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30.03.05 - 15:46 Tickled, yes tickled, to discover an office here in Berlin that caters exclusively to ex-pats, I spent a better part of 2 hours there on Saturday. Perusing the bulletin board, reading some of the many brochures, having a coffee, and using their computer database, I was quite amazed at the resources available to non-Germans living here in Berlin. A few weeks ago, in my attempt to �create a wireless home� I bought all the necessary equipment from an authorized Apple dealer to do just that. Only problem being I am clueless when it comes to this kind of stuff and after a frustrating 3 hours I put everything back in their boxes and decided to find someone to pay to do all the work. So as I scanned the �Computer� postings on the bulletin boards I was happy to find a person who did just that. I wrote the number down and then moved on to �Friends & Activities�. Instantly my eye caught a notice for a running mate, and I read the post: �Irish Man, 34, seeks running partner in P-Berg or Mitte. Gay friendly only needs reply� Well, great, I am not only gay friendly, I am friendly and gay, and so I wrote the number down. Later that day I called the number, and a man answered on the 2nd ring. �Hi� I said �This is Bean, I am responding to your posting from the ex-pat office� �Oh, hey, thanks, I�m Sebby,� he said �So you are looking for a running pal, huh?� I asked �Ay� he said So fast forward to Sunday when Sebby and I met for a coffee, we decided it was a good idea to meet each other before actually committing to a running partnership aka, we are both gay men and want to check each other out and make sure the other one isn�t scary. �What�ll ya av?� Sebby asked, with that Irish lilt �Just a coffee, thanks� I replied �Great, I�ll av a beer� Sebby said We sat for a while, asking each other questions, easy stuff, first meeting with possible friend stuff. Turns out Sebby has an American boyfriend called Alan who is a translator here in Berlin. Sebby himself is a teacher. He seemed to have a good sense of humor, so I put it to the test. �So, Bean, what is it that you do?� He asked �I�m an importer / exporter� I answered �Ay, great, what�s is it that you import / export?� Sebby asked �Teenagers� I said �What?� Sebby asked �Teenagers, you know, 15, 16, 17 year olds� I said, straight faced �No, you�re joking� Sebby said laughing �No, I�m not, really. Slavery is making a come back, mark my words. I�m just getting in on the ground floor,� I said Now really laughing, Sebby says �Ay, mate, you�re nacked� �No, I�m just an American, I saw an opportunity to fill a whole in the market, and I took it.� I said �So, where do you get these teenagers?� Sebby asked �Poland, mostly, that way nobody notices� I said �I see, and where do you sell them?� he asked �Oh, geez, around the world, it�s not hard at all, but I do have an awful lot of customers in Texas� I answer �Don�t� you worry about getting caught, I think it�s against the law� he says �Oh, please, this is Berlin, nobodies watching me, and sometimes I have 3 or 4 of �em stored in my cellar, and let me tell you, they can make a racket at night when they are drinking� I say �So you feed �em then?� Sebby asked �Of course, I order in for them, usually pizza and beer, you know teenage food� I say �Wow, so is that all you do, then?� Sebby asked �Yeah, for now, I am working my way up to whole families, but I don�t have the confidence for that yet.� I say �Mate, you are gonna be fun!� Sebby says �As long as you don�t wear a dress.� I say �What�s that?� Sebby asks �Oh, nothing, I�ll tell ya later� I say And, so it is. Bean�s first Berlin friend. � � 
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