Sorry for the language, but 2020 is a sh*t show.
I mean, now Kayne is running for President? I just can’t. And Shane’s job? It was supposed to start in May and now we’re looking at September (more on that in a later post). Thanks, Corona!
My sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law taught us a game: Happies and Crappies. We played it a lot when we were in Asia as a way to reflect on our experiences. It’s simple – everyone says one good thing (a happy) and one bad thing (a crappy) from their day. Between this game and a fellow expat’s recent blog post (June’s Joy Report), I was inspired to switch up my content.
I’m ditchin’ the crappies and offering up five happies from this past week!
One: This street name.
…as an English speaker.
I read it as ‘dumb ass strasse’. Yes, I realize that it’s actually a name (Dumas-strasse), but it makes me laugh every time.
Two: Meatball turned 15!
Well, roughly. I adopted her a decade ago, this week! Don’t worry, she’s still a spring-kitty-chicken, which brings me to part 2a. Her ramp! I mentioned before that our window leads out to a retaining wall, so she can’t actually get outside, but can see through the grate and enjoy the breeze through her whiskers. Now that she has a ramp, she goes up and down approximately 200 times a day – most of those being in the wee hours of the morning.
Three: The first meeting of the Ecuador crew!
Shane was hired alongside another postdoc, Lucie! Eventually, when we’re allowed to go to Ecuador, the three of us will move together (I have dubbed myself an honorary lab member) and Lucie and Shane will be the project leaders. The number of new coronavirus cases in Munich are staying very low (knock-on-wood), so we were able to check out city center, have some drinks at the Hofbräuhaus, and talk about Ecuador!
Four: Our local swimming spot.
No offense, Groningen, but Munich knows how to have a summer! We’ve had sunshine and warm temperatures, which means I’ve been dying to do some river swimming. Apparently, you’re not a Münchener until you’ve swam in the Isar River, but that’s ~40 min bike ride away from our house. We’ll do it one day, but for now we’ve found a closer option. In about 15 minutes, we can be swimming in the Würm River.
Five: We joined the climbing gym.
It’s been 3.5 months, but we’re finally back in climbing action! Also a testament to how well Germany has handled it’s containment of COVID-19.
Fun Fact: Our gym is called Einstein Boulderhalle after (obviously) Albert Einstein who lived in Munich as a child.
Honorable mention:
I’ve learned 2 new German words recently, which have quickly become my favorite: schmutzig (dirty) & schlussel (key). It’s something about that ‘sch’ sound at the beginning that makes it fun to say! 🤪
It’s’ easy to focus on the bad these days. Hopefully my happies brought you a smile, or at the very least, inspire you to think of your own happies!
Tschüss,
The Shwits 
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