Two more days left

Ordinarily, on this blog I try to refrain from trite, meandering, personal chronocling. I'm not interested in proclaiming to the world what I've eaten for breakfast on any day, whether I'm under the weather, how much I paid for a quart of chocolate pudding (as my uncle invariably does on the mercifully rare occasions when I do visit with him). In other words, "comings and goings," devoid of any real purpose. But major change is afoot, and the blog entries will presumably affect that.

In a word (well, a phrase), der amerikanische Muenchener kehrt endlich zurueck. Ich werde Auswanderer, ein Fremder, jemand, der freiwillig im Exil lebt. Die Gruende sind vielfaltig und kompliziert; ehrlich gesagt, ich selber verstehe sie nicht vollkommen.

I'm moving back to Munich on 16 November, after precisely 77 days in California, during which time I've sold my car, gotten rid of lots of junk (more on that presently), boxed up and stored almost all of my possessions, and tied up countless loose ends. I feel bad about leaving my friends and family, but it is high time. I may be a stranger in Munich but over the past five years I have discovered that on no less profound a level I am also a stranger in "my" own land. So here goes. When I arrive in Munich this Friday morning (MEZ, Middle European Time, 5 hours ahead of the US East Coast and 9 hours ahead of California), I will not be totally green in comparison to many of the Auslaender (foreigners) who live there, because at least I have a decent grip on the language and know better than to ride "schwarzfahren," that is, fare-jump on the subway.