Leaving is harder than I expected. Everyone said, "You aren't going to want to leave", which seemed so obvious as to elicit the sarcasm inherent in my nature. What I was thinking though is that I wouldn't want to leave Switzerland, Spain, London or Ireland. Not that I thought Munich wouldn't be great, but this part of my trip is obligatory. I mentioned a while back that, for a moment, I even felt like my time here was something to be gotten through rather than savoured. It's been all day, every day in class and I sort of expected to be glad when that part of my trip was over so I could get on to vacation, to London to eat tiny sandwiches and drink tea and see one of the coolest chicks in the world who I have never really gotten to hang out with much when she's visited Seattle, and on to Spain and the Alhambra and Segrada Familia and a friend who at one time I thought I may never see again and whom I've unexpectedly missed quite a bit since he left Seattle, and on to Ireland, a place I've wanted to visit for as long as I can remember, for Guinness and stalking Shane MacGowan with one of my best friends. These things, I thought, were the real trip and Munich was just the obligation I had to fulfill in order to get them.
I couldn't have been more wrong. Munich was amazing. It felt like home to me and leaving the Goethe Institut yesterday was one of the hardest things I've ever done, mostly because of the people. Leaving these people is like cutting off one of my limbs.
I love these boys like family. I've occasionally felt like I was pledging a fraternity, but in a good way. I kind of can't believe that tomorrow I won't be in the English Garden drinking beer and talking (expletive deleted) with them.
Here are some things I had planned to do but in Munich but didn't:
I didn't go to the Frauen Kirche
I didn't go to the new Jewish Museum or Synagogue
I didn't go to the Hofbrauhaus
I didn't go to the Pinakothek (Neue, Alte, oder Moderne)
I didn't go to Dachau
I didn't see the Allianz Arena
I didn't go to the Supersuckers show
I'm pretty happy with what I did do though which is meet some of the best people in the world. I've introduced you to the cast of characters a little already but let me tell you a bit more about these guys. It might make sense to put names with faces and drop the constant referral to people by nationality, but I'm sticking with it because it pleases me to see in writing what an international group we were.
There were two Swedes who I'd swear had known each other their whole lives when in fact they just met when we all did (two weeks ago). The first, who was in class with me, is like a brother to me now. Saying goodbye to him yesterday was the hardest part of my last day in Munich. It broke my heart a little. He was constantly teasing me (like any decent brother would), but he is also one of the most sincere people I've ever met. He's got a big heart. I'm going to cry again if I say any more about my new big brother. I miss him. A lot.
What can I say about the second Swede? He looks hot. I didn't have class with him but he was the center of the party every night after class. He may have a schmutzig mind but that's part of his charm. Only part though as he has a lot of (expletive deleted) charm.
There was another excellent Mench, from Mexico, in class with me. It was a bit of a novelty for these boys to see how drunk I would get. I'd told them that I was bad at drinking (which is a description I love and can't stop using since a new friend of mine from back home said it about me a couple months ago). My Mexican classmate, and kindred spirit, kept missing it though. Every time I set to really drinking he was somewhere else. So, instead of bonding in beer we bonded over faith, I think. I don't have a religious outlet for my faith like he does but I have a lot of it and we had some really interesting talks which weren't about faith directly but for me, and I think for him to, faith is always in the background of everything we do. I can't say enough good things about him.
The Italian/Swiss professor we're going to call Opa from now on. He wasn't that much older than the rest of us (I don't think), but he was the philosopher of the group, always imparting words of wisdom to us all, and always insistent that we try to speak only in German to each other so we would learn more. He was also very hard to say goodbye to.
In the Scottish lad I found a kindred spirit of a different type. That sounds like (expletive deleted) sentimental (expletive deleted), but it's really true. To say he's like a brother to me would seem close to the mark but slightly off somehow. He reminds me a lot of my best mate from back home and she's like a sister to me but to say he's like a sister to me is ridiculous, odd, and even further off the mark. He's one of the funniest (expletive deleted) guys I've met. He's another one with a schmutzig mind, but I don't know that I've ever met anyone less schmutzig at heart. He made fun of me when the Professor said I look into people's souls, but if he knew what I saw in him, which is a heart of pure gold, he might not have. Nah, who am I (expletive deleted) kidding, he still would have. He's not incapable of being serious but it's a rare occurrence. I tried to find a picture where he isn't making faces, but that is an equally rare occurrence (I think we can all agree he looks (expletive deleted) good when he's not (expletive deleted) making faces for the camera). Saying goodbye to him was hard to, it helped that I barely saw him on my last day so, in fact didn't really say goodbye to him, but even so it's hard.
My Swedish brother and the Scottish lad simply are family to me now. I'd do anything for them. I expect one day I may get a call from the Scott asking for part of my liver, as the boy (expletive deleted) drinks like a (expletive deleted)...well, like a (expletive deleted) Scott really. I wouldn't even hesitate. I love these boys. I can't explain it really. The brother analogy is a good one but it, like any analogy, isn't really precise.
This picture of the three of us may be my favorite picture from my whole trip so far. I'm so (expletive deleted) sad I can't (expletive deleted) believe it.
But now it's on to the Paris-(expletive deleted)-Roubaix, to London, and Spain and Ireland which are, of course, all just as exciting to me as they were before, it's just that my heart is a little broken.
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