. Dude was singing a duet with himself. I mean, dude. We left with my german mom crying at the stark music of it, and we went to get icecream at a temporary transparent inflatable dome cafe (actual icecream this time, cones and whatnot). We saw several of the singers afterward, several of which were nearly unrecognizable. Then home, and eventually sleep. And that was Sunday.

Monday was the day we were supposed to head into Bremen. Only, my brother woke up early, and as I rolled over to face the stabbing morning light, he returned, casually shaking his head and saying 'Just go back to sleep'. I complied with enthusiasm. Later, we woke up, and I decided that it was going to be a productive day. I worked on the business cards, did a little website design, made a massive number of blog posts, and danced about a bit. Also, I just got to do some solid hanging out with my favorite brother. It was a peaceful day.
Oh I also went to this local food co-op that day, where my german mother perused a variety of organic goods, including chocolate, jams, and peas, plus the whole rest of the large room. I inspected the various German labels, trying to soak in the some of the foods (I think it worked (I can read German ingredient labels now...)). The co-op was called Ledi, a combo of Le (shortened word for food) and Di (same for co-op). Exciting, I know. But they made some good puns on the walls ('My fair Ledi', 'Ledi's first', you know). It was cool. and there was the freestore again, where R found a cute wool sweater and kept it.

Tuesday was probably when it started to hit me that this evanescent state in Europe wasn't going to exist perpetually. I woke up with a bit of start, and much earlier than usual. But my brother and I had made plans for the day, which involved an 'early' start (10 or something). So we printed out a folder of papers, then headed out onto the main road, me with the foldr and my bro with his backpack of camera equipment. We turned off the road after we'd gone some ways, and stepped up into the forest. There is no poison oak, or sumac, or ivy, so you could walk barefoot through the forest with no worries except for the rare nettles. And the pokier pinecones, I suppose. But my brother showed me his sit spot, far in the trees, where nothing was around for half a mile except for the forest. We reached a tree, and fiddled around a bit as I tried to hang the folder on one of the branches. Then the camera was rolling, and I recited poetry into the forest. Recorded by my brother, I did a variety of pieces I'd been working on since the last time I'd been with him (in america). Then came the rap, where I strode along the path, yelling out my lines into the silent forest as loudly as possible, for the camera had terrible audio adjustment. Last was a piece I'd actually written while in Europe, where I tried to capture the feeling of being here. I think it turned out well, and my brother agreed, saying 'that feeling your putting in here, it only gets stronger the more you're here'. I tended to agree. I laid in the grass for a while, and let my cameraman take some artsy shots. He'll be editing them soon, and you guys'll probably get to see them (only if you want (duh)). Then we walked back to the house, and switched into swimsuits, so as to run about in the sprinklers. Which we did, playing tag and spluttering at the water. My brother grabbed the hose, and then my sister, and I wrestled it away from them, lauging and diving and rolling to avoid the spray. Which I utterly failed at. Then Te and El joined us up on the deck, and we washed off. We chilled that night, out on the deck with friends and a fire and fabulous smores. It was childlike, and enthralling, and enchanting.

Wednesday. The last day. I wasn't prepared for that feeling. We decided to head into Neinberg, to buy souvenirs and get pictures of my siblings for passport updates. We headed into electronics stores, and then did a secret thing, and got pictures, and got some special bread for dinner. I bought my female warden some special tea found semi-exclusively in Germany. Miss NYC would receive a small journal, which my german sis and I had plans for. For my male warden, I got a packet of gummy frogs. Then we went home, only to head out to an ALDI supermarket, which was pretty intensely low priced. You know, Walmart tried to make it in Europe once, but was beaten out by the undercutting of ALDI, and similar chains. It's ridiculous. I bought a stack of variety chocolate bars for everyone back home, and packet of Jaffa Cakes for my best friend. At home that night, I finally got to spend some quality time with my german father. I showed him the variety of projects I'd been working on over the past three years (he hasn't come back to america after leaving three years ago). He and I discussed the future, and I still feel empowered by what he said to me. We affirmed that we'd keep in contact, hugged, and then I returned to my brothers room, where R, my sis, Te and my bro were all hanging out, my brother and Te trading off controls in Surgeon Simulator. As the night wore, on, my sister went to bed, and then R went to pack, and Te left. I was finished packing, and we were going to be getting up at six the next morning to leave, but R returned with a heavily overweight bag, and I moved some of her stuff into mine. Her art stuff required packing that went until 3 am, after which I slept briefly until dawn.

