The party started at Siloah at 4pm on Saturday afternoon, but I didn’t show up until around 5pm. I was immediately greeted by one of the ladies I had met last week, and after I had paid my small admission fee, I was free to raid the food buffet. Restaurants are a good way to experience German cooking. Cafeterias at work are also good for this. BUT nothing substitutes for a good old fashion “pot-luck” where everyone brings their own specialty. I tried to explain the word “pot-luck” to a few of the people, but I couldn’t really do it well. I guess we’ll just stick to the word “buffet”, but the main point is that the food was good.
The “Sommerfest” was being held (as it is annually) to celebrate a successful summer just before the German holidays. The German schools are not in session in August through the middle of September so many families take vacation then. Basically, many organizations, groups, and extra activities “shut-down” during this time because nobody is around. Not a bad concept, right?
It was a celebration to say the least. All together there were probably 50 of us. Next to food and drink, there were a few tents set up outside of the center with one having a live band. The band was a three person Spanish group with keyboard, guiro, bongo drums, and a cymbal. They were quite good. It brought me once again to the thought of how inter-cultural the world really is. Here I was… a white American with a group of German handicaps dancing to some sort of Spanish mariachi band. REALLY? Yes, really. That is today’s world, and I think it is great.
On a side note, I did learn a few more interesting things about America’s melting pot. One of the Germans asked me why we use the German “yes” in the states all the time. I was puzzled at first by the question, but then it made sense. Let me explain… When your mom asks you if you have done your homework, are you more likely to say “yes” or “yeah”? I would say “yeah”… or even “yup” if responding lightly. In any case, the word “yeah” is a derivative of the German word for “yes” which is “ja”. SO we basically are speaking German all the time at home! My conversation with this same gentleman brought just a tiny bit of pride out as well. He asked where I came from, and I said, “America”. The light bulb went off and he responded with a chuckle, “I didn’t think you were from Bavaria!” I took that as a compliment! If he was even considering I was from the region, I must have been putting on a pretty good show! That was my golden star sticker for the week.
As the night wore on, I was able to meet several other people. Some shared their “story” a little bit and that was really neat. The same struggles are met all over the world, but the fact that I could relate and sympathize without a language barrier was cool. Moving on from some darker spots in their lives, many are doing their own independent thing. I met some potters and also some dancers!
One lady knew how to foxtrot and waltz rather well. I told her that I learned these dances with a good friend about five years ago via video, but I couldn’t remember how to do them well anymore (as if I could ever do them well!). I did know how to swing dance a little, so I taught her the basic steps. It was quite funny! She picked it up very quickly, and suddenly I was again the dancing amateur! I don’t think dancing is really my thing… but then again, nobody was judging. Ha!
Around 10pm, things were chilling and people were leaving. I helped quickly with the clean up and tearing the tents down, and we called it a night. It was a blessing to get to know such a great group of people. It was without a doubt the highlight of this week.
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