And so they went to semis but not the finals, and thank goodness I can relax today.

In about 24 hours I will once again be leaving this beautiful country.
I was distraught at this fact 2 years ago, and now as a coach, I feel much the same.
The food, the sights its all familiar but new.
And I have hopes that so long as this tournament continues here in Stuttgart, I will have the opportunity to coach future teams.

Oh and the people. The people are what makes every trip so unique and so amazing. Because whether or not you can communicate with them effectively through English is pretty much irrelevant to the traveler. The genuine kindness and affection shown by our German hosts, and the desire to care for us.. That's something done purely out of good human nature and sometimes in our daily lives we don't see enough of this.

I have a very runny nose at the moment and I dearly hope my immune system will simply handle it and move on.

My last return trip from Stuttgart to Calgary was by far THE WORST FLIGHT I HAVE EVER HAD. Imagine suddenly being unable to eat anything, with a spiked fever, inability to walk or cognitively talk, a ton of pressure in the ears only aggravated by the flights pressure changes, sore throat and swollen lymph nodes..

Yes all those symptoms and more were present in my last flight back, and it suddenly dampens the trip.


Also I will now simply have to admit to myself. Studying and reading while traveling is simply not feasible. Travel in its nature stimulates all of your senses constantly and with great magnitude. Attempting to calm these senses and direct a synced thought through book into your head... It's just not realistic.

Which also means my return next week is synonymous with lots of coffee and long nights at the library.


Ah can you see the merging of two different worlds in this entry? There's a bit of the past present and future all mingled in it.

Going to school this morning. I get to talk to a bunch of Germans in their English class about Canada. We've decided to be passive-aggressive and talk about equality and fairness at debate tournaments in Canada.