Thursday was travel day. I ate Amaranth that morning, which was a first, for sure. Then I grabbed my bags, said goodbye to everyone not coming to airport. Leaving my brother and german father was certainly the hardest. We hugged each other tightly. I came into the airport with my sister, german mom, Ca, and R, the last two who were both leaving an hour after me. I checked in, then cuddled with my sister, in a slow goodbye. Whenever we're with each other, it's as if no time has passed at all, and with this in mind, I was able to keep our parting from being too hard. My german mom I would be seeing in a week, she was coming to Cali soon enough. Then I went through security, only to be turned around and told I had to empty a water bottle. I did, after asking two security guards where a trash can were, and then having to have a janitor loosen the top for me. So that happened. Curse my teenage arms. Nah, they're pretty sweet. Anyways. The first flight passed quickly, and I spent the time conversing with a young man from Kansas about women and relationships and such. I actually got his contact details, which was sweet, and I'm sure we'll keep in touch. Then I was dropped off at Zurich international, and I thought my flight had been changed, so I headed straight for the terminal instead of taking the two hour delay. I also wandered into the VIP line at one point, which made for a very confusing explanation as to where I was supposed to be. Turns out there was a two hour delay anyways. Hmm. Then I was on the next flight, next to a Swiss woman who taught Humanities near SF. We chatted for a bit, I watched the Hobbit, they served two very oily meals, and then I got to work writing in NYC girls journal, detailing my experiences in Europe as if I were a squire, striving to be a knight. She was the princess I returned to, granting the journal as a dragon scale, from the foe I'd slain. And at the very end, I put 'The rest of that story is hers...'. We arrived, went through customs (they had a fingerprint scanner, but I was like the only one who didn't get scanned). I knew the warden wouldn't be at the terminal immediately, but I didn't know where to go to meet them. eventually I decided on waiting for the car. And y cellmate/NYC girl came out to hug me, my female warden in tow. One of the strangest feelings on the drive back was the moment when I realized I could read the signs again. You just learn to ignore them, but suddenly: 'The Journey of the Blue Whale...hmm. Wait. Mom! I can read that!'. You get the idea.

I met my male warden sometime later, and they immediately declared my sentence over. My mom and dad, and my sister were overjoyed to see me, plus the candy I'd brought with me back.

I suppose I should give a brief summary of how I've changed now. And that's going to to be difficult. There have been a lot of firsts on this trip. First time traveling alone. First time traveling outside of America (not counting Mexico and Canada). First time living without my parents. First time using an ATM. First time being dragged along the beach by a random kite. First time being totally naked in front of my friends. There's plenty more, I'm sure. I've seen much more than I can ever express with words, and I'm okay with that. Sometimes the experiences you have are very personal.
I've learned a bit too. I've learned that the is indeed life outside of CA. I've learned that I love travel, even the tough parts. I've learned to trust myself to know what to do. I guess I've learned a bit of independence too. I've learned that those bikes actually do have brakes. I've learned that saunas can be hot. Big whup.

I've been home for just about two weeks now, and things have changed. There's something in the way I look, or the way I perceive myself looking. I'm not sure what it is. Nothing's different, and yet a lot has been altered. I know now that the world is smaller than it seems. And that makes me want to see it. It also makes me want to change it. for the better, I hope. And maybe I'm just young and naive enough to believe that I can.

From this trip, and my life up to right about now, I've learned that things can push you beyond anything you were ever comfortable with, and if you've got an open mind, a willing heart, and a wacky grin, you can do just about anything.

I'm 17, Caucasian, male, and whatever else you're supposed to fill in on those application forms.

The name's Noah.
And this is me, signing off.

Except for pics. I'll probably post those.

Days Twenty Five through Twenty Nine - R!

