Recent happenings

Hello friends.

Right now, Heiko and I are watching Atletico Madrid (Spain) face Schalke 04 (Germany) in a qualification match for the Champions League. Although Heiko cheers for the team from Mainz, who is in the 2. Bundesliga, he cheers for any German team (except for Bayern) who are playing in an international competition. The Champions League takes the top two to four teams from each nation’s premiere league across Europe and pits them against each other. The competition lasts from the beginning of the season (two games ago) until the end of the season in May.

Earlier tonight, I played soccer for the second time with Heiko and people around his age, which is anywhere from 30 to 50. We play like we played indoor soccer at Hesston, where we don’t keep score and play until everyone was tired enough to agree that ‘next goal wins’. Last week I didn’t do so well, partly because I hadn’t played since our indoor times at Hesston, which is more than a year ago. Tonight though, I finally found some sort of a rhythm and was able to keep the game going, although I am definitely not in shape. Next week they have a game and you must be older than 30 to play, so I will join the guys my age tomorrow and next week on Tuesday and Friday.

Yesterday I had my first European driving experience. I was to follow Heiko from Wintersheim to Alzey (15 km) so he could return a van he had rented to drive to the Weinfest in Leer. The vehicle I drove was none other than the old Mercedes Sprinter. A stick-shift, top-heavy van. With a trailer. Things went relatively fine…I mean, I didn’t crash the Sprinter and no other vehicles crashed because of me. Although when we hit the first of a few traffic circles and had to stop, I stalled the van a handful of times. And another time when I thought it was right to downshift from third to second, I think I accidentally shifted from third to reverse and the whole van started to shake. Then I shifted from reverse to first and killed it again. Then we finally get to Alzey and Heiko needed to fill up the rented van with fuel before he returned it to the Mercedes dealership. Now, hills and stick-shifts don’t get along well with me quite yet, and to get to the filling station we had to make a left turn but wait for traffic, so I couldn’t quite coast into the filling station, but rather start uphill from a stand still. I killed it again a few times, pissing off some drivers behind me. Oh well, like I said before, nobody crashed and I didn’t wreck the van, so it was successful. Finally we pulled into the Mercedes dealership and Heiko took back the helm.

Today was a full day of work, which is good. I realized that after the first week I was working here that my back was sore and didn’t know why. Finally I figured that I was sore because of my inactive summer and not used to all the manual labor. Luckily after a few weeks I am getting used to the lifting of wine boxes and other random heavy things. This morning my job was to mow the backyard with an electric mower. Yes, I said electric. That meant that wherever I went, I had to always be aware of the electric cable. It also meant that it was very underpowered and very small, so I had to always reach in with my hand and clear the clippings whenever it got clogged. Mowing the backyard took me all the way until lunch, which was 4.5 hours. (Heiko is yelling at the TV in German because Schalke is wasting opportunities to score.) In the afternoon, I broke down boxes that we brought back from Leer and drove the forklift through town with a load of bottles that were unsortable to the recycling center. I always have fun breaking glass. Always.

Two years ago on the 25th of August, my girlfriend Jessica and I went to go see Ben Harper in Kansas City. It was after that first date that I could call her my girlfriend and also that the 25th of August will forever be a special day. Her birthday is three days later (tomorrow), so go ahead and wish her a happy birthday. I already did.

(Schalke is losing 0:4 and the game is in stoppage time.)

I like getting mail. So far I’ve gotten one letter (you know who you are). If you send me a letter I promise I’ll write you back. You can also leave your address as a comment, or, if you don’t feel comfortable letting the world see your address, you can send it to me via email to: handsareme@gmail.com. For those willing to send me mail first, just be sure to put your return address on it so I have your address. Don’t forget to put an airmail sticker or just write it on the envelope, then I get it quicker. Here’s my address:

Jon Huber
c/o Familie Dettweiler
Haupt. 11
D-67587 Wintersheim
GERMANY

(Schalke just got embarrassed, 0:4. Heiko is also asleep on the couch.)

Until next time,
Jon