Summer Vacation

 The view from Camel's Hump in Vermont.

My Summer vacation home. America. I'm three and a half weeks in. I've done a fabulous job, so far, of doing exactly what one is supposed to do on vacation....spoil myself. This is not to imply that I'm not spoiled by my normal life too. (because I certainly am) There is something about this trip home that feels different to me. I think it is family. My family and close friends enrich my life beyond any way that traveling the world and living in exotic places ever could. As you know, I love Germany. I feel incredibly fortunate for my opportunity to live there. My life in Germany has also given me renewed excitement and appreciation for my own homeland. So I have been using this trip as a chance to make the most of my time home. I've been a lot of cool new places, ate at awesome restaurants, and done some fun stuff. I've been wanting to journal more of my experiences as they happen, but just haven't found the time. It's like, I'd rather be living it than writing it. So I think once things settle down, and I get back to my house, I'll go back and write you some stories. I have been taking notes most of the time.

In a couple of days I leave for Bali. This will come after some time spent in Philadelphia with family and a day in Los Angeles with a friend. (The fun never stops!) I will leave you with this anecdote from today...

I found a quarter on the side of the road this morning while I was running. Anyone that knows me knows that I stopped and picked it up. I would have stopped and picked up a penny. I like to call it "pure profit." There I was, just jogging along, and the Universe offered me money for nothing. Never mind its small amount, that is not the point. I think we all know that pennies add up. My husband used to make fun of me for "pure profit" but now he plays the game too. Once, when he was in boot camp, he found $2 in change while sweeping the barracks. Do you know what he did? Shamelessly, he picked it up and bought a Gatorade with it. Gifts from the Universe are everywhere. You just have to keep your eyes and ears peeled my little bananas.

As I picked up the quarter and jogged on I thought about finding money on the side of the road. I thought, "that would never happen in Germany." For starters, there isn't much trash and debris on the roadside. Secondly, I feel like Germans value money more than Americans and if they dropped coins they would pick them up. I've been doing this a lot. Not a day goes by that I don't hear myself say, "We don't have this in Germany" or "In Germany we do it like this" or "Germans say." It probably annoys whomever I'm with, but I'm just excited to share what I'm learning about a new way of life. When I first moved to Germany I did the opposite. I was always comparing Germany to America. Now, I'm in America comparing it to Germany. Isn't that typical? As a human it is so hard to be one place without thinking about another.