What about it?

A modern "Mona Lisa"

Life is settling down here. Germany feels super comfortable now -- I feel as if I've been doing this my whole life. That isn't to say that I haven't been busy, though. Homework and wanders are abundant nowadays, and I've been spending more and more time with my host family (hence the lack of blogging). I took Marla with Phillip, Emily, and I to the English Gardens one afternoon. This naturally entailed a lot of shenanigans.

Life's all about balance...

lurkin'...

and seizing the moment.

This afternoon, we went to the Olchinger See, and what an adventure it was! After crossing the main road outside our neighborhood, our trek lead us to a train bridge. The flooded path and stream ran under with only about a 4 ft. clearance. I had such fun sloshing through the freezing water, weighed down by my backpack, hunched over to accommodate the bridge and lugging a bike along too. After about 10 more minutes, we arrived at Bodega Olching See, which reminded me greatly of a campground. In the middle lies a large lake, perhaps 1 mile in diameter, and multiple retirees and families were peppered along its perimeter. Unfortunately, no pictures today...

Germany is way more lax about, well, everything. At the Olchinger See, numerous young children of both genders were running around completely naked. Okay, this is not super unusual in the US, but there were considerably more than I normally see back home. In addition, there were a few women who were completely topless, but I knew to expect this. The thing with which I was especially amazed, though, was how relaxed everyone seemed in their swimsuits. The people there by no means worked out seven days per week, but they weren't obese either. If you observe closely enough around American watering holes, you notice that yankees tend to be more conscious about their physical bodies. This may be conveyed through unabashedly flaunting a flawless god/goddess-like being, or more likely through body language. People are tense when they wear their bathing suits in America, but at the lake today I saw absolutely no tension in the visitors. The Germans were thoroughly enjoying their time by the water.

On the nudity note, my fellow Gröbenzellian (or Groby) and I have noticed at the train station every day that there is a new set of bared breasts in advertisements on the front page of the newspapers. There was also an article on an opera which was accompanied by a thoroughly-enlarged picture from the show in which a naked actor hangs on a cross, depicting Jesus. Straight up naked. And in your face.

Two nights ago, I was watching a children's television program before the Germany/France soccer game, and was rendered speechless. This particular episode was educating its young viewers on hand gestures and their various meanings. Well, for one particular hand configuration, the narrator explained that it meant a**hole in certain countries... except they didn't bleep the word out. My jaw dropped, but host-sister Marla was unfazed. Immediately after this explanation, the narrator proceeded to detail the meaning of the middle finger -- visual included. At this point I was about keeled over on the floor, and Marla still unfazed. I told Ute about this, and she just shrugged it off. Fairly normal for the Germans... I guess the way they view it is "Yes, these things exist. What about it?"

Brilliant use for helicopter seeds, courtesy of the Germans

So, plans for the weekend: Nuremberg!

Also, briefly: Went to churches downtown. Frauenkirche was disappointing, probably because it was destroyed during WWII and I doubt there were large funds for its rebuilding. Asamkirche, though, AMAZING. It's one of those hole-in-the-wall places (literally), totally did not expect what it held inside. Elaboration coming later (?) Also, went to the 2018 Winter Olympics Announcement festival in Marienplatz, also downtown. Much sadness that Munich did not win the bid, but congrats to South Korea.

Bis bald!