...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................First In these pics:The first few are the Gera Rugby Club.
The next few are from Buchenwald.
And then Amsterdam.
Haha. I just re-read that last post. Last time I wrote I was struggling to buy a pair of jeans and a sweater. I was just about to go into a dance studio for a possible job and I was looking at joining a rugby team in a nearby city. Well let's start in order. I did buy some jeans. I DID go into the dance studio and attempted to further BS the dance industry by posing as a legit dance teacher. It partially worked, but I was only offered a few hours a week and a 20 euro an hour salary a week (33$). SO I declined that.
My first big break came through a contact. More specifically it was a friend of a friend of MY German friend. A moving company! Easy!? Yeah it was cool, I worked for a few days and moved a bunch of shit all over the surrounding little villages. It was pretty much the same every day, move a couch and moye some boxes. There is however something I will never forget from this job was one day I had to completely empty the house of an old woman who was put into a hospital. I guess she had no family and all of her belongings were to be thrown out. I mean EVERYTHING. Her house was full of stuff, nothing had been previously removed. She only asked for a few items, one of those being a book that her late husband had written. At first I thought nothing of it, and I kind of spaced out and just started throwing things out. But then it dawned upon me as to what I was really doing. I was emptying a lifetime of memories from existance. I looked around as the other guy threw boxes around and emptied shelves and nonchalantly broke everything, much like a robber would rummage through a victims house. See, they were all trying to loot valuables from the lot. This struck a chord with me, I did however take some loot for myself. Nothing of value though, I salvaged a small collection of traditional Bavarian souveneirs. This collection must have taken this woman years to collect and she muct have travelled to many places to collect these items. Im sure she valued this for far more than its low monetary value and I am sure she has a story for each of those trinkets. it would be a shame for them to end up in the dump. Anyways, I've got them now. It#s pretty cliche' but it just goes to show you, no matter how many material goods you collect in your life, they won't matter when your time comes. It all gets tossed or bought to the highest bidder. Well, enough of the sensitive stuff, I ended up only working a few days, making 80 euro and then there was no further work with that guy-no worries.
In typical Enrique fashion, I ended up finding my lifeline in the most unlikely of places. The Gera Rugby Team. I originally joined this 7's team as a simple means of entertainement. Well, after a few weeks of playing I began to think I could help this team in a better way than just playing for them. After a few more weeks it was discussed and we agreed I would be the new coach. This would be my first time coaching rugby. Well, it has completely taken over me. I really feel I have made a difference and I made a bunch of great friends along the way. One of them ended up employing me on a weekly basis which has been enough to support myself. We Just recently won a local tournament! I am very excited to see where this team will go in the future after I am gone.
The job is pretty relax. I strip wallpaper off of walls. And I talk loads with my coworker\teammate about history, etc. It's been good, many of the guys enjoy practicing their English with me and I have learned a whole lot more about the GDR\E. Germany\W. Germany\Wall situation than I knew before. I still haven't met any tourists, and it's been 2 months. Also, I have the public transportation down pretty pack to which I understand how to not pay for tickets. Yes, I am still sketch in this aspect, gotta stay true.
I took a quick break from my year and a half long break to go to Amsterdam and watch Sublime in concert. I mean, I got tatted up with their artwork. This music came to me at a time when my life switched over from being fully focused on acquiring money to surfing, travelling, and more simpler things. So I def. had to watch them. Great show! Manon and I had a great time in Amsterdam and um....um....coffee shop. So yeah. If you know me, email me I will tell you a funny story.
Now I am chilling in Germany. Still trying to put on weight. To recap, I was at 167 lbs in Thailand after my trip in India, in the last few weeks I was pushing 190 but I have laid off the weights since rugby and a small shoulder injury. I am feeling good nowadays.
The cash situation is iffy. I have made enough money to support myself, but not enough to save, VISA is running out at the end of the month. I'm not worried though, I've got my rugby team and some good friends it's all good.
Buchenwald. Let's see if I remember. I believe it was the 3rd largest concentration camp during the 40's. I got a chance to visit the memorial and took this picture of the barbed wire. This was the original wire from the fence that surrounded the camp. It was really a hard day to walk amongst the rubble that remains from the camp and to touch the pieces of a fence that so many must have longed to escape from.
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