One Asshole Does Not a Country Make

It's not a secret. I'm just not that big a fan of Dortmund, Germany. There isn't a whole hell of a lot to do here. It's not international at all. Shopping sucks. High quality restaurant selection is almost nill. And, the most exciting thing to do around here seems to be to go watch a Dortmund soccer game. Yippee.

I'm pissed. It was again, a beautiful day today and so Keira and I went to the park. That girl. Whenever she sees people, she immediately gravitates towards them. She is so curious about the things that are going around her. She was running around and saw a little boy that was about her age and she walked towards him. I tried to steer her in another direciton, but she wanted to say hi. So, she ran up towards him. This little boy was with his father who was walking beside him. The father saw that his little boy was coming towards Keira. He took one look at us. Physically picked up his son and turned around and walked off. He walked 1/2 way around the park to the other side. You'd think that maybe he was leaving. No, he wasn't leaving. He just didn't want to be around us.

Well, in a fit of anger, I could easily generalize and say that all Germans are as much of a dickhead as he was, but I'm going to take the high road now. I know better. So, let's focus on some of the positives of this place, shall we?

What do I like here?
1. The grocer on the street corner. He doesn't speak too much English, but he and his wife are really nice. They have the freshest produce and they hand pick everything for you. I went in there today to buy some fruit and saw that he had strawberries. He told me that they were sweet and asked me if the fruit was for Keira. He then proceeded to pick the best quality one that he had for her.

You see the little missy enjoying her strawberries in the video.

2. The friendly, neighborhood pharmacist. This lady is nice. She speaks some English and tries hard to communicate. I went into the pharmacy yesterday and ordered some creams from her. I needed to buy some Calcium and she spent the time to bring out several different types and explain them all to me. She smiled. She was kind. I left feeling good.

3. The nice people at the Thursday Gymoboree session. This is where we go once a week for Keira to be with other children. Most of the parents there are very friendly and nice and no one treats us like second class citizens.

4. Neighbors downstairs. They say hi to us in the hallway and stop to talk to us every now and then.

5. The Asian store on Hohestrasse. Ok. They don't speak English, but they're Asian and their store has a really good selection of Chinese products.

6. The Mongolian Buffet restaurant we go to once a week (almost). Girls in there are so friendly and nice. Food is very fresh and high quality. Good prices.

Hmmm...that's all of I can think of now. Maybe the list will grow longer. Maybe not, but that's ok. In the meantime, the guy from today can just ESAD. There. I feel better. Aggression is sorted out. Have a nice day.