Zehn Jahre

There's not much more to say that I haven't said here before about this anniversary. Ten years ago tonight I embarked on a journey that would change my life forever. It was the one year that ultimately brought me to where I am today. For years I was planning an epic return to mark the ten-year anniversary of my year-long exchange in Germany. But sadly, I was unable to make it back to my adopted homeland because of an exciting new opportunity elsewhere in Canada. Because the two are so closely related, I'm not as disappointed as I thought I'd be about not being able to visit my dear friends and the families I stayed with on the northern lowlands. It was there that I decided I wanted to be a journalist, and it's here that I'm fulfilling part of those early dreams. And when I look out on this new set of plains that comprises my newest adopted home, I feel both homesick for that far away land in a time long gone, and comfort in the familiarity of vast fields and wide open skies. Distinct characteristics of a unique land that I fell in love with a decade ago.

So I'll end this with my favourite German poem. I was barely able to understand the language when I first read it, but I understood it enough that it shook me to the core. It's about being a foreigner in a strange land, and experiencing that stunning revelation of sudden belonging.

Schatten Rosen Schatten
Unter einem fremden Himmel
Schatten Rosen 
Schatten 
auf einer fremden Erde 
zwischen Rosen und Schatten 
in einem fremden Wasser 
mein Schatten

-Ingeborg Bachmann (1926-1973)

Empty Tank

When you spend your whole day being as creative as possible telling a story, it leaves little left in the evenings for "blogging". So I guess what I'm saying is these days I only have about one story a day in me, but by the time 6PM rolls around that story I put together doesn't belong to me anymore. Since I put lots of effort into it, I'm pretty much creatively spent by the time I get home. Not that I'm complaining or anything - these daily stories are totally fulfilling and I feel honoured being able to express them in such a way. But the last thing I wanna do at night is sit down in front of another computer and rack my brain thinking about compelling ways to construct other tales.

So I guess that's my excuse for this latest stint of blog neglect. Nothing else new to report, really. Just going with the flow, enjoying my new surroundings, and loving my job. And in two weeks I get to go home. Hope to see you at the beach on good ol' G-Bay.

The Sunny Prairies

Alas, I sit here on this pleasant summer night, and the honking and hollering of Italian soccer fans down the street in Winnipeg's Little Italy further aches my broken heart. My beloved Mannschaft from Germany was eliminated at the World Cup semi-final today by the tenacious Italians. On home turf, no less! Deutschland put together a pretty solid run over the last month and I had really high hopes, but it wasn't meant to be. The Italians won fair and square, and it was a pretty exciting game. They were nothing but classy about it too so I think I'll get behind them for the final. They have a lot to prove as well - they have to restore dignity in their home country after the rich shitheels that run soccer there have pretty much shamed it beyond repair. It'd also be cool to see France take it all and firmly establish Zidane as a legend, but Italy needs it more. But I digress.

Here are a few pics of Winnipeg life as I've experienced it so far.

Portage and Main

The Manitoba Legislative Assembly. It's a lot nicer than Queen's Park

The banks of the Assiniboine, in the dry summer

The Bombers/Argos game a couple weeks ago

Remember when this guy was a superstar? Stay off the dope, kids!

Very vibrant and eclectic music scenes here. Here are the Dead Indians, a Nish hip hop crew performing on National Aboriginal Day

This is the only place I've seen with a restaurant on a bridge

A hero's sepulchre

One of the many monuments you see devoted to him here

Last but not least, the place that helps me pay the bills