The Displaced New Mexican

Oh, what a day that was

Yesterday I took a trip to M�nster, about one hour away by train with a small group of exchange students (Mikko (still Finland), Maja (Poland and it's my-ya, if you were wondering), Alexia (France) and Lucas (France)). M�nster is a lovely town and I had a nice time but a couple of downers darkened my mood a bit. The major one was Friday night. After a party at the student union building I went to escort a friend home. She had lost her coat-check ticket, and apparently someone else had found it and redeemed it, taking her coat and her purse, containing money, telephone, keys, ID etc. I cannot even begin to describe the troubles that have beset this girl since she has been here, but this really took the cake. It was really heartbreaking. She, myself and one other guy made the 20 minute walk home in utter silence, she wearing my coat with me staying warm with my scarf and hat. She slept in my bed and I slept on the floor wearing my coat with a towel over me feet. In the morning I gave her two lightweight jackets and she set out to seek refuge with a friend. So with that cheery start I went to the train station to meet the group for the M�nster trip. 4 of us live in the same building so we went to the arrainged meeting place, bought a 5 person ticket and waited for the reamaing person, Alexia. We then recieved a text message from her informing us that she was waiting for us on the platform and had saved us the effort of buying the ticket! Not a real big deal, but I was not in the mood. We took the train and when the controller came to ask for our ticket we asked if we could return our extra ticket. He said that we could, just take it to the counter at our destination and tell them what happend. When we did that, we were informed in proper German style (blunt) that he was wrong and we were screwed. We spent some time trying to peddle it off on ticket-buying travelers, but no one would bite. Just as we were having the 'We're wasting our time, let's just bite the bullet and go" conversation, Alexia spotted a young man about to feed the machine 28� for a weekend ticket. We explained our situation and he agreed to help us out. I gave him a 1� discount for the salvation. We then hit the streets, dodging bicycles and listening to street perfromers. Of course we went to the church, which on the inside was more or less just like the other chruches I've seen here, but this one was different in the fact that there was someone on the organ, playing some seriously creepy and weird music. Gave it a different feeling that the usual ultra-quiet stillness in these places. Then it was further down the road checking out more buildings and people along the way. We stopped in an Arabic cafe for some coffee, tea and apple sheesha. Then we headed for the castle, which was nice looking but closed. Peeking in the windows suggested that it was prettier on the outside, anyway. Then over to the botanical gardens, which we decided were better visited in other seasons than late Fall. It was getting late, so we headed back to the train station and back to Dortmund. We had planned to visit the Christmas market in M�nster, but learned we were two days early for the opening. Lucky for us, the Weinachtsmarkt in Dortmund opened on Thursday. We met with Jitka (Czech Republik) and walked about the market, which is full of vendors selling food, candy, toys, decorations and the special Christmas drink Gl�hwein. this "glow wine", warm red wine with cinnamon and spices in it, is a staple of the holiday season here. I suspect that the name is not in reference to the wine itself, as it emits no light, but to the glowing sensation one percieves in one's face after drinking said substance. After a stocking-shaped mug we all went home to our respective dwellings with glowing faces and put the finishing touches on a long day.

Ok, so you guys wanted to see me, right? As we passed these signs Mikko said: "Hey, there is David after 40 years! Or maybe two weeks." Then he asked for a photo. I styled my hair specially for the occasion, but jeez, I still need to get me to a barber.

Inside the Cathedral in M�nster. Remember to imagine the creepy organ music.

This guy was pretty good. I can't seem to remember what song he was playing, but he was pretty good at it.