Dear Reader,
Sometimes
it can be difficult when things don’t go the way you expect them to. The trick
is turning unexpected disappointments into inspiring experiences. Sometimes
things are out of control and they don’t go according to plan. In those moments
its up to us whether or not we are going to make that into something good or
just sit and wait for good things to happen.
Today,
the plan was that I was going to go into town and meet Tate who went into town
earlier. We are sharing a room for the weekend, because there’s some sort of a
teacher conference in the village this weekend and the Hostess accidentally
overbooked the house. Tate wanted to get to town early so that she could get
some work done at the archives before showing me around town, so she rode her
bike instead of taking the bus.
After Tate left, I got up. I did my
regular morning routine, reading a chapter in the Old Testament and a section
of the Temple Prep pamphlet, then saying my prayers and asking for inspiration,
like I usually do. It seemed like a regular morning to go into town and do some
regular grocery shopping. Maybe pick up a bottle of shampoo. I made myself a
sandwich and got ready in time for the 11:57 bus.
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| The Bus Stop |
I left about fifteen minutes before
the bus was meant to arrive and wandered through the village until I found the
bus stop, which was right next to the school and across the street from the
organic grocery store. Then I waited at the bus stop, but even though I had
checked the schedule and was there a little bit early, no bus came. I waited
for a while at the stop hoping it was just late, but it never came.
At
first I was disappointed. I’ve still never been into town during the day, even
though today was my third day here in the village. But instead of staying
disappointed I decided to make good of the beautiful weather and inspiring
atmosphere. I crossed the little stone street and sat down on top of a brick
fence in the shadow of a large tree.
At first I people watched. At just
after 1’oclock the kids got out of school. Apparently all the school ages get
out with in a few minutes of each other because the high school age students
walked past me first, then the middle schoolers. Then a bunch of young adults,
just a little older than me, walked past me in the opposite direction that the
school kids had gone, and a few minutes later walked back the way they’d come,
but now with small children in tow.
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| The School |
It
got really loud when the middle school aged students got out of school so I put
my headphones on and started listening to music. I noticed that even without
being able to hear the people going by I could still sort of tell what they
were talking about. I don’t speak German (though I have almost mastered
counting to 10) so I wasn’t reading lips.
I was watching body language, and I
can tell you its universal. I saw a boy teasing a boy younger than him. Their
interactions looked like a sibling relationship. I saw their mother drive up
and scold them out the window. I saw a group off girls waiting nearby for a
friend, maybe to get out of detention. They kept checking the time and looking
over their shoulders, before returning to the conversation. Finally I saw their
friend show up. She was carrying a slip of paper that she stuffed in her bag
and she looked incredibly unhappy. They seemed to ask her what happened. She
rolled her eyes and started recounting the story as they walked off.
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| The Tree I sat under |
After most of the people were gone
and I had finished my people watching, I pulled out my notebook and pen to jot
down some notes for my writing. (For the people at home who have been reading
my novel I have finished chapters 4 and 5 and chapter 6 is coming along
nicely). I got really swept up in the story and my scenery started to inspire
me. The wind going through the old trees in the forest. The buildings around me
all painted in bright colors. The universal interactions of the people I had
just watched. The way the sun would shine warmly for a few moments before
sliding back behind the clouds in the silver sky. I got 5 whole pages worth of
brainstorming and notes taken care of, which is a great thing for me.
Then Tate rode her bike back into
the village and met me at my little spot next to the bus stop. I told I’d been
sitting there for a few hours and that no bus had come. She decided to wait
with me for the next bus so we could get groceries in town. So we crossed the
street again and waited. But the bus never came.
I didn’t get disappointed this time
though. I suggested we walk down the street to what the villagers call the
palace. I wanted to go see it yesterday but it was raining too much, so I
hadn’t had a chance to see it yet. We went down there and checked it out. The
palace grounds aren’t very large and the palace itself is a lot more like a
large house than an actual palace, but it is very pretty. In fact it gave me
more inspiration for my novel and I might have to go down there again to take
notes.
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| The Palace |
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| I know I'm immature but Organic Chicken Meatballs are Bio Chicken Balls here |
We walked back up the hill to go back to the Hostess’ house,
but we hadn’t been able to go shopping in town because of the lack of buses so
we stopped in the organic grocery store and bought something to share for
dinner tonight. Tate made pasta last night so it was my turn to make dinner. We looked around and I almost bought a box of chicken balls just because of the name but I decided on something a little more appetizing. Thai curry rice with scrambled eggs and ham in it. I had the eggs and ham in the fridge at the house but I got a rice-a-roni sort of mix for the Thai Curry.
When I went to check out they wouldn't take my credit card. They tried to explain why to me in English but they ended up just telling Tate in German because it was easier for them. The store is very small and they
can’t really afford a credit card machine so they don’t take credit cards. Normally I don't carry cash and in this instance I had to pay with cash. But today that was okay because I had the cash I was going to
pay for my bus ride with. And what do you know? It was just enough to cover the
cost of dinner.
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| Thai Curry |
I feel like things today didn’t go
according to plan but in some ways I’m glad they didn’t. After spending
yesterday stressing a bit about the cost of things in Germany and trying very
hard to grasp onto some inkling of control over my life here, I realized that
my life doesn’t have to be about making plans all the time. Sometimes it’s okay
to just go with the flow of what happens and have faith that the things you
experience will be good. I think life is a balance of making choices and also
allowing things to just happen to you. When disappointment comes our way, we
take control by deciding how we’re going to react to it. I kind of understand
the saying when life gives you lemons make lemonade. Except that I think you can really make something completely different out a a situation. It might not be what you planned, but sometimes different things are good too. So for my lesson for the day I'm changing it, even if my version is a little long winded. When life won’t send you the bus you need to go into town, just make Thai curry and write a novel instead
Love always,
The Wanderess
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