Salsa

Don't you just love little unexpected moments of happiness that catch you totally off guard?

Last night, I was invited to a combined birthday& housewarming party for two people on my project. There are ten or so of my colleagues who live in my apartment building, which the German colleagues have affectionately nicknamed "Melrose Place" and the party was located a couple of doors down from me.

I was tired after work and had been up since 5 AM to catch my flight from Munich to Basel so I was sinking deeper and deeper into the couch when one of my neighbors knocked on the door and dragged me over to the party. A group had just arrived from their salsa class and requested some salsa music to liven the party up. Next thing I knew, everyone was dancing around the living room showing off what they had learned in class. Everyone who wasn't in the class was asking for lessons so they could join in too.

I know a little salsa from some Puerto Rican friends so I even did a little dancing myself. We were laughing so hard by the end because each person was trying to one up the next and by the end the moves were getting pretty ridiculous.

At one point or another, I got to talk for awhile to nearly every person at the party, none of whom I work with directly. The crowd was mostly German and it was the first time I had spent time with so many Germans without M. around. Although I felt a little like an outsider when they were snapping back and forth between German and English and I couldn't always join in or understand, I found it remarkable how much their external demeanors differed from their personalities when among their friends.

As an American, I am so used to superficial pleasantries and fake smiles and friendliness. At times I would say I even miss it, especially when you have a bunch of very stern looking Swiss or German people scowling at you for something completely silly. On the other hand, feeling genuine friendliness and acceptance last night that came from a real effort to get to know each other better has a certain appeal too. And make no mistake about it, just because the outside world doesn't always get to see it doesn't mean that these people don't have a very silly side. I saw it first hand last night.

At the end of the evening, I sat with a couple of the girls from Munich and Duesseldorf and while we were chatting I watched the crowd out on the balcony enjoying their cigarettes and the weather that is tentatively signaling spring. With the latino music, the warm breeze and the crowd before me, it felt like we could have been anywhere just then.

Posted from Basel