Saturday morning, a staff member and I removed several small trees and their root balls using the DCU tractor. I was showed how to drive the tractor and I must admit that it is strange. I may write more about that later, when I have figured out the purpose of some of the things I was instructed to do when I was starting the machine. Anyway, I found myself quite dirty by the noon hour.
That was when I was scheduled to go chainsaw shopping in the city. David Hoehner (a fellow North American) had agreed to take me and translate. He has been here for a few years and knows the language and culture far better than I do. I asked him if I should change clothes before we went. He said that after doing yard work, a few times he has run to a store and forgotten to change out of his dirty clothes, many people gave him strange looks. He also said that when plumbers and other workers have worked on his apartment, they come to work in nice clothes, change clothes in the bathroom, work on their task, and change back into their nice clothes before going back into the street.
DCU is located near a brewery and I have noticed that many people who are walking there are carrying gym bags. I always wondered what was in them and now I know. I guess if I want to fit in, I am going to have to start carrying a spare set of clothes in a gym bag.
-Dave
