Thats Munich For You

So I sit down the other day for what I expect to be a nice quiet dinner at one of my favorite Thai food spots. Nothing special. I order the Thai chicken curry and a mango juice. I get orange juice instead, but I am not one to complain, so I just drink my orange juice. As I am about to pay the bill, a family arrives and asks if they can take my seat. "Of course" I say, as I was just leaving anyway. However, a man sitting next to me instead invites me to sit with him and talk instead of leaving. He must have heard me panic and use English to the waitress. So, what the heck... sure, I'll chat.

Dude was the freakin man! We ended up just chatting about anything for about three hours at the restaurant. We talked about politics, Munich clubs, his family's escape from Romania, World War II, beer, etc. It was a very welcome interruption to my otherwise mundane evening plans (continuing a biography about the photographer Robert Capa. I found the book in my apartment, and since it was one of the few in English, I opened it and started reading. I love it and I am hooked). I only learned his name in the last minute of our conversation. I think it was "Volker." This is not the first time I have misheard a name. Names are tricky here, and not necessarily intuitive. Regardless, that was an awesome experience.

That sort of stuff is always happening to me here. I meet these random people for no reason and totally hit it off. Case in point (what the hell does that saying mean?): I wandered into a very Victorian looking tea house the other day. Thez have a (NOTE: the "y" and "z" keys are switched on German keyboards, so please excuse the mistakes) great selection of about 40 teas, so naturally I was intrigued. I order an Earl Grey (play it safe first.... i'll be rebellious later). As I am ordering I start chatting with the girl behind the counter.

Zoom ahead an hour: we're sitting down and I am giving her love advice concerning her boyfriend who is a very jealous person. She, however, is totally cool. Mom will be proud: she is Spanish (that's Spain Spanish) and just working and having fun in Munich. Cool! I have practiced my spanish more than my German, unfortunatley... I guess. New friends!

Funny thning: we're chatting and stuff, and the subject of whale watching comes up. Now, mind you, I have never been whale watching before, but as it comes up in our conversation, for no reason whatsoever, I drop that I went whale watching a few years ago. Why the hell did I just lie? I dont look cool or make any money dropping this lie. I just did it. "Oh yeah, I did it once off the coast of Maine." WHAT! That was so unnecessary! I thought it was pretty funny when I was thinking about it later that day. Have you ever dropped a lie, for absolutely no reason whatsoever? I feel dirty.
-Matt


ps. To all of you Project Runway fans out there, namely, Abbie, I actually used the word "caucus" today, as in "no big deal guys, you just caucus about that and let me know." I laughed out loud as I walked away.