Alright, so Tuesday, right after Ording was finished. We were pretty wiped, and in my brothers room, I guess I decided that today was going to be a productive day. Something about the waking up at 1:30 must've invigorated my spirits, because we decided to design me a business card. This took a minimum of six hours, naturally, during which we went through three or four different models, each printed with difficulty, examined, and scrapped until we found something appropriately ridiculous. My brother loved the latest design, a thing of his own personal invention. This was, naturally, to become an issue in only twenty-four hours time. S came over, and finding us having spent the entire day inside, promptly dragged our sorry butts into the bright sunshine and told us to do something outdoorsy. Our response? "Let's dig a firepit". So we did, with shovels and the whole lot, right where this old sandpit was. This particular square meter of fine rock was far too small for it's supposed purpose of entertaining children, who, presumably, must've been the size of my right pinkie to have enjoyed it. Digging it up, however, revealed prelaid bricks underneath, which, once we emptied the middle section of dirt and a weird plastic cover, made a near-perfect fireplace. Right in our own backyard. What in the world. Anyways, this immediately called for sleeping outside, with a tent, and chairs, and a bonfire. So, when it grew dark (which was about eleven, that still screws with me), we headed out and did exactly that. Eventually my brother and S retired to the tent, while my sis and I headed for our own, less bug-ridden beds.

The next day was very exciting for just about everyone except me. This meant early wake-ups, people running out the door by seven (spooky!), and driving over to Neinberg to pick up R from the train station, and file some passport stuff, so that my female sibling could make her escape to India shortly after my leaving. Naturally, I slept in until about the same time as yesterday, which meant that my waking up had less to do with any light indicator, and more with the sounds of R and my brother making breakfast. I headed out, greeting R (my brothers best friend), and sitting down to hear of her exploits in France, where she stayed in a castle and visited museums as part of her art education (she wants to become a cartoonist, which is pretty sweet, and so I offered to do her website). The next part of this introduction was showing her the products of the previous day, the business cards. These she immediately vetoed, much to the dissatisfaction of my brother and the amusement of me. In her words: "Look, fades are so two-thousand. It looks amateurish". Before we could start on an alternate design, however, we headed off to go on a walk with S. We met up with her parents at there house, stayed for lunch dessert, and then headed into the woods, where R and i caught up on lives, and my brother and S chatted about who knows what. We reached a lookout point, saw the view, and came on home, just i time for me to start working on the cards again. Sleep came sometime after, after another fire, and my sister and I camped out in the tent this time.

Thursday. I worked on the cards, did some website stuff. We had people over. Chilled. Went to check out the local food coop, which was filled to the brim with supposedly delicious, very expensive, totally German titled food. It was actually pretty sweet. Went on a walk with R, where we found a lookout for a nest, with a solitary puzzle piece on it's floor. The plot thickened, then broke the stirring spoon. We presumed that we'd wandered into the lair of a Frog King, and would have to pay penance for some unutterable deed we'd unknowingly committed.
We had another fire.

Friday was quiet, which was nice. My brother went sailing with my German dad, and they came back windswept and exalted. My sister and I went for a walk until late at night, and stepped into the bushes to let a particularly slow car roll by. She made a comment to the effect of  "Either they're learning to drive, or a very specific act is taking place in that car". Then we sat on the line in the middle of the road, watched the stars, and chatted. It was a good time.

Final Day (not just yet!)

Hey, so, despite what my current day count says, this is the day I leave.
As you can see, I'm a little behind.
I'm hopping on the flight now, and I'll see you in 29 hours for me, and just about 17 for you.
Going into complete radio silence. All communications are now off.
I'll keep you posted.
Wish me luck.

I won't need it.

