The Walk

It is the little things that make life here special.  The other day we walked up the hill past Palmgarten, one of BFA's dorms.  I love that walk because it is steep - lots of cardio at a good pace.  I anticipate points of interest.  The creek that runs under the road can be heard gurgling through the pasture.  The sheep and their babies look up curiously.  The three cows chew their cuds.  Kitchen gardens grow teasingly, kilometers from the kitchens they supply.  And the view, the glorious view in all directions takes my breath away.

On this walk we were menaced by clouds but managed to get into town without many drops.  And then we met an older German lady, out for a stroll.  She must, also, have been needing someone with whom to talk, because she stopped us and talked for ten minutes or more.  In German.  We had little to add, and didn't need to because her topics, ranging from her past knee surgeries, to Hitler and Stalin, her own Jewish childhood, and then the high schools in the area were all she needed.  We nodded, said, "ya, ya," and listened carefully.  Finally, she motioned to the sky, said it was going to rain and we all said, "Tschuss!".

Something about a small town brings out the joy of time spent just listening.  We felt blessed by this lady stopping to speak with us.  I hope she was blessed as well!