Saturday, May 19, 2007
People I'll miss
When my time here is up I'll be leaving behind a host of colourful characters. I have made some great friends who I have become really close with and I have a great set of colleagues as well.
But there are some people who probably don't even know that I'll miss them. They are the quirky folk of the Wohnheim and Erlangen town who have all played their small roles in the pantomine that is my placement year. This post is a tribute to these fine fellows, hope I don't forget any of them:
n.b. the names given are monikers which I have created, not their actual names.
But there are some people who probably don't even know that I'll miss them. They are the quirky folk of the Wohnheim and Erlangen town who have all played their small roles in the pantomine that is my placement year. This post is a tribute to these fine fellows, hope I don't forget any of them:
n.b. the names given are monikers which I have created, not their actual names.
- 'Olaf' - Every morning this blonde haired, blue eyed swedish looking fellow struggles onto my bus with a pram. It's always a major inconvenience to all of the other passengers but his apologetic nature makes it impossible to get annoyed with him. He never actually speaks, just makes hand gestures and a remorseful face which leads me to think he may actually be scandinavian.
- Cute blonde bakery girl - I often pick up a broetchen (sandwich) or a coffee from the bakery next to the office and it always brightens my morning if I'm served by this little cutie. The only turn off is that she has an incredibly deep voice. I remember the first time she asked me 'sonst noch ein Wuensch' (anything else?) and I thought for a second I was being served by Brian Blessed.
- Pretty blonde fruit shop girl - (There may be a theme emerging here) Always happy and smiley and once charged me for one less apple than I actually had in my bag. What a gal.
- Turkish fruit shop legend - Another employee at my favourite grocery store this guy is cooler than a polar ice cap. He always greets me with the traditional southern german greeting 'Servus' and knows exactly how I have my fruit salad. Hero.
- Short sighted Russian - Not actually sure he is russian but he looks like a soviet villain from a Bond film. Always watches TV in the living room standing around 40cm away from the screen. This can be annoying if you want to watch it too but he may be a member of the russian mafia so we'll let him off.
- OCD black lady - If she's not in our shared kitchen cleaning then she's singing really loud gospel in her room or the shower. For keeping the place clean and your powerful, if not always melodic voice we salute you!
- Mothering bank cashier - On the rare occasion that I slip into financial difficulties I can depend on my Sparkasse Bank team for advice. Particularly one lady who, though always helpful and pleasant, chastises me in exactly the same fashion as my mother would for being careless with my funds.
- Doctor's receptionist - Though she was a bit off hand at first it turns out she really is nice and actually has a very dry sense of humour. Knows me personally (never a good sign if the doctor's receptionist knows your first name after only a few months) and literally threw my Zecken immunisation into my arm like a dart. A credit to the medical profession!