Day Twenty Three & Twenty Four - St. Peter Ording Pt. 2

Aright, so we got up pretty late. All of us except for my brother, who decided he needed to hit the waves at the insane hour of 8:30. Crazy, right? Us sane people got up late, and S didn't have to work until 7, so she got to come with us to the beach. And now we had two bikes. This naturally meant that D and I (not a nickname, actually me) had to pilot these granny bicycles, with my sis and S on the back.
The bikes in Europe have an interesting feature, which will become important in a moment. This feature is that they have no back wheel brake. Well, not for your hands, anyway. Instead, upon pedaling backwards a short bit, the brake kicks in, and I lurch forward. So, I was trying to avoid using this little feature. The back wheel was also flat. S was an old hat at this though, running a side and hopping on, and managing to maintain her balance amongst my swerving. I was actually doing quite well until we headed down this hill. D was ahead, and was slowing himself, but I basically had no safe break.
Upon realizing this, I suppose I must have let out some sort of garbled jungle call as I swerved around D, and off the path.
Signposts, dude.
They're like ninjas, jumping out of the bushes, and right in front of your bike, so you take a full frontal into them, and S flips off the back. There I am, standing, having had the barest sense to take the blow with my shoulder instead of my face, and then S just starts laughing. Lying on her back, our bags strewn about her, and she's guffawing.
I sort of chuckled myself. We sort of remounted and got back on track, and I finally learned that the back break depends on the pedaling force, which might have been nice to know before I made like Tarzan into an urban tree.
Anyways. We hit the beach soon after (too soon man), with S dismounting prior to the next, larger slope. My brother had retuned from his little excursion, having gotten another kite from a company called Slingshot, an appropriate name for what happened next. It was a windy day, and they gave my bro a 'larger' kite (14m) and a board. He went out to the water, and was maybe out there for, say, 15 minutes. Then a gust of wind took the kite, and him, out from the water. It then proceeded to drag him the next 200 meters along the beach, headfirst, his face literally digging in the sand as he tried to depower his kite.
Needless to say, it was mildly discouraging. He does take a lot of pride though, in saying that he did not once crash the kite. I just sort of chuckled to myself.
It truly was a day for mishap.
Instead of continuing with kite-watching, we headed for the seaside cafe, where we grabbed some gigantic cake and hot chocolate, and sat on the deck swapping stories. It was exquisite. We then got a trainer kite, and we all got to fly it about, doing figure eights in the sky and me very nearly missing a group of onlookers as I crashed the kite into the ground. It would drag you off your feet at times, with you stumbling to keep control. Great fun. Heading back into the city, it was now time for another first.
The European Sauna.
We first ate fish sandwiches at a street vendor, then went into the facility. I got a magnetic wristband, which allowed me to unlock and lock my locker by passing over it. Which is pretty sweet. Then we got changed, and headed into the first room: The wave pool. There was no chlorine in any of these, just salt for purification, completing the beach scene with a salty taste in my mouth as my brother and I jumped into the waves pushing across the pool surface. They carried us about, and we splashed around a bit before heading to the water slide.
Access to this monstrosity required an ascent up three stories of spiral, metal staircase. The tube itself twisted and spiraled downwards, and the water looked pretty fast. The collection of seven-year-olds lining up the stairs to enter also gave off an ominous look. D and my sis went first, together, and then it was me. The green light above the entrance flicked on, and I shoved off, sliding on my butt, and it was a little slower than I predicted. And I rounded the first bend. And then I stopped. In darkness. And I knew the green light would flick on in about 30 more seconds, so I scooted my butt along the tube as fast as I could, hurriedly shuffling my way down the tube, around the bend, into a waterfall, and towards the exit. Just as I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, I turned to see D riding down, going 'Noah? What the-?'. Then he slammed into me, and the two of us slid out onto the pool.
Apparently you're supposed to ride on your heels and elbows.
Who knew.
We went on to a couple other pools, and then it was on to the sauna. We went through two turn stiles, and then suddenly everyone was stripping to their skivvies. I followed birthday suit, and then we walked, towels wrapped to the main sauna, where the big event was about to start. You walk into a room full of old people, all naked and sweaty, and your friends are relieving themselves of their towels and sitting, and you start to question your entire basis of being here. You really do.
But I sat, and a dude came in, poured a peppermint mixture on the heated rocks in the middle of the room, waved his towel around to thoroughly douse us in burny mint, and started on the next, hotter concoction. We stayed for the full three rounds, after which I was pretty sure every pore on my body had drowned. Then the shower, and D and I strode into an ice pool. Another, calmer sauna, some chilling, another round on intense stuff (a citrus 'vitamin' mix this time), ice waterfall, chilling, intense (pure heat this time), and then we hung out on lounge chairs, watching the dunes far off and chatting. We left soon after, and went home to make pizza, S and I doing much better on the bike. We ate well, and watched Moonrise Kingdom (absolutely weird and adorable in equal measure). Then it was off to bed.

