So THAT is white...

In case you missed it, I'm currently in Germany studying for my masters for a few weeks (in English, mind you!).  The past year has flown past - I can hardly believe I've been in Tanzania for over a year before flying out for classes!  Anyway... I had a few items on my list of things I wanted to purchase in Europe this summer before heading back to Tanzania.  Things like a new Skype headset, sunglasses (mine have all broken), and maybe a few choice food items I can't get in the Land of Tanz.

Clothing was really not one of them.

You see, I have a lot of clothes.  Clothes that work really, really well in East Africa.  They might be a couple few years old, or gently well-loved, but they’re still in really great mostly decent shape.  And they still look nice, and I get compliments on them quite a lot (yes, from other missionaries… but hey! I trusted their judgment!)

But then, I hit Germany.  And I realized.

I realized as I pulled a shirt out of my suitcase and one of my housemates proclaimed, “Wait, that used to be WHITE!?”  I realized as I put on my one and only fleece jacket and all the zippers started falling off or refusing to zip.  I realized as I put on socks that have stretched out (thanks to hand-washing in rivers and no dryers)... put on shirts that are way too big (after my recent amoeba weight-loss plan)... and as I took another look at the clothes in my suitcase compared to those of people around me.

And I realized… a shopping trip might just be in order.

The idea of clothes shopping actually sounds like a lot of fun, I must say.  If you ignore the fact that I'm totally confused at this point on exchange rates and don't where to get the best deals on a budget... set aside the fact that I don't understand European sizes... and forget that I don't have ANY vocabulary, much less for clothing, in German or Swiss-German.  Praying I can get some good deals along the way - and hopefully, a few pieces of clothing that are a bit warmer for cold-weather places like Germany and Nairobi!  Just thankful for a roommate or two who are excited to accompany me on yet another new adventure... :)