I played Swiss German charades on Saturday but I now have a bike, all put back together again.
Saturday morning I had been out for a run and I stopped by the local bike shop to see what their hours were, my bike had arrived and was ready to be put back together, but I just got a shake of the head as we tried to communicate. Not sure what to do but watching bikers go by and the beautiful sunny weather inspired me to just take it down there and see if I could figure it out. An old gentleman and what looked like his son own a bike shop that I would classify as old school. My brothers would love it! I parked my huge bike box, with wheels, right in the doorway and the older gentleman and I tried to communicate. Not happening. I started to open the box and tried to act out putting a bike together. I guess my acting was good enough because he went in and got a calendar and kept pointing to Monday. And I thought okay I'll come back on Monday. I still wasn't sure what he meant. He went inside for a minute and I got teary as I packed it up again; thinking about lugging it back to my apartment again. Soon the man and his son came out waving his hands for me to stop packing it up and he put all ten of his fingers up and then 1. He wrote and talked really slow as he did what looked like to me as two cursive L's but then I figured they must be two ones and that I should come back at 11:00. I can really relate now to any language slow, big and loud doesn't help with understanding. Later out on my bike, I had to laugh and wonder if my dad was in his ear saying, "Come on give the poor girl and break!"
True to the Swiss, as I arrived back at 11:00 he was wheeling it outside all put together. I could have kissed him I was so happy. So, for 35 francs and a healthy dose of humility I have a bike which feels like freedom.... and reminds me of a passage in Running Dream,
"Running aired out my soul. It made me feel alive."
On my maiden voyage those were my thoughts!
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