German Bowling
Today concluded two weeks of intensive training here in Essen, Germany. Beginning last Monday, I’ve learned a lot, had many previously understood details clarified, discovered new ways of doing tasks, and made new friends. The culmination of these nine days of training happened tonight, in a bowling alley. We had fun and many laughs; and I did pretty well even though the score wasn’t a big deal.
German’s don’t bowl, or so I thought. Since the 19th century, German’s have played a game called Kegel, which ironically, is where bowling descended. Three Americans, five Germans, one Englishman, one Singaporean, and one Filipino descended to the depths of a bowling alley in an attempt to laugh at our inability to bowl. The Americans have bowled before while the Germans have Kegeled. Two different games with completely different sized balls, alley lengths, and style of play, what could go wrong?
Besides the usual gutter balls, strikes, and spares, one person (and we’re not naming him) started screwing around after watching one of the other Americans putting a terrific spin on the ball. This person tried to work the ball and ended up throwing the ball so hard that it went into the right gutter ten feet from the foul line, jumped out, crossed the lane while speeding down the alley, and went into the left gutter. It was extremely humorous, giving everyone a laugh, and making him feel like he needed to roll a few strikes. The next ball obliterated the pins. Overall, the Americans did pretty well. I rolled three consecutive strikes, which has to be a record for me.
I’m ready to go home. Although the clothes aren’t packed, my spirit is definitely on an eleven-hour plane ride home. Tyler won’t be meeting me at the airport Saturday; he has a birthday party and sleepover that he preferred to attend. It would be nice to see him but he should be with his friends and I’ll have Sunday and a trip to the zoo on Tuesday with him. I’m looking forward to my bed, a home-cooked meal, and free-refills on soda.