Athens, Greece

i've been so exhausted just dealing with him, no time or energy for this blog.  Anyway here are an accumulation of thoughts for the past couple weeks or so..

On a train right now from Berlin to Frankfurt, then catching a flight to Rome the next day.  New years was a blast, he literally had the time of his life.  Berlin was a blast, he loves to be in clean surroundings and the country and people of Deutschland never failed to amaze him.  It kinda reminded me of my first impression, which led me to accept the job offer in Crailsheim without hesitation.  But after 2 years in that place i'm glad to be out of it, i started to see nothing but the disadvantages of being a Deutscher. 

Anyway, i should be talking about my experiences in Germany, but Arthur has compelled me to turn this "blog" into a real blog.  Every morning i start the day with a fresh cup of patience with Arthur, and by the end of the night i am always exhausted.  However i am getting better at this, i'm learning how it is to be completely selfless.  I thought i knew, then it really hit me how selfish i still was, wanting to spoil him and show him the best of Europe and so forth.  This is the only way anybody can deal with him.  And i actually thought i can straighten this kid out, "reprogram" him kinda.  That's being as naive as can be.  But wrinkles can be ironed out, it just takes a tremendous amount of time and patience. 

I kinda see him as an "extreme" version of myself, my personality.  I think we share many of the same mental problems, over anxiety, too much thinking at night to the point of no sleep.  We share manby of the same general views, which I love, since i've been called a "generalist" by my brother.  I really think this is true since i am able to expect what's coming from him, what's on his mind, or how he will react.  As i said, im getting good at this, and i'll need to get as good as i can before the end of this trip (that's the anxiety talking, again).

Rant - i hate it when people look at Arthur.  I've yet to see a sympathetic face on anyone in any country during our time in Europe.  I mean i find myself glaring back at the person looking and they will just look away or pretend to do something.  People snoop around way too much for their own good.  Especially Germans.  That comes from personal experience and its true.  But i'm not directing this towards them, i'm talking about anyone who happens to notice that Arthur is a little "out of line" and find themselves staring at his actions.  I know its hard not to notice a 6 foot asian waving his hands and acting up amongst a sea of white people.  It's only by putting yourelf in their shoes that you realize how cruel society is. The world is so fast and unfogiving towards him, even i sometimes forget that this is why he is so depressed and paranoid like he is.