Auf Wiedersehen, Leipzig!

I really don't have the time, energy or focus to write a real post tonight, because I should be packing in preparation for our morning departure to Bremen tomorrow; but, considering that I have had a pretty spectacluar time here in Leipzig, I figure the event of my departure deserves a word or two in closing...

One of the best parts of spending time here was that I got to reconnect with my friend and colleague, Morgan Smith. It was the strangest thing: I was wandering around the Hauptbahnhof (main train station), trying to figure out where my hotel was and how to get there, and he called out to me from across the street! Morgan and I were young artists together at Seattle Opera, back in 2000. Now, 10 years (and thousands of miles) later, I run into him, randomly, in Leipzig. Life is strange and wonderful.

It was truly a pleasure to meet his wife, Lori, and their super cute 3-year old, Sebastian. It made my visit to Leipzig all the more personal--and gave me a reason to come back. Our freak meeting, however, did make me realize that I have officially entered into that period of life where one finds one's self saying "Wow! I can't believe that was X years ago! It feels like yesterday!" Yes, I am old.

Speaking of old...

I hesitate to write much about my dating life on this blog for the whole world to see (not because it would be too salacious, but rather because it would be too depressing!), but I have to include this little tidbit:

So, last week, just when we were getting the show on its feet, I was walking down the main shopping street of Leipzig (fussgangstrasse) when this handsome, smiling man walked up to me and began speaking German to me. I looking at him blankly, as I am wont to do when people speak German to me, and I explained that I couldn't understand much German. So, we discovered quickly that we had French in common and we switched. He said (and I will never forget this) "I want to know you". That was it. So, I said "Okay!" and stuck out my hand with a big smile. What can I say? He was cute.

We introduced ourselves and I told him I was on my way to get a bite to eat before rehearsal, and I invited him to tag along. In our brief first meeting, I found out that he was French, but that he had been in Germany for 9 years. He said he was just finishing his studies in Math. I assumed he was finishing up his PhD, and was probably in his late 20's, early 30's...

I assumed wrong. We went on a date yesterday (which was a day off for me). During the course of the afternoon, I realized that he came here to Germany during HIGH SCHOOL (!). I never got him to tell me exactly how old he was (he said, "I think it's nice that we don't exactly know each other's ages"--yeah, I'll bet you think it's nice), but I know now that he can't be older than 25, and he's probably younger. Oh, the shame.

My mother always said the surest way to get a good man was to get a young one and take him to raise...but I'm not convinced. There's young--and then there's YOUNG. Even though our date was perfectly innocent, I still feel a little dirty. I guess I'll have to cleanse my palate with a more appropriate date in Bremen. :)