Housewarming

This is the latest chapter in the story about our neighbors. To recap - first the people downstairs complained about noise from our washing machine, then we dropped ashes and tools and a passport on them, then there was a meeting about standing up to the landlord, and we are sure there has been gossip about us along the way. We did get invited to another neighbor party a few weeks ago, which we skipped. There wasn't a great excuse other than we were getting the house ready for Serena's baby shower and that we didn't feel like being in a potentially awkward social situation. It's not that the neighbors are bad people, it's just that when you are the only non-native German speakers in the room you either just talk to each other or the two people there who are comfortable speaking English interrupt their normal socializing to talk to you because you're a novelty.

So when the new neighbors Norbert and Jorg invited us to their housewarming, we kind of had to go. Novelty or not, I didn't want to get a reputation as never associating at all. And luckily, we had another party to go to later. Plus, as the only foreigners in the building, maybe we'd have some solidarity with the only gay people in the building. So we went early with our escape plan ready, and it was ok. I was glad we went early because can handle German-speaking social settings when there are only a few people there. Once there are multiple conversations happening at once, I'm lost.
 I learned that their apartment is way cooler and better decorated than ours, Norbert can pull off a bow-tie, and the apartment opened up because the previous tenant died there. Now I understand why I haven't seen him around.

By the time the people from the third floor who are the target of things falling from our balcony arrived, it was time to go. Multiple conversations were happening and the hallway was full of people. Norbert and Jorg seemed genuinely glad we had come, and we liked them a lot. Did our appearance score us points with the neighbors? Will there be more gossip about us now, or less? Hard to say. If they are all talking at once, I can't understand anyway.