What a day what a day!

What a day I have had! The connotations of that statement all depend on the inflections and intonations of one's voice while saying it. Version #1 of this phrase, when I say it out loud, emphasizes the "day", and "what a" are in a lower pitch than the rest of the sentence. One can hear the smile and joy in my voice exclaiming it's thrill and unbelievably rockin' day I've had! On the other hand, Version #2 of this phrase emphasizes "what" and "day" and "had" and is almost proclaimed as such: What. a Day. i have HAD! and it's meaning is more along the lines of, "You will never even begin to guess how flippin' unbelievably, ridiculously wrong my day has gone". Well, right now I'm straddling the fence on which Version fits my yesterday. I'm leaning toward #1, but there is just a bit of Version #2 that I must vent about first. I just can't shake it, and the frustration has been building since... well, since I got to Germany. Normally I try not to complain on here, and I certainly try to approach my German life with "it's not good, it's not bad, it's just different" as my motto, but here goes. And to make up for it, I'll put in extra good things about Germany afterward.

Traffic flow. Come on, Germany. It really doesn't have to be so completely, infuriatingly "every man for himself". This first starting getting to me in the aisles of grocery stores. Hello, fellow shopper. Do you even see me here? Can we move through the aisles in a manner that shows we acknowledge each other's presence and respectfully share the space? No? You would rather just not even see that anyone is here except for you? Ok. Sounds nitpicky and like something that couldn't even really in real life exist to be any kind of problem, but I promise you, the traffic flow in grocery stores took some getting used to for me. Speaking of walking alongside people, don't even get me started about pedestrian traffic flow on sidewalks. Seriously, don't, because I'll never be able to stop, and this rant I'm on is already unbecoming.

Well, turns out, traffic flow is also a major problem in swimming pools. In swimming pools for lap swimming, where when you are sharing a lane with fellow humans, you swim like you would drive (unless your British or South African) and you go down on the right side of the lane, back on the left- always swimming on the "right side of the road". Pass on the left, but make sure the oncoming lane is clear before you attempt to do so. Signal your pass with a slight tap of the foot if you need to. If someone is really tailgating you for a long time, pull over and let them pass. Rules of the road. Common courtesy. Extreme challenge, too, apparently. Does this stem from driving on the Autobahn? The further left your lane is, the faster you're going, correct? Traditionally right hand lanes are for slower traffic. Do drivers on the Autobahn take their Trabis in front of Porsches? COME ON. If a driver did that, I'm willing to bet that the Porsche driver, going heavenknowshowfast, would be so pissed. And guess what, when you swim like that (not calling myself the Porsche of swimmers here) I get pissed. So please please please, for the betterment of lap swimming across this otherwise really nice country, organize yourself. Be aware of your surroundings and follow the rules of the road.

Oh goshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I feel so much better. Thanks for letting me put that out loud. Enough whining. Really. Here are some things that made my day more like Version #1, and for all of them I'm so thankful:

• In the afternoon as the ominous clouds loomed over Mainz, Ginny and I met for a walk around the Altstadt with no particular agenda. We happened upon a toy store where I found a fun gift for a friend (oh yeah, glows in the dark!) and (though I didn't buy it because it was 50 Euro) MONOPOLY Mainz edition. Not even kidding. If I could even begin to explain what role the game of Monopoly has played in my life... it's like I found my childhood and my current life packaged into the best box ever.
• We also happened upon a sporting goods store, which I've been looking for because, for whatever reason, I didn't pack most of my swim gear like paddles and stuff. Don't worry... paddles acquired.
• I felt better in the water more so than the day before (is this what progress feels like? I'd forgotten.)
• Bread with butter. Lots of it.
• I rented and watched the movie Restrepo. Have you seen it? It is a documentary that is powerful, heart-wrenching, and inspiring. I give it all the stars and highly recommend checking it out.
• I applied to be a volunteer! Cross your fingers, because this would be such a fun gig!
• I got off my duff and finally got cards to send to 3 newly wed couples. Easy peezy but took me a month to do it. What the heck.
• With help from Betti, my Washington, DC friend who is a German native, a Masters swim team in the area has been found (could these be the circle swimming people of my German dreams?)
• I totally got ice cream after my swim and walked home in the cold eating it. I was bundled up and must have looked a little kooky, but it was 100% delightful. In other news... I might be getting sick.
• My plans for New Years are starting to look very phenomenal. VERY.

It even sells on Amazon.de (where I found this picture)

So you can see, the good always outweighs the frustrating over here. And that was the good stuff just from my yesterday-- I could make a huge list of things that I adore about Germany. What is your today like? Version #1 or Version #2 of "What a day!"? (I dare you to make it a Version #1)