We woke up late the next morning, and got the apartment cleaned up. It was D and S's last time being there, as they'd be selling the place soon enough, and they said their goodbyes. We got the bags down to the car, wheeled the bikes into a storage area in the basement (nicely creepy, by the way), and then headed out. We dropped D off at his apartment, and then headed home. Nothing much else to say. We chilled, ate dinner, and were off to bed pretty quickly.

Day Twenty One and Twenty Two - St. Peter Ording, Pt. 1

This was the routine. We were up, my clothes dropped into the laundry, me plonked in the shower, washing up, eating up, cleaning up, getting up to go and then sitting. A fair bit of sitting. After the first hour we were in Bremen, where D was waiting to be picked from his apartment. S, my siblings and I greeted him, saw his Rubix's cube collection and 3D printer, and then left the sweet little flat.

For reference, I should probably include a piece that I've sorely forgotten, 3D printers. Now, my brother has been teaching snowboarding in Austria for the past season; that's why we went down to see him. The reason why he came back up to Steyerberg is because he's now focused on settling down in his parents basement again, and in doing so constructing a mad scientists laboratory. No really. Instead of finding an industry job, he intends to use a large 3D printer and laser cutter to build projects of varying difficulty, ranging from a new speaker system to his own personal SWARM army. Don't ask. Anyways, he and D have definitely hit it off the charts on the nerdy scale, because D's thesis is on efficient structural modeling for such printing thingamajigs. D may or may not be helping, that's up in the air, but I've been aiding my bro in rewriting his proposal and designing a program structure. He is very excited, and after having travelled to the US, New Zealand, Austria, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, India, and Fiji, it seems like he's finally ready to settle down. Which is fifteen levels of fabulous for him, let me tell you.  He'll also be starting a webcast called 'Guys in Bathrobes' (or LabJunkies), where he'll talk about the cool things he's crafting. In any case, we've been looking up all sorts of crazy 3D models to print in his lab, including this.
So that's been fun.

While I'm on a role, and invisibly getting groceries with the gang (plus chocolate from right next to the factory), I'm going to get started on my sister. She arrived back in Germany about a week before I did, and she's returning a day after I leave. To where, you ask? India. This is actually why my bro was there, he decided to surprise her by flying halfway around the world to the steps of her high school, where she attends class with kids from local regions, Europe, and the good ol' U S of A. As I've been prancing about the green-as-a-leprachauns-cap-my-god fields of Europe, My sister had been investigating various places of learning for her eventual venturing into the 'real world' (I've heard some say it even exists. Spooky). So yeah, she's been a bundle of indecision about where to go, but she's figuring it out. She wants to do philosophy, or writing, or something. She'll be returning to India pretty soon, and she's already missing all of us, the ones right in front of her.

Now that we've passed the next two hour drive, we can get to St. Peter Ording, where the International Kitesurfing World Cup was to be held. We pulled into a parking lot, in front of a high-rising apartment complex, and unloaded our stuff. Then the elevator, up to the 11th floor. Then into the roomy home that D and S inherited from their late grandfather, complete with trinkets and pictures and little wooden things coming out of everywhere. Each with their own little story, few of which S did eventually tell us.
I got the little girls room again. Lucky me (this actually turned out to be useful). My brother and S left to find an internet cafe (no connection, otherwise I might actually be up to date (hahahaha no)), and D, my sis and I went for a walk. We found a winding path into the forest, and followed it to a dead end, which was probably the local teenage 'fun' spot. We came back to the apartment, and started on dinner, just as S and my bro returned. Pasta was on the menu, with a red pesto. We watched Life of Pi (brilliant movie, by the way), and then were off to bed.

