Quinesential Sunday in Berlin

This has been a great weekend, crazy and random, but great. All culminating in the very traditional Berlin Sunday, brunch and flea markets. But first, I'll give some background.

Friday during the day I met up with Eliza and Laurel to do some shopping in Prenzlauerberg. There are all these great little boutiques with really cool stuff. I ended up trying on a lot of very chic/hipster European clothing but could only commit to a leather shoulder bag. It is really nice to go shopping though and do some female bonding. Shopping is like the universal female language of sisterhood and friendship.

Friday evening I met up with a group of people at about midnight for a few drinks and just generally to hang out. Our intention was to go out to a club but apparently some people had enjoyed our three day weekend a little too much and were hungover from Thursday and only wanted to get falafel and go home. I was like, screw this, I'm all dressed up, I'm going out. So me, Mills, and Sam decided to go to White Trash Fast Food. We walk in, are about to check our coats and I hear these two guys speaking British English, so I get excited, play dumb and folksy and say, "hey where are you guys from?" And we all start chatting. And it turns out only one was British and the other was German but had a thick British accent because he studied there. The German one, Jan, also had just received his results from the German equivalent of the bar, and he passed, so they were both out celebrating. They were just leaving White Trash and they were like, "you guys should come with us." So I was like, whatever, and we all went to this cool seventies-ish bar with them. I also challenged them to a whiskey drinking contest and I schooled both of them. My mother and father would be proud. Anyway, Jan (the German lawyer) and I really hit it off and exchanged numbers and I really hope to hear from him again because I liked him a lot.

Saturday was pretty low key. I took a nap and lounged around and then went to meet Steve and Sam at Oscar Wilde, the Irish Pub. Over the course of the night most of our group ended up coming, so it was a really fun experience, just hanging out, enjoying the group. It was also a lot of fun because a lot of the people in the bar were either Irish or British so there was a lot of English speaking and accents and it was really fun to chat. The British are so elegant when they drink, aren't they? Like, this one guy comes over and says, "Oh man, I be pissed out me fuckin' tree." I would just say schwasted. That isn't nearly as colorful. I mean, the most vulgar sentence, if said with a British accent sounds like the Queen's English. If I said in slurred English that I was "Pissed out of my treeeeeee" it would sound like a sloppy drunk cursing unecessaily. When the Brit says it, it might as well have been Shakespeare.

Following the bar Steve, Eliza, Sam and I all got Dada Falafel and tried to avoid falling on the sidewalk which is basically a sheet of ice at this point. The Turkish food is one of the best things about Germany. It's so filling and delicious and cheap. And the people at the stands don't speak German any better than I do so I feel like it's a great equalizer.

Today I met Mike, Pam, Elise, and Steve for brunch, which is a huge thing in Germany. It's a buffet with all kinds of breads, and meats, and cheeses, all you can eat, and we paid only two euros each. I haven't been shopping in a while so my goal was to eat enough to the point that I wouldn't have to eat later so we sat for 3 full hours going back and refilling our plates with seconds and thirds as we saw fit. It was a really pleasant lazy Sunday except one of the girls kept making all these snide comments at me. I honestly can't imagine what her problem is, but she said things like, "You just speak in stream of conscience don't you. I can never understand what the hell you're talking about." And it's like, if I was speaking in stream of conscience I would be hurling insults at you now. Honestly, girls are impossible. After brunch we went to a flee market and bought warm spiced wine and browsed through all the weird knick-knacks and other shit that no one wants. Honestly, who actually buys at a flea market?! Certainly not me.

So I am dreading having to do classes again after such a fun and relaxing three day weekend.

Long Week

This, as the title would suggest, has been a long week. I am having fun in Berlin, but also, I think the honeymoon period has ended and I'm thinking to myself, "Alright, three and a half more months of this. This is your home." It's daunting. Also, I feel a little out of place here (what with the bohemian flair to the city, where I am most decidedly NOT bohemian), which naturally leads me to the conclusion, If I don't fit in in Dayton, or Worthington, or Berlin, where the hell do I fit? Am I doomed to wander the earth alone like the Incredible Hulk? I think this conclusion might be a little rash, but I'm definitely realizing that I, basically on a whim, decided to leave all my friends, my family, my school, and everything else that is familiar to me, all in order to hang out in a city in which I know no one, barely speak the language, and is an ocean and 6 timezones away from Columbus. Wow.

