Just do it!

After a rather bleak previous post, I thought I would share some more positive experiences that have happened in the last couple of days. I'll start by saying the sun is shining right now! We have had such a wet rainy winter here. For the last I don't know how many days it has alternated between pouring rain, misting rain, and looking like it's going to rain. The forecast today called for partial sun, so imagine our disappointment when we walked outside to head to the bus in drizzling rain. (It's dark still when we leave, so we hadn't noticed the rain out the windows until we left the house.) But the sun came out about an hour ago and it's still shining! I raced outside with Diablo so we could both soak up a little vitamin D.

I'm also feeling a bit healthier because I'm on day 2 of at least some physical activity. Yesterday I tried all day to get some sort of workout but wasn't able to finish my work in time. So finally at about 6 p.m. I loaded up the new Fitocracy app Dan put on my iPhone and did their "7 minute body weight workout". I figured I HAD to be able to spare 7 minutes! And how sad is it that I was actually a little sore this morning?? Then, this morning I went to a nearby gym with a free trial pass Dan had gotten for me. I swam, which felt great, although the pool leaves a lot to be desired. There are only 2 lap lanes which I gather from Dan's and my experience seem to be crowded at all times of the day and night. One lane is labeled for "fast swimmers", which seems to mean anyone who is moving perceptibly towards the other side of the pool. I'm the slowest person in our Masters program in Missoula, but I was by far the fastest in this pool. When I started my swim there were 5 people in the lane, including me, so it was a little stop and go. But I figured out how to space myself in order to get a decent workout, and it felt really good to swim for the first time since coming to Berlin! A funny German interaction: I wanted to do just a single length of butterfly, so I waited until the other swimmers were near the other end and then swam the length. There was a slow older man resting at the other end of the pool, and when I surfaced to turn around he made some sort of noise, which sounded to me like approval. A little while later we both were getting out of the pool together and he said something to me in German. I told him I only speak a little German, but he persisted in trying to tell me something about the butterfly. At first I thought he was complementing me, but then I decided maybe he was trying to coach me. In the end, I'm not sure if maybe he was trying to tell me that I shouldn't do butterfly??? I have no idea, and he eventually walked away without smiling. Ha!

I'm feeling pretty proud of myself because I have a dentist appointment on Thursday and Carter has an appointment for a haircut tomorrow! We have spent a decent amount of time sitting at a new bus stop waiting for the bus since school started last week and we have a new route to school. We take a bus from our house to an U-bahn station, and from there we can take a 2nd bus to school or if we miss the bus (which we have done every day because the first bus runs a little behind) we can take the U-bahn near the school and walk the rest of the way. While sitting at the stop waiting for the 2nd bus I have noticed what looks like a dental chair in a window on the top floor. So yesterday when I got to the transfer point I decided I was just going to summon my courage and go up there and see if by chance the dentist speaks English. I made my way up to the 3rd floor and then almost turned around and left when I saw that the door was locked and I had to press the buzzer and announce myself. But, I pressed on and gained entry. I started out speaking German to the person at the reception desk, but it turns out that she spoke pretty good English, and she told me that the dentist also speaks English, and the dental hygienist is from New York! Score! I made appointments for myself and the kids. Hopefully we will like it and I can check "find a dentist" off of my list.

I have been hoping to get recommendations for doctors and dentists and other service providers, but it has proven to be challenging because the other English speakers at our school live scattered throughout Berlin, and given our busy lives I think it is better to find someone near our house. But I haven't met any native English speakers near our house, and the German speakers don't know if the doctor/dentist speaks English or not. So, since I was successful with finding a dentist by just picking one that looks nice and walking in, I decided to try the same thing for a haircut. Everywhere I go I am trying to memorize the landscape so I can see where to go for this or for that. Yesterday from the bus I saw a hair place that specifically advertised "men, women and children". So today after my workout I walked through the center of town, then took a deep breath and entered the shop. "I am new to Berlin. My son needs a...." Here I faltered, because I couldn't remember the word for haircut, but thankfully the nice lady supplied it. And what do you know, they could book us for tomorrow! Explaining what kind of cut I want tomorrow may be a little problematic, but I can Google Translate some phrases before I go and hopefully we can manage the rest by making scissor motions on his hair!

One final "just do it" story - yesterday I was in Edeka (a grocery store) with the kids, a store I hadn't been to yet but it's right by the dentist, so it will be convenient to stop in and get a few things after school if we need them. Anyway, on the way in I noticed a bulletin board covered with handwritten ads for things, and I saw an ad for a couch and chair that might be an affordable and nice addition to our house. I have bought some other things used (I need to post about that), but I've done all my communication via text or email - I've never had to pick up the phone and call someone. But this ad only had a phone number. So this morning I wrote myself a script using google translate, took another deep breath, and dialed the number. The probably with this approach is that I might be able to make the person on the other end of the line understand me, but if they don't speak English then they reply in a whole bunch of German that I don't understand. This is what happened to me on this phone call. But, the man realized I didn't understand and was able to use very simple words and I was actually able to catch what he was trying to say - that his wife was selling the furniture and that I should call back at 3 because she would be home then. It was thrilling to actual understand his German! Now it is 3 and I need to call back, and my pulse is already quickening. What if she's not home yet? If he answers the phone, how should I ask for her? Wish me luck.