Up the next morning, I rolled about in bed before realizing everyone else was already up. Luckily for me, I was the only one in the house with a door to my room; everyone else had woken each other up. S had to work, and had already left to get in a couple of hours at a hotel, where she could get the wifi password for a flirtatious smile. My brother and I went about locating a leak on his 12 meter Cabrinha Crossbow kite. Of course, upon filling the tube to max pressure, we lifted it up to hear a sound like a gunshot dipped in water. The inner tube had ripped. The 100 euro tube, and my brother is broke. So no kiting for us. We headed out to the town, and tried to rent two more bikes (D and S had two, and my bro had his skateboard), but they were all being used, at both stores we went to. We found S, and then headed to an Italian place for lunch. Then it was out to the beach, to watch guys being swept around around by current both in the air and the water. We played with some Rubix's cubes with cold hands, and my brother's smooth talking got him testing out a 14m kite on the sand. We headed back when we were chilled and tired, but with the one bike, my brothers skateboard, and four of us (S had returned for more work time), there was only one option for return. We wouldn't walk. Oh no. We had to get D on the bike. And then have my sis on the back. And then use a kite strap to pull along a skateboard. Which my brother sat on. With me behind him. Clutching on for dear sweet windy life. So, our little caravan lurched along for a little bit, swerved, crashed, tried again, crashed, rearranged, crashed, retried and crashed after we got some good distance. We opted to separate the two parts, with D and my sis riding on the bike, and me walking with a harness attached to me, pulling my brother. Curious onlookers were met with "oh, sorry, just walking my human," and "it's okay, he doesn't bite. usually." We switched a couple of times, but got back to the apartment without trouble. We made pizza, and, although this was the night to party, we opted out, instead chilling and chatting. Then bed.

Days Seventeen through Twenty - This Is Me Sprinting to Catch Up

The next couple of days all sort of blend into one another, so I'll just give you an over view, plus highlights.
Sound good?
Good. No, you don't get to speak.
Shush.
Anyways.

My brothers birthday was a Saturday, so the next day was monday. It was slow, creaky, warm and cozy, normal stuff for a morning. Li, El, Aa, and T came over, to chat and sit on the new deck and int he hammocks. My sister begged Li into teaching her some songs on the guitar, and he complied. El and Aa left at some point, and D joined us. I wrote a bit, and talked a bit, and we ended up laying sprawled out on the grass lawn. We played badminton, eventually with all of us shirtless (except for my sis, of course). Then came handstands, and iced tea, and we played hacky-sack, T's new favorite game. They were shooed away, and we had dinner quickly enough. That evening we went down to the community center, where S showed me the clothing room, where people leave old things and others can take them, like a free library for everything. We met up with Ti, Aa, Ka, and El, and played another round of vikings chess, this time on the brick instead of the grass. We slaughtered them, and cheered with fists in the air. Then Ti wheeled out a barrel, and people gathered scrap wood to make a fire with. They dumped it into the barrel, I lit it up, and they pulled over some benches. We chilled like that until late.

Tuesday was the lake. We left pretty early, grabbing swimsuits and piling into the car, the whole fam. There was a red mushroom-shaped shop for stuff, and a playground, which they called a youth hostel, but I didn't believe. We found a small beach near the water, and I read some of my book to my sister while she tanned. We went out on the docks, out over the water, and after reading some more, we decided to jump in. So I went back, got suited up, returned, and we tried to get my German mother to take a picture as we jumped, but she failed. The water was...watery. That was descriptive as monkeys. It was't too cold, and very shallow, but the ground was mossy and creepily squishy, so my sis and I clambered back for the dock. I got up, but she couldn't, so i jumped back in, and she swam the long distance to shore. We got icecream (lemon buttermilk is not as good as you might think), and eventually headed home.

Wednesday was slippery in a timey-sense. I mean, the hours kind of flew by. I guess D left that morning, or the previous night, for Bremen. I swung in my hammock, and read to my sis while she molded clay into incense holder heads and celtic knots. We watched some Lie to Me. It was chill. We had some variation of mexican food, as was the weird case ever since I'd arrived. Every night there was something mexican, even though they rarely had it in general, and Germany had terrible south american cuisine.

Thursday was when my brother had planned to take me to Nienburg, only I heard him slink back into my room late that morning with a whisper of 'screw it. just go back to sleep', to which I gladly obeyed. My german mother's friends were picked up early that day, having just arrived from Berlin. They were Tor and Nat, very spiritual people. I got a comment from Tor that I was the quietest person he'd ever met, replacing his son in that spot. I thought that was pretty chill.

