Meet Wido

Wido (pronounced "Vitto") is the friend that Chuck has known the longest.  They met in 4th grade, which I find completely adorable.  We made arrangements to meet up with Wido and Lisa (his girlfriend) at Wido's parent's house.  The same house Wido grew up in and where Chuck spent many hours playing as a kid.  It was really fun to drive by the Dubbe's old house as well.  Finally all the stories Chuck has told me began to take shape in my mind.  Experiencing this quaint little German town was wonderful.  I have to admit, I never usually get car sick, but driving around in German villages brings car sickness to a whole other level. 

But back to Wido and Lisa.  Chuck and I were both pretty nervous to meet up with them.  Wido claimed to speak English well, but I found other people's definitions of "speaking English well" to vary a whole lot.  When we arrived in the town, Chuck was so excited, like a little boy going to an amusement park.  He was proudly showing off this old building and that old building, pointing out places they used to play or reek havoc, and happy to find Wido's parent's house the same as it had been all those years ago. 

Wido answered the door right away with a huge smile on his face, arms extended for hugs.  Very sweet.  Very friendly.  So easy to see why him and Chuck were best buddies.  My heart was just instantly warmed by his openness and obvious guy-bond with Chuck. 

True to his word, Wido DID speak English very well.  He introduced me to his parents and girl friend with flawless English.  I was thrilled to be able to communicate!  A unique German custom is that they all take their shoes off at the door.  People often wear "house shoes" (slippers) around.  True to the custom, Wido's Mom gave me a pair of slippers to lounge around in.  I have to admit, there is something about wearing my own shoes that gives me comfort.  Taking my shoes off at the door gave me a little sense of vulnerability for some reason.  I don't know why, but I like keeping my own shoes on!  Still, I found that custom to be very cute.

It was really enjoyable meeting Wido's parents.  Though I couldn't communicate with them, it was clear on their faces they were so happy to see Chuck and his Frau.  They even gave us a bottle of Gluhwein, whoo hoo!  The parents chatted with us for a little while, and then left us 2 couples to talk on our own. 

We all sat at this cute little nook table, that was already set with little dessert dishes and coffee mugs.  Another common German tradition is to have "coffee and cake" in the afternoon.  Now THAT tradition I could get used to!  The 4 of us sat around talking, laughing, and getting to know each other for a couple hours and had a fantastic time.  I LOVED learning about their culture, jobs, schooling, home life, relationship, and all our differences and similarities.  It was fascinating.  Lisa also spoke English well and was such a sweet girl.  What a special afternoon.

 

Fun facts you might not know about Chuck.  A lot of his life he was called "Charly", so Wido found it hilarious that he is going by "Chuck" now.  Germans  can not pronounce Chuck well, so Charly it was.  I loved hearing them say "Charly" all afternoon.  I also learned that little Charly had somewhat of a mean streak in him.  HaHa!  I suppose being one of seven kids, being mean to other kids was his way of getting attention.  Wido said he was never mean to Charly.  ;)

Like I said, it was a fantastic afternoon and I look forward to the day we get to hang out with Wido and Lisa again!