Supper Time

This is my kitchen counter.  Well, it's actually Waltraud's kitchen counter, but she lets me use it.  I had a colorful dinner today.  Note painted fingernails.  I did that this morning at Lily's house.  Every once in a while I get girly and think it's a good idea to paint my fingernails, but then 24 hours later I hate it and spend the next week chipping it off.

Today was a hard day.  Something really terrible happened to one of my closest friends here a few weeks ago, and today my friend came back to Vienna to finish the semester after being home for a few weeks.  It is hard to know what to say to someone who is sad beyond imagination.  You want to make them better, but really you just have to be there to be whatever they need at any moment.  The last few weeks have been a painful reminder that even though you are living in another country and sometimes it feels unreal, things still happen that you never anticipate or can even fathom happening.  I don't mean to be depressing, but I am exhausted and contemplative and so thankful for my beautiful, healthy family.  

I'll end with something amusing.  Ballet today.  Me. Pique turns. Misdirection.  Running into my teacher and classmates.  I was a bit distracted in class, and I could not make it across the room to the opposite corner for some reason.  My teacher is usually nice but pretty serious in class, but today she just started cracking up at me.  I just stopped turning and laughed.  I think I have established myself as the class clown, and I don't even have to speak.  A few well-timed blunders and giggles, and people here think you're hilarious.