Dear Reader,

I like to run in Munich. In the beginning, in my first months here, I used to run in Nymphenburg´s Garten. There, in the forest, beyond the gates of the castle, I had the feeling that I am far from everything. And there was the place of my first 10 km run. After that, when I moved, I started to run up and down along the Isar. Next to all the people who are running every day.
Today, after a long day of sitting inside and working, I took a short break, my running shoes, my motivation, and I go out for running with D. The air was fresh. After 5 minutes it starts the rain. Heavy summer rain. We looked at one each other and we continued to run. Because of her glasses, she couldn’t see the people who looked at us, surprised by our continual running instead of hiding under a bus stop. Me, I was focusing on the smiles of the other runners who run in the opposite direction. We smiled between to breaths. We were all part of the same crazy family of runners running in the rain. Sometimes the rain stopped. But only to start again five minutes later. After a while, D. made her way back. Me, I continued between the raindrops. 4; 5 km and after that return. I planned to run 10 km. And almost all of them in the rain. With other runners who were smiling passing next to me. Like for saying you can do that.
I liked to run in the rain. It was like a huge shower washing away all the bad feelings, memories, thoughts, days that I lived in the last months. Sometimes the life of an expat is not really the easiest one. But at the end of the 10 km, I smiled. I made it. Even if I were more than wet and I could have made a cup of tea from the water squeezed out of socks or a T-shirt. Like a memory of that great experience.
Many greetings,
C.