At some point that night, I sent word to the wardens that I was living the free life over here, and even my cellmate had decided that her little jaunt to New York was finished. She got a tour of the premises, and was eventually displayed on the wall of my brothers room, where we now slept. She laughed while we put on virtual silly hats and danced about. All was well.

We would leave for St. Peter Ording the next day.

Day Sixteen - The Birthdays of Brothers

Alright, so, the birthday. My brother's 21st birthday, to be exact. I woke up late, having rolled over in bed and barely avoided the flies and midday heat that plagued our bedroom. I strolled out, wishing my bro an awesome 21st, and getting ready for the day. It was a slow morning, with me thanking the only-German speaking Om, who made me an extremely German breakfast, including meat, cheese, bread, more meat, and radishes. My brother got similar fare, and then it was time to open presents.
Now, this was strange for me, because on my birthdays, I get one present to open before school, and then the rest after dinner, but seeing everyone around with shining faces, I quite liked it. There were orange candies, incense, and playing cards adorned with chinese babes (from his sis). Then a fire maker, the heat from which could charge a usb device. It was ballin in so many ways, I assure you.
I sat down to write a blog post, and El came over, introducing herself to me. Once she left, my siblings erected a badminton net, and we played a few rounds with nearly broken rackets. At one point, D swung his especially hard, and the top section bent at a right angle. So that was fun.
Then we set up the hammock and chair in the newly set up trellis over the deck. Each time I'd returned from a little trip, another section of their quickly evolving porch would appear. It grew along the side of the house, spreading outwards, then suddenly formed walls and trellises. And then earlier that day, the big German worker constructing the thing single-handedly lifted the huge beams that would support the roof and hammock. We rolled about in them for a while, my German mother, complaining, as usual, that they weren't all aligned properly. I wrote for a little longer, and T came over, joining our badminton sessions. We played Bocci ball, and I swear D won more round than the rest of us combined, resulting in an all-vs-D sort of play. It was all great fun.
Then came 4 o'clock, which was pretty early for me, considering my wakeup times had been 10am-1m most days, and my German mom started fussing over every little detail of the b-day dinner. We played some more, with sultry jazz playing in the background, and then guests just started appearing. There was Mar and De, Mad, Dar, D and S, Ca, Om, G-mum and dad and sis and bro, and me. And we had a wonderful evening. There were drinks, first, of course, which, because my brother was not allowing alcohol at this event, was some ayurvedic virgin champagne. This may sound really weird, and it was, but it grew on me. We had more games, and taco bowl dinner, and my bro and D showed off the fire thingie, making espresso with the heat of the 'smokeless' fire and charging my sisters new tablet (she was enthralled with the device, as it was her first (something)). I played a game of badminton with various people and we laughed together, the language barrier overcome by gestures and smiles. There was singing and cake cake, strawberry and awesome, but we opted to chill with the fire, just D and my bro and sis and me.
Later that night, once most people left, and after we'd played vikings chess (it started here, I guess!) we went off to El's for a second party, with my bro and S promising to be shortly behind. Now El's party did have drinks, and joint sand the like, all around a campfire in the backyard. It was my first time actually walking around Lebensgarden (where they live), so it was a shame it was in the dark. The party was filled with people with forgettable names, who all knew him through her and stayed along for the ride. D and my sis didn't even know some of the attendees, but they gathered with others to chill and talk. My brother was eventually dragged over with S by my sis and D, as Ka had made him a naked lady cake. This was a tradition, apparently, for Lebensgarden baked goods. Clitoris cupcakes, penis cakes, doughy butt cheeks with a candy g-strap, and two marzipan figures screwing on a cake for a birthday were a few of the delicacies from the past. So this was actually fairly blaise. Oh, yeah, I met Ka, the mother, and Li, the guitar man, and Aa, the...dude, I guess. I chose to go with apple juice, feeling very manly amongst all this beer and wine. I met some very excited German guys, all of whom were happy to use me as their 'English practice dummy'. And that was all sorts of entertaining. let me tell you. Li looked oddly pale at one point in the night, and, seemingly in response to my question of 'hey, are you all right?', fainted and collapsed first onto a shelf, and then the floor. We steadied him, and I went out to sit on the couch outside, and chat with D about anime. My sis came over, and eventually we headed home. It was a day to remember, for sure.