All this isn't to say I haven't had fun. Tuesday night after class Laurel and Margot and I went to Studio 54 and got beers and met up with Sam's friends who are studying abroad in Freiburg, one of which was Andrew Walchuk and Cooper's roommate (small world right). Kaegan also dropped by and that was fun, he bought us all this bizarre shot that was DELICIOUS. Kahlua, Vodka and a lime coated in coffee grounds on one side and brown sugar on the other. Did I mention this already? Probably. I can't get my shit straight. Wednesday I didn't do anything epic, but last night (Thursday) it is free to go to any museum on Museum Island and they're open until 10, so I went with Steve to the National Gallery and saw Manets' and Monets' and a couple Rodin sculptures, Paul Cezanne... and a bunch of other really impressive work. That was great and I had a lot of fun with Steve, who has got to be one of the most chill people I've ever met, but I kind of had a sour taste in my mouth because I got in an argument with this girl before I left and I feel like everyone agreed with her and disagreed with me. Which is annoying.

So before the museum, I had just finished class and I was at the IES center packing my stuff up and waiting for Steve to come so we could go to the Museum as planned. Some guys started talking about women wanting to control everything and how it makes these guys say, "ok, let's let them". And I responded to this group of guys, that I hate how lazy guys are anymore. I said, "Some don't even understand they should ask girls out or pay on the first date." And the guys retort, "Why should that be expected?" Good manners, good breeding, making the effort after the girl un-doubtedly took 3 hours primping...take your pick, fellas. And out of the blue this girl chimes in, saying how she's an independent women and was raised not to accept when a guy offers to pay. She doesn't want them to think she OWES them. Firstly, no one hit your buzzer. Secondly, WHAT?! If a guy thinks paying for dinner entitles him to sex or whatever else he might think she OWES him, I think that guy is entitled to a swift kick in the groin. And then she goes on and on about how she doesn't dress up for a date because she wants to just have him like her for who she is, this girl is the anti-thesis of everything I believe in, in another conversation she said that she was glad she had small boobs because she thought that big boobs were unattractive. Yeah, only if you don't have them. Big boobs, Big Hair, High Heels, I'm all about it. So we obviously don't see eye to eye, but our disagreement didn't get bitter until she said something about how my mother obviously didn't demonstrate what it was to be a strong woman to me or my opinion would be different. Whoa there. She did not just bring my mother into this. I got heated. I raised my voice. But, the aftermath of the argument was that I felt like a psychopath and I was like, "Damnit Annie, why don't you just keep things to yourself. Why do you care if she knows you think it's ridiculous for the woman to pay on a first date?" And the general consenus of the on-lookers was that I was old fashioned and backward, but I think I'm right, and I wouldn't date any of their dumb asses anyway. It's just like...WHY WHY WHY CAN'T I JUST GET ALONG WITH PEOPLE?!

So I felt kind of like an idiot all evening yesterday. I don't know why I can't just keep my mouth shut and get along with people. I felt alienated from the group even before I went on a rant. Now I feel like everyone is going out together in groups while I sit at home in Pankow (aka Bumblefuck nowhere). I'm not a part of a group yet. And I'm paranoid I'm being left out, and when I get self-conscious about being left out I automatically assume I'm fat and ugly. It didn't help that as we walked around the museum Steve was talking about how beautiful German women were, and Eastern Europeans, like this girl in our group, who is also hot according to Steve... I was not included. Not that I need people to think I'm hot...but it's just kind of being kicked when I'm down.

And in reality, I'm doing well with men in Berlin. I get whistles and stares all the time. And I've already been on dates with 3 different guys, which for being in the country only three weeks, isn't shabby. But it's also possible people think I'm a legal hooker, because I have been wearing my thigh high black boots for warmth. And the hookers often wear boots. That would be my life. Some guy thinks I'm a hooker.

But I guess things are getting better, today I didn't have class and I went shopping in Prenzlauer Berg with Laurel and Eliza and we made plans to hang out tonight. I think I'm just in one of those moods were I catastrophize, plus I'm a little homesick. It just sucks to feel left out, and unfortunately, I devote the majority of my life to feeling that way. When will I feel like I'm included?!

