I’ll say this, the patterns are familiar—high highs one day and low lows the next. It probably doesn’t help that Nia and I are a teensy bit on the dramatic side, so our emotional responses swing wildly, sometimes even by the minute. ;) Good thing Nick is so even-keeled, but even he has his moments when he maxes out.
Here’s a snapshot of one of my recent lows:
Last Thursday, right after sending Nick and Nia off for the day, I headed out for my daily Bio-bin emptying duty (see my last post if you don’t know the joys of the Bio-bin). The high for the day was forecasted at a balmy 75°F, so I’d chosen a lovely shoulder-baring halter-dress for my luncheon later in the day. At 8:30 AM, however, it was hovering right in the upper 50’s. Did I put on a sweater? Of course not—it was just going to be a quick in-and-out trip to the recycling bins.
I grabbed my purse like usual, blindly trusting that my apartment key was safely clipped to its tether inside. As the heavy door clicked shut behind me, I reached in to grab my key, only to realize the tragic truth: it was still in my fanny pack from last night’s walk.
Now, you might think, no big deal, just turn around and walk back inside. That would be a lovely, simple fix, except the doors here auto-lock the second they close. Both of them. So even if a kind neighbor exited the main building door, I was still completely locked out of my apartment.
Cue the accelerated heartbeat.
No problem, I thought. I’ll just call Nick and go meet him for his key.
I reached back into my purse. No phone. Left it on the table inside. Even so, I still briefly debated hopping on the train to track Nick down at the Embassy, but that would eat up two and a half hours and make me miss my lunch party entirely.
Now I was truly freaking out. I didn’t know where a single other Embassy family lived yet, and my bare arms were rapidly developing a thin layer of goose-bumps.
That’s when a lightbulb went off: assuming this post operates like our past assignments, Housing usually has a backup key for each property. And lucky for me, the Housing Team works out of an annex within walking distance, and I just so happened to know someone on that team from our initial walkthrough. Now all that was left to do was figure out where her office was and pray she had a spare key…
I began my brisk trek over to the annex while locals gawked at me like I’d lost my mind for rocking bare shoulders in the crisp morning air. I ignored the funny looks, trudged on through the chill, cleared security, and entered the building. After asking around in the hall and getting some very vague directions, I finally spotted my contact’s name on a door plate.
Success! And to my good fortune, she was sitting right there!
“So sorry to bother you,” I said, no doubt looking a little frantic. “I’m quite embarrassed to say this, but it seems I’ve already managed to lock myself out, and I’m really hoping you can help me get back in.”
I held my breath, waiting for the reprimand I was surely due. Instead, she just smiled kindly and said, “No problem. We have a spare key and will get you back inside in no time”. Relief surged through me. I was so heartened by her response that I hugged her right then and there. (In hindsight, not the most culturally appropriate response, but distress makes you do funny things…)
When all was said and done, my little morning mishap only cost me about 45 minutes, and I gave myself a tiny pat on the back for being able to think on my feet in a tricky situation. Our air freight, on the other hand, is not so easily resolved. More on that next time!
And just so you don’t think it’s all bad, here’s a photo from our fun evening out at a Ceilidh last night. If you’re baffled by that C-word like I was, it’s basically a lively dance featuring Celtic music and traditional Scottish and Irish folk dancing. It was such an authentic experience and, lucky for us, called entirely in English! Nia and I walked away with some new German friends and an invite for a tour around town. We will most definitely be going back—even if we paid the price when our alarms went off this morning…
