Koala Willem's Odyssee

Although my previous two blogs may at surface have appeared to be written by a happy, even if somewhat disorientated person, those of you who know me well, could have sensed that something was not quite right here in Mainz. On reading them you will have noticed that I have been living alone. Now, it is clear that it was never my intention to bring boyfriend Manfred with me to Germany. Let alone the financial costs of that operation, or the fact that I am supposed to be slaving away at my research not having the time for kisses, my courageous attempts to try and learn some German would just become painful in comparison with his impeccable knowledge of the language. Still, in such a situation, one does need an Ersatz-Manfred. I may not have time for kisses, but I do need the occasional hug. Koala Willem has generously served this need, ever since I decided to go abroad for my studies.
My Willem is a fantastic Koala. He is fluffy, soft, witty, friendly, a great lover of Eucalyptus, everything in fact a Koala should be. He is, however, also very naughty and very playful. About a month ago, while I was in Trier for a conference, Willem decided to play hide and seek in the pension. He hid, I did not seek. Only on arriving back home in Groningen, did I realise he was missing. Knowing Willem, I immediately suspected he was still hiding under the bed in the pension, and phoned up the hostess the next morning. It would be easiest and quickest I reasoned, if Willem would be put in a special delivery package, and my worries were put to rest by the hostess when she said she would get straight to it. This is when Willem's horrible Odyssee began.
Willem has not told me everything as he is still a little traumatised, but it all began when the DHL-person manning the desk concluded that Willem was so little, he did not need a package and could be sent as a letter. Now, Willem has always had a chip on his shoulders about his lack of legs, and I suppose the fear that he was thought not to be a complete Koala, probably stopped him from being his usual self and prevented him from protesting. Were I there, I would never have agreed to this demeaning treatment, but unfortunately my hostess's daughter who had took upon herself the noble task of delivering Willem to the office was persuaded by the DHL-lady that this was cheaper as well as safe.
What happened next is still shrouded in confusing and contradicting statements from DHL, the hostess, her daughter and Willem, who has barely been able to start addressing the issue, but the fact of the matter is that it took him a whole month to arrive, and by the time he arrived he had lost his little nose! Manfred and I think he may have been attacked by either a dog or a baby.
Anyway, it is not hard to image that for the last two weeks I have had severe troubles sleeping, worrying all the time about my little friend and fearing I had lost him forever. I had almost given up searching for him, when last thursday Willem phoned up from Groningen where he had finally reached his home. I subsequently went home myself, my official excuse being I still had some work to finish off at the university, gave Willem a nice, relaxing Eucalyptus-bath and let both him and me have some well-deserved rest.
That Willem is the most wonderful Koala in the whole wide world is proven by the simple fact that he is now here with me. He was hesitant to come with me to Germany, having developed a real Germano-phobia, but decided to step over his fears when he realised that without him I had been sleeping alone. Now I can really start feeling at home here in Mainz.