Gay or European?

To my loyal blog followers (even if it's just Mom and Dad): Sorry I haven't written in a while, it's been a crazy past couple of days what with starting class and everything.

When I had last written I mentioned that Saturday night I was going a club where Pam's host brother had gotten us on the guest list. Wow. Is all I can say. Just wow. It was in a super touristy part of Berlin. You know that cellphone commerical where he has no bars in Amsterdam, so he's in a Hostel with Slav and Peter, the techno twins, and they're like these Swedish guys dancing with ribbon dancers. That pretty much is what club qdorf is. There are like 4 dance floors, one is hip-hop, one is house like techno, there's a saloon type western thing, and the main dance floor that played American eighties music (Wham! for example). There were a bunch of people on staff dressed up weirdly: like male clowns with no shirts who were dancing, female clowns in tutus dancing, a mascot bear, people in leder hosen, strippers in moulin rouge-esque corsets. WHERE WAS I?! Oh and the people attending, it was "Slav and Peters" and then like European guidos and guidettes with fake tans, spiked hair, muscles and mini-skirts (respectively). Bizarre. It was so fun though. I got pulled up on stage and I danced which was a lot of fun, and Mills and I ended up staying there until 4:30am.

So Sunday, needless to say was low-key while I recovered, and then at like 8, my friend Kaegan said he wanted to meet so he and I met on Shoenhauser Allee, and we were looking for an open bar to sit and have a drink and just hang out, but it was Sunday so the pickings were slim. And it was FREEZING, so I saw this Bar called "The Bear Bar" and Berlin's symbol is a bear so I was like whatever, great. And Kaegan says, "There are Teddy Bears on the wall, I'm not going there" and I say, "Oh come on it's just a Berlin thing. I'm freezing, it's fine." We get inside, and I start looking around, and not only are there a lot of teddy bears, but also a lot of flags. Rainbow flags. It's a gay bar. And even though my gaydar is usual in tune, it gets a little murkier in Europe because all the gays sort of seem gay through an American perspective. But I mean, some of these guys were holding hands. That's usually a good clue. Kaegan and I sat in the corner and tried to be inconspicuous but basically we weren't because he had a huge backpack (like Jeanie's) and we were speaking English and I was the only female. Good times.

Yesterday (Monday) was my first day of classes, and while I HATE first days in general (all the inane questions and just reading through the syllabus) I have high hopes for them. My Identity in Europe will deal with different minority groups and we will visit a Stasi prison. My film and literature class, well it was different... The Professor is super artsy seeming and she asked us to do some "creative writing" about our first impressions in Berlin. I wrote about how I thought the appeal of Berlin is this glamorized Bohemian lifestyle. Where one can reinvent themselves. Like, I'm a Midwest girl, but I can pretty easily imagine a life for myself in Berlin living in an artists loft with an Italian lover or something. But the difference is, while I see that possibility, it doesn't seduce me. Yet I'm sure there are a ton of people would be seduced by that. So anyway, I wrote that down and after we had written our teacher goes, "Ok, who wants to share first." Obviously no one. We didn't realize this was going to be made public. So I decided, "fuck it, I'll go first". And I read mine and I thought it was ok. Then my teacher says, "How would you artistically represent that?" Um....what? And she elaborates, "A Novel, a dance, a film, an essay, a short story, a monologue..." Oh ok, a novel. Who would your protagonist be? A girl studying in Berlin. Would it be autobiographical? Sure. If were a film who would play the role of you? Simbad, lady, I don't know. So she is one of those "art people" and some of the films she discussed in terms of, "well you may not like the film, but the goal is to learn from it." Shit. It's going to be those kind of movies with 20 minutes of a scene involved worms in a gutter or something that symbolizes abortion. I might hate that class.

Today I had my first Women and Gender Studies class and I think it will be really cool. We're covering women in Cabarets in the twenties, women in fascism, women today, legal prostitution, GDR women, etc. Which all sounds great and right up my alley. The teacher, however, is kind of awkward. She has HUGE teeth, like, just escaped from the horse races, huge teeth, and she seems nice enough, but she asked, "Do you have any questions about gender" and then just sort of stared at us. Like that was going to generate conversation. Eventually after like 15 painful minutes we got a dialogue going. I don't know if she likes me or will like me. I mentioned how it seems completely un-masculine to Americans that guys in Germany pee sitting down. For hygiene. Have I mentioned that? In one of our opening presentations that was mentioned by a host mother. That apparently she has experienced in the U.S. guys stand up, but for "hygienic purposes" she would prefer the men sit. How pussy is that?! And to the Germans that's normal. Seriously, no wonder in the U.S.A. we can't tell if a man is gay or European....

