Stranger In A Strangeland: Part I

Joseph Conrad once said, "Think what you want, but I never meant to drown myself. I meant to swim till I sank, and that's not the same thing."

**

"We cannot land because we seem to have lost the runway," says the pilot, his voice still and dead pan.

I look to my friend who looks horrified and offer a majestic shrug, throw my hands into the air, and say, "What can one ever say to such a thing?"

But really, I do wonder where the runway is. Is it out for lunch? Perhaps it's having some kaffee and brot? Or has the runway, in a gesture of unfortunate irony, itself runAway? The mind reels, and I find myself puzzled by this new continent, this new country I'll call home for the next year.

**

I've arrived safely in Germany.

**

My room is huge. Massive pine trees line my windows as snow settles on the dark branches.

Germans so far are ugly, a far cry from the blonde hair/blue eyed Ayrian (sp?) race.

The town is beautiful, situated on a small mountain half a mile from town. The town has restaurants, a cinema, coffee shops, and a castle. It's like a postcard you can walk to in less than ten minutes.

I've been told not to expect to see the sun for the next 3 months.

A 120 minute phone card bought me 6 minutes of talk time. Damn.

Only 14 people of the 200 we brought over actually get to stay in Landstuhl. This includes me because I'll be on call. You know when CNN plays that 45 second clip about a roadside bomb? That means my life will be hell for about 24 hours.

Living on Landstuhl is a good thing. I'm 2 minutes from the largest military hospital out of America. You can see it on TV if you watch.

I'm way out of my league. Some of the best doctors and surgeons in the world are eating lunch next to me. Again, damn.

It's lonely and cold. It's Germany in the winter.

I miss you.

**

The library keeps me company. Here's what I just checked out after a ten minute hike in the snow:

Books-
Munich and the Bavarian Alps
Culture Shock! Germany.
Holland
Europe Travel Guide

CD Rom-
Teach Yourself German
*My German is progressing rapidly. Just ask Anna or the bus driver guy who stared blankly at me when I said to him, "Where is Goethe street?" and "My food is cold."

CD (the music type)-
A Love Supreme, Coltrane
Round Room, Phish
Farmhouse, Phish
White Ladder, David Gray

DVD-
Felicity, Sophomore Year (FREAKIN SCORE!)
Amores Perros

**

I could be scrubbing in as early as tomorrow, which means as you're falling asleep tonight I may or may not be elbow deep in blood.

I'm ready to start swimming.