Socializing

I belong to a breed known as the domineering introvert. When left to choose between staying home and meeting new people, I will likely stay home. When I mix in a crowd of strangers, I tend to stay quiet and deferential. However, the moment I feel comfortable in the situation, just try to shut me up.

Last night, I had to make one of those social life choices. Did I want to stay in and solve Sudoku puzzles, or did I want to go to Cafe Lingua, an event hosted by INCAS once a month? In the end, the promise of snacks got me moving. When I arrived at Humboldt Haus where all INCAS events take place, I saw various tables labeled for different languages. English, Spanish, French, and German were all represented. I took an open seat at the German table and promptly received a handful of M&Ms. For each color M&M, I had to talk about a corresponding topic. Red for hobbies, Orange for family, etc. After that game, the group played two truths and a lie, and thereafter a game where everyone has the name of a person on their forehead and must guess who they are by asking yes or no questions. All in all, I enjoyed myself. The M&Ms certainly didn't hurt my opinion of the event either.

Today was a bit less social. I spent most of the day watching ZDF programming and messing around on the computer. I also enjoyed chocolate pancakes with a molten butter and chocolate syrup that I made without a recipe. (To me, cooking without precise measurements is like building a house without blueprints. I'm only just coming around to the "tastes right" approach.) However, at 3 the time came for my second stint in the Rhönrad. This time, I was the only newbie there. I therefore received the undivided attention of the instructor. We tried doing a basic roll one handed, one legged, turning around while upside down, and what struck me as some seriously complicated spinning around. The last included the move that cost me some blood on Monday. However, with the instructor applying the breaks, I had no problems. I did bleed though. Apparently the tops of my feet aren't used to straps. I got a blood blister even through my shoes. That combined with the calluses I'm reforming on my hands makes me feel like a gymnast again.