A Perfect Host

Day two of our trip proved just what a great host Jamin was. For anyone that has ever been hosted by Jamin, while in college or in the service, you will understand and appreciate the sacrifices (usually small and unnoticeable) that he went through to entertain his guests.

The day started with a tour of Jamin's base. I was truly clueless about military life and Jamin patiently weathered all of my questions about the base and his job. Jamin had just started a new job on the base before we arrived over there and I could tell that he was honestly so excited about what it was he was doing. I learned to stop asking detailed questions about the "work" side of Jamin back when he was in college because as hard as he tried to simplify whatever it was he was doing - it still never made sense to me. What always came across though was his enthusiasm. I think that the normal response from people when you ask them about work is "Its ok." But to Jamin it was always a positive statement, always an opportunity for growth, always a way to be helpful, always "great!"

After spending the morning at the base Jamin drove us 30 minutes down the road to the city of Trier (the oldest city in Germany). Since Jamin lived in the country, Trier was the closest thing Jamin had to a big city and even though he had been there numerous times before he still made the effort to get us excited about what we were going to see. Though a rainy afternoon we enjoyed a pleasant lunch at an outdoor cafe where Jamin made sure I had my first German bratwurst.

We wandered around the city for awhile when Jamin suggested we get ice cream "In the rain?" I questioned. We were definitely the only ones walking around the streets with raincoats on licking ice cream cones. Jamin was patient with Parker and I as we explored the beautiful buildings and took our time taking pictures.

On our way back to the car we passed by a shop that carried only real fruit juice gummies. Jamin couldn't pass up the opportunity and so we ended up spending 20 minutes picking out just the right shape, size and taste of gummies to purchase. Just one more example to me about how Jamin was inquisitive about any and every subject.

After a nap and dinner back at the apartment we headed back out to Trier to meet up with Jamin's friend Matt and enjoy a night on the town. I had given Jamin a shirt as a (very) late birthday present on our arrival in Germany and I was pleased to see that he wore it for me. He was pretty impressed with himself to be "so stylin'!"


Again not really an exceptional day in any way but a happy one at least spent in the presence of my brother.