The last two days have been fantastically sunny. There have been no overcast skies, no constant drizzle, no intense wind. Unlike days past, I wake up with the sun illuminating my room. But at 51° N latitude, where the sun never gets above 9 AM height, sunny days mean only one thing… IT WILL BE FREEZING COLD. After the departure of our cozy cloud blanket, temps plummeted, and left us with a nice frost Friday morning. For me, this leaves one option… take pictures. I left for school early, camera in hand, results as follows:
These are the kinds of things I get to see as I walk to school. At home, I drive everywhere. Look at what I would have missed out on.
Friday night and all day today I wore my infamous “toe-shoes”:
I have decided that these may be the best invention in shoe history since the Jesus sandal. For those of you that do not know, I have a bit of a problem when it comes to shoes. In much the same way junkies need crack, I need shoes. “But you are a guy! Certainly this can’t be true!” I hear you say. In response I can only refer you to Exodus 20:17. That having been settled, lets proceed. These shoes tend to attract a lot of strange looks, though I cannot imagine why, and despite what you think, I do not enjoy these looks. Nay! I do not enjoy them nearly as much as I enjoy catching those giving them. All it takes is a direct look in the eye, and the tiniest smile, and they know they’re busted. The best part is that in this country I don’t even speak the same language as those I bust, but they know it all the same. How joyous.
Speaking of language: I have decided that the strangest part of returning home will be understanding what is being said by those around me. I have grown accustomed to not knowing what the person next to me is talking about, or how to read street signs, or advertisements. In my room I have satellite television. 80+ channels of gibberish. Last night I watched a movie in English, and it already seemed foreign to me. Sure, those who I came with speak English, but to only be able to converse with a small group of people-THE SAME PEOPLE-everyday is strange. I tried to strike up a conversation with a girl on the bus yesterday, and she just laughed at me (which, oddly enough, didn’t seem abnormal… ). I am assuming she had no idea what I was saying, but who knows. I fear this lack of auditory interaction may be killing off the few social skills I previously possessed, though I have no way of knowing for sure. On the contrary, this conundrum has been enlightening me to the incredible possibilities of nonverbal communication. I have always had a respect for body language, particularly with good friends. There have been people in my life who, with only a look, knew exactly what I was trying to communicate. During the days of the rock ‘n roll phantasmagoria that was Not Quite 7, we communicated through eye contact, musical inflection, and body movements, making previously undiscussed musical decisions on the fly. All of this came naturally due to the impossibility of verbal communication brought on by Stix’s incessant crash cymbal use. We seem to always choose to converse verbally if the opportunity is there. Only when speaking is not an option (whether due to high decibel levels, or being in a foreign nation) do we take advantage of our silent speaking skills. Whether it be a smile on a subway, or pointing to the panini I want for lunch, sometimes we say things most effectively by saying nothing at all.
