Where do i begin? The weekend has come and gone once again but this time it was filled with all sorts of news. To begin with on Friday, J and i had planned to go watch a movie. It had been awhile since we went out and did something together and with the stress of last week, we needed some time out from doing our usual routines.
So we decided to meet up in the city after he went to the dentist to get his stitches out because the week before he got 2 of his wisdom teeth removed.
But before heading to the movies, J suggested we get a quick bite at a restaurant around the corner. It looked rather fancy from the outside but it had a fast-food type concept. Each customer received a card and when you order your food, they just scan the card. Then in exchange t hey give you this device that looks like a mobile phone but flashes and beeps continuously when your order is ready for a pick up.
We had about 45 minutes till the movie started and we were nowhere near the actual cinema complex. J insisted that we'd be able to make it on time. I, on the other hand knew there was no way i could shove a whole pizza in my mouth but thought never mind, i'll just try. After all, i have a habit of not chewing my food properly and practically inhaling it.
The place was super full, so we decided to share a table with these 2 girls. [No i didn't take any photos of them. I thought it would be too stalker-ish if i busted out my camera and snapped away.] So i took a photo of J's reflection with the "Pasta section" in their open kitchen.
When our food arrived, J and i looked at each other and realised the 2 girls sitting next to us were speaking English. For most people it would be a normal thing but when you're so used to hearing German day-in and day-out and when you hear other people speak English, it's just strange.
It's as if you just want to go up them and hug them and say, OMG I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SAYING! I know it's strange and i don't know how to explain it but believe me, if you've been starved of people who speak the same language as you, you'll know what i mean.
So yea, somehow it made concentrating on our own conversation so much harder. Both of us kept stopping mid-way and forgetting what we were saying.
Eventually J asks one of the girls sitting next to him, how they know English. And that pretty much started our 4+ hour conversation with them. Topics ranging from embarressing german experiences, understanding the language and life in general.
Turns out one of the girls is Canadian, 24 years old and learning German. The other is Egyptian but brought up in the UK, 31 and working as an English teacher but used to work as a graphic designer. They're both married and their husbands are art directors for an Advertising agency. It was strange how much we all had in common. In fact our reason for staying in Germany is for our man - which apparently, is very common. It's very rare to find people choosing to live in Germany just because of the country.
Blame it on Love or work commitments.
But it had been such a long time since J and i met people that were on the same wave length as us. And i'm sure if they didn't have to work the next day, we would have stayed out longer.
We laughed about all sorts of things. It was as if we had known them for ages and there wasn't a dull or awkward moment. As we swapped stories and drank our beers, for the first time my surrounding faded away and i was able to just focus on our table. It was like we knew these people for ages and there was that immediate connection.
And when we came home that night, we couldn't believe what a great night we had. And i couldn't help but wonder where were they the last 9 months!? And how it sucks that only now we meet them and now we're leaving!
So yea at last, J and i can actually say we've made friends in Düsseldorf and seeing that they too are on facebook, we can always keep in contact.
In fact, i think we even plan to meet up for a few drinks this week.
[To be continued]
So we decided to meet up in the city after he went to the dentist to get his stitches out because the week before he got 2 of his wisdom teeth removed.
But before heading to the movies, J suggested we get a quick bite at a restaurant around the corner. It looked rather fancy from the outside but it had a fast-food type concept. Each customer received a card and when you order your food, they just scan the card. Then in exchange t hey give you this device that looks like a mobile phone but flashes and beeps continuously when your order is ready for a pick up.
We had about 45 minutes till the movie started and we were nowhere near the actual cinema complex. J insisted that we'd be able to make it on time. I, on the other hand knew there was no way i could shove a whole pizza in my mouth but thought never mind, i'll just try. After all, i have a habit of not chewing my food properly and practically inhaling it.
The place was super full, so we decided to share a table with these 2 girls. [No i didn't take any photos of them. I thought it would be too stalker-ish if i busted out my camera and snapped away.] So i took a photo of J's reflection with the "Pasta section" in their open kitchen.
When our food arrived, J and i looked at each other and realised the 2 girls sitting next to us were speaking English. For most people it would be a normal thing but when you're so used to hearing German day-in and day-out and when you hear other people speak English, it's just strange.
It's as if you just want to go up them and hug them and say, OMG I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SAYING! I know it's strange and i don't know how to explain it but believe me, if you've been starved of people who speak the same language as you, you'll know what i mean.
So yea, somehow it made concentrating on our own conversation so much harder. Both of us kept stopping mid-way and forgetting what we were saying.
Eventually J asks one of the girls sitting next to him, how they know English. And that pretty much started our 4+ hour conversation with them. Topics ranging from embarressing german experiences, understanding the language and life in general.
Turns out one of the girls is Canadian, 24 years old and learning German. The other is Egyptian but brought up in the UK, 31 and working as an English teacher but used to work as a graphic designer. They're both married and their husbands are art directors for an Advertising agency. It was strange how much we all had in common. In fact our reason for staying in Germany is for our man - which apparently, is very common. It's very rare to find people choosing to live in Germany just because of the country.
Blame it on Love or work commitments.
But it had been such a long time since J and i met people that were on the same wave length as us. And i'm sure if they didn't have to work the next day, we would have stayed out longer.
We laughed about all sorts of things. It was as if we had known them for ages and there wasn't a dull or awkward moment. As we swapped stories and drank our beers, for the first time my surrounding faded away and i was able to just focus on our table. It was like we knew these people for ages and there was that immediate connection.
And when we came home that night, we couldn't believe what a great night we had. And i couldn't help but wonder where were they the last 9 months!? And how it sucks that only now we meet them and now we're leaving!
So yea at last, J and i can actually say we've made friends in Düsseldorf and seeing that they too are on facebook, we can always keep in contact.
In fact, i think we even plan to meet up for a few drinks this week.
[To be continued]
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