so last night i got invited to a slide show of my neighbours adventures this past summer in norway and sweden. i met christian in the hallway when i saw his ski boots out drying. since we have spoke about snow when we have seen eachother, and he seems like a very cool guy. so, yesterday, i was coming in from my run and he told me he was having some people over to look at pics, and that he "hoped i would be able to attend"... so polite! anyways, i was excited to get out of my room and meet some people, and it was great! there were about 8 of us, and most didn't know eachother which surprised me a bit considering how small this uni is... and i thought everyone in res knew eachother? the interesting thing was, when i was about to knock on the door, i could hear all these people speaking spanish?! sure enough, one of the guys (sergio... or something close to that) was from spain, and didn't speak any german. this apparently has been no big deal for him, cause everyone here speaks spanish too... i felt like a language lackey. all of these people were trying so hard to speak english for me, when i really was fine just listening to the swirl of languages all around me! ok, that's a new goal... spanish! i have felt horrible being here and not speaking german, but i think spanish is much more valuable of a language. i need a second language. period.
the real fun of the night was getting a glimpse of christian's passions... surfing, kite-surfing, skiing, and the main topic of the night, climbing! i was sitting listening to him speak of the emotional journey he went on over this 6 week climbing adventure with two best friends, and i thought to myself, self, this is life at the next level. this isn't feeling rejuvenated with a run through beautiful austrian country side, or a road-bike trip around p.e.i., this experiencing nature at it's extreme. his passion takes him to some of the most beautiful places i have ever seen in photos... and he was touching, breathing, smelling, tasting, drinking it all in. hanging from the face of a granite mountain, pushing yourself to the limit. his reality is so much different from my own. i have pushed myself to my limit before (first thing to come to mind is marathon), but last night reminded me that it is when you push beyond, that true greatness can happen. but do you have to risk your life to imagine beauty like that?
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