Pasttimes, Past Time

Sitting here on the balcony, drinking up the cool peace of the evening, I am accompanied by candlelight and coffee in a clear mug. There's just something invigorating about striking a match, and the way the flames stand out against the night, growing more prominent as the sky darkens and the time passes. It only seems appropriate to be listening to "Can't Take It In" by Imogen Heap.

 

"Every hair on my body

Has got a thing for this place.

...

It couldn't be any more beautiful, I can't take it in.

...

All that I wanted. 

All that I ever needed.

All that I wonder

So beautiful."

It has been a long time. Time has passed, and life's plot has thickened; I don't want to put this book down. I am going to try to re-cap some of the instances that have occurred in the past two weeks, and hopefully not think too long and hard how time passes in the States, too. It's comfortable to think that the U.S.-ians are stagnant while I am on the move here in Europe. I don't want to miss anything. Honestly, if I had my way, I would just plop all of you here in Basel and consciously collide my worlds. Took a short nap before writing this post, and I woke up to homemade pizza. I just can't get over how blessed I am to have such a wonderful group of roommates. Roger left on Wednesday for the Netherlands for a few months. You live life with a smile on your face, and then the rug is pulled out from under you, and you're reminded of the beautiful nuances of life again; unfortunately, this awakening happens when the beauties wane or change colors, and you can't have them much longer.

Had a "blind date" with one of Mirjam's friends named Christina. It was crazy... we were both standing in Barfüsserplatz, and hadn't thought to ask what the other looked like, but after some texting, we figured out who was who. It was a really great evening, making another new friend, laughing, and being able to talk about how God has been working in our lives. It is refreshing to see what encounters God can create to revamp you.

Took a walk one night behind the bahnhof, a part of town I rarely visit. There were some really crazy shops, even a doll hospital. In the window display, there was a tray of doll eyes, and piles of doll limbs and heads. In the dark of the night, goosebumps creeped in.

Last weekend, I took some time to just relax and enjoy Basel. Funny how you forget it is summer sometimes, and THIS is the chance you have before the craziness of school again. Went to the flea market on Saturday morning, and feasted upon centuries of oldness—you could smell time. There was a signed folio of work by Jean Tinguely that I loved, but was 2,000 CHF, so it stayed there. There were boxes of clock ingredients—faces, hands, gears and straps. Antique typewriters held half-written letters, and leather bags teemed with stories to tell. Went on an organized walking tour of Basel that afternoon. I couldn't believe I wanted to do this, as I do my own little walking tour every day and don't charge myself, but I was craving the history lesson. Being a designated tourist opens your eyes again. That evening, Katie and I went to my friend Lisa's in Liestal for homemade dinner and a movie. We watched "Frühstück an den Tiffany's" — and it was even an unanimous decision! I, of course, loved it, but one of Lisa's friends did not really care for it. I think it was the American culture that caused the confusion; subtitles can't give you everything. It was awesome answering some of her questions about America on the train back to Basel.

Sunday was spent lingering over omelettes and working on some freelance work at, gasp, Starbucks. I caved, and got an iced latte. At church, we continued our study on Nehemiah, and talked about rebuilding Jerusalem, and following your vision. Nehemiah prayed for many months before asking the king's permission and support to go and rebuild. He asks for everything he needs, with confidence, knowing God will provide, because Nehemiah's plans are in Him. There was also an analogy I really liked about going "to the ends of the earth." The end of the earth is going all the way around the world to come right back to your next door neighbor. Nehemiah goes back to his roots, to help rebuild his ancestry, to bring glory to God's name.

After church, Katie and I went to see The Dark Knight... finally! I will never understand the delayed release system of Hollywood. Don't they know there are antsy people like me here in Switzerland? It was awesome, but seriously scary. Katie and I have been having dreams about the Joker, and Daniel has been using that to his full advantage to scare us! :) Guess what... there was an intermission! Yea, randomly in the middle of an action scene, the screen dimmed and a graphic soared from the side to the center exclaiming the smoke break. It was so haphazard. There was also an extremely humorous old man who worked at the theater. I think I am just going to have to relay this story in person, because I tried typing it, and it just didn't capture the full funny.

A fly just got caught in the wax of my tealight. I can only think of Jurassic Park, with that mosquito in the amber of the old man's cane. "It's in yer blood!"

This week flew by, as all of them tend to do these days. I have been sitting in cafés with kaffees, lately, reading my latest Toni Morrison treat. The descriptive sentences just seem to envelop me. I was walking by the fountain by the river, nose-in-book and oblivious to the trams and people around me when I looked up and was like, I am Belle right now. Confiserie Schiesser is my new favorite place. The interior is all dark wood, the whole place smells like warm chocolate, and they bring your drink on a small silver platter. You can't help but feel special. 

On Tuesday, we celebrated Katie's birthday and ate at a quaint little Swiss restaurant across the train tracks. Came back to the apartment for Roger's goodbye gathering. There were alot of people I knew, and a few new people to meet as well. It was such a great night of learning about other cultures, that is, painful, but good. I have been learning the value of cultural understanding while being here. It is something I don't think you can learn by just hearing stories; it takes situations to teach. Flat out, nationality stereotypes can be evil. And let me tell you, the American stereotype is a sly double-edged sword. When it comes to entertainment, people can soak you up, but mentions of politics and lifestyle burn all bridges. Black becomes ultra-black and white becomes untintable; it is forgotten that these two colors can mix and balance into grey. Frequently, somewhere in conversation I become Bush and I am personally at fault for the ruins of this world. All of us are puking out what we've been fed by our country's version of the media, searching for a common fact, searching for some sort of ultimate solution. What starts as a question in search of a true answer can become a wretched, divisive wall. But I am convinced that through this is understanding; being a hunter-gatherer of people's viewpoints and experiences broadens horizons., With this, you can begin to transcend language, heritage, or even political affiliation to remember we are all still just us, friends picked from around the world and placed in a flat to learn from each other, and become better people because of it. 

Meghan arrived on Thursday morning! It was so awesome having her here, as she passes through to her next study abroad destination. It was fun to exchange stories, and show her around this city that I love. We got to go to the Imagine festival, a world fair with lingering incense and some live indie rock music. Loved the Belgian group Balthazar, and UK's Chikinki was pretty good, too. Here is a link to hear Balthazar. Meg and I tried some fried cheese on bread that was amazing, and some Indian food that beats Krishna and Amol any day. Basel has had a lot of festivals so far this summer; it is nice to see the city come alive and overflow with people. Came home and thought that Daniel and Laura were to bed, and that Meghan would possibly leave without getting to meet them, when I found them in living room watching Monk in German. We all had some good laughs, discussing hot Egyptians, singing from the Little Mermaid, and introducing Daniel and Laura to Dane Cook. The Kool-Aid man jokes don't mean anything to people who don't know what Kool-Aid is. This part of the evening was one of my favorite memories of my time here so far.

Saturday we went to Germany and France to be with Kara for the day! Went to the Alsace region for a lovely day in quaint Kayserberg. We climbed some castle ruins to be rewarded with this gorgeous view of wine country.

Look how cute she is! :)

Was on the street and saw someone on a park bench with a sweet giveaway bag from this year's Art Basel festival in mid-June. I asked the woman where she got it, or where I could buy one, and she just GAVE it to me. I was floored. I didn't know people still did that! She literally just took out all of her stuff, put it in a neat pile next to her, and handed it to me with a smile. Wow.

Well, if you are still here reading, I congratulate you for surviving this very long post. Love you all. 

—Linds