The beauty in my eyes

They say, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," but, beauty is not only in the eye but also in the heart. When my heart jumps an extra beat, I know it is beauty coming along.

It is the acorn that you only saw in the story,

 a lady who reads,

a dance with your partner in festival and in life. 

It is the shimmering of the light that shines through the city and time 

It is the future that holds in children's hand,

It is also a life style preserved in time. 

The beauty indeed is in the heart of the beholder. Do you agree?

Prague: the city of what you see

on the way

It was not even in my plan. The house mates asked me to join the trip, and why not. They already did the study, particularly Helen, and I just followed through. The bus took us 5 hours or so and hundreds of miles of similar views to arrive in Prague. When we arrived, I thought, well, another European city. I saw the sameness, the same styles of architecture, the same cathedrals , the same outdoors cafes, but Helen and the other mates saw the differences and I started to realize how people from the West look Asian. To them, we probably are similar to them like they are to me. But after the trips, I started to sense the subtle differences and began to enjoy it more.   .....to be continued (tbc)

Day 2 at the library. I got my bike today and now I can really bike like a German. Helen and I biked through the woods. The air in the dusk was refreshing. We got lost a little on our way to the supermarket, but I found it an enjoyable disorientation.

I gave my books to the library. I may not be famous now, but I do hope someday, somebody will find them useful.

We went to another nearby beer garden to watch a football game: Germany vs Italy. Our landlord, Rainer, predicted that Italy would won, and he was right. The air in the garden was heavy because Germany was loosing game. But we foreigners, well, except Teresa, another housemate from Mexico, were high chatting and trying to get drunk.

I wanted to come back earlier, but got lost. It was scary to walk alone on the dark path through the woods, getting lost and feeling engulfed by fear.

Ｍeeting the library staff and a short trip to the city

After 35 mins of walk from the house to the library with Isam, my house mate from Turkey, I arrived at this Castle-like library. The court yard was lovely and the view was incredibly beautiful like those you see in a calender.

So many staff members to meet that it's impossible for me to remember their names, but they were all friendly and they speak English! Here are what I found today:

1. German people don't usually say "hi" to strangers. I initiated a couple of hi, and got no response. Children were ok, they smiles back.

2. Some German people just assume that if they keep speaking German to you, eventually you will understand. That's what happened in the restaurant at the edge of the court yard.

3. Not many bilingual signs or even graphics here. So, when you pass shops, we really have to look inside to see what they sell.

4. I drank water from one of the traditional fountain at the MarienPlatz. Helen, my house mate from Australia said it was perfectly drinkable because she hadn't got sick from her previous drinks.

5. The beer garden, packed with people and smoke, not a place for me. I don't see why people want to drink beers there, to watch people I guess. I'd rather take my beer and hide myself in a corner to observe, instead of being engulfed by the noises and smoke.

the pretzels here are gigantic. Look.

I finally arrived in Munich, Germany, transferring from Amsterdam. Here are the few things, or few impressions, along the trip:

1. The airport of Amsterdam is far more beautiful than I remembered.
2. I found a new way of having chocolate with your coffee: a chocolate steering stick that is a spoon stuck to a big chunk of chocolate at the bottom with a tiny tube of honey or syrup attached. I was thinking about making one at home. Just heat up the spoon and stick it to a piece of chocolate and then dip into your coffee.
3. a bottle of water, 1.5 euros. Outrageous!
4. Lost my Moleskin notebook. Must have left it on the counter where I bought the train ticket. I got Rainer's email in it, hope somebody will send it back. ....I got Amber's photo on the last page....and it was a gift from Amber...

5. The hostfamily was wonderful. They both are retirees, and have a dog called Bubulina, a Greek name, they said. Why did they name their dog a Greek name?

6. Had a wonderful dinner with the 2 fellows, one from Mexico and one from Australia. I have been to both countries and dated their men. It seems that I can only meet the people from the countries. ....NO, I have to expand my territory.