Oh, also today, I got a haircut. It was so scraggly and out of shape I couldn't handle it anymore. It's in a much short bob, longer in front type of deal. But that lady did a really good job for only 14 Euros! CRAZY right? I have some homework I need to work on...More later.

Beheaded Germans, Tequila, and a Pervert

Yesterday (Friday) was the last day of "intensive" German and Monday we begin regular classes. I am extremely excited, especially that the city itself is the subject of most of the classes. I was telling my Dad today on the phone, I had this notion that Berlin was comparable to Paris or London or any other large European city, but it really is it's own little thing. Firstly, it was discovered much later than either Paris or London, and Germany until Frederick the Great was sort of backwater. Their military was revered and powerful thanks to Frederick the Great's father, Fredrick I, but as far as culture Berlin wasn't anywhere near the "great" cities of Europe until after Frederick the Great frenchified it (he was a francophile and his contributions to making Berlin a cultural center are why he is known as "great"). So firstly Berlin is a newer European city. Secondly, after WWII it was COMPLETELY decimated, as was most of Europe. But because Berlin was divided, when factories and corporate head quarters and everything else was rebuilt in the West, it wasn't rebuilt where it had been in Berlin (logically, West Berlin was surrounded by the GDR, no country wants its economic heart surrounded by the enemy), it was rebuilt farther west in places like Hamburg or Stuttgart, or Frankfurt. So Berlin never achieved the level it was at before the war in terms of industry. Also, since it was isolated from the rest of the West by the GDR, not many people wanted to live in West Berlin after the wall was built, so it was cheap. And because it was cheap it became a sin city and a haven for artists and Bohemians. So, while obviously today Berlin is united, the wall fell recently enough that Berlin still maintains its Bohemian feeling. And it's still cheap. So all kinds of artists from all over the world who can't afford to live in Paris or Manhattan or London or Rome come to Berlin. It gives the city this weird eclectic feeling and it still has sort of a reputation as a sin city. But it's this fascinating city that serves as a centimetre ground point between a typical Eastern city and a typical Western city. So the classes examining that I think will be so fascinating and obviously since I devoted a lot of this blog to conveying the information I think it's pretty interesting.

As for "class" yesterday...not so interesting. We had a German theatre workshop, which I stupidly thought would be about German theatre; Wagner, Cabarets, etc. Noooo. It was basically us acting out emotions when the lady yelled them in German (which would have helped me learn them if I didn't know them already, but since I've taken 3 years of German I know what "happy" and "sad" are in the language), and we had to put on a skit. My group actually was really clever, this German girl is on a date with an American, and he says, "Ich habe ein gift fur dich" which he thinks means, I have a gift for you, but "gift" is poison in German, the word for gift is geschenk. So the girl freaks out and calls the police. It was super clever and the German teachers loved it, but the students didn't know enough German to get the joke until we explained it. Which was lame, because it was very witty.

After theatre workshop the whole group had lunch at a Pizza restaurant to celebrate our first two weeks in Berlin. I finally feel like the group is clicking and everyone knows and likes each other. I had a really fun time and German pizza is delicious. It's super crispy and the toppings are crazy; prosciutto and arugula, tuna and vegetables, salmon and creme fraische. It's bizarre.

I went home after the Pizza luncheon to prepare for the pub crawl that was taking place later that night, and on the way home this guy stopped me and started speaking Italian to me. Three or Four people have said I look Italian as opposed to American, which is bizarre because I'm pasty and not swarthy at all. But this is the second time I've been mistaken for an Italian. It's so weird. Speaking of heritage, my German teacher said when I told him I was Hungarian and German in origin, he said, "Wow! What a perfect combination. Discipline with Fire." Which I think I might use. Because I think it is apt.

I definitely used a little of my fire on the pub crawl. Andrew was joking that I should be a party promoter because within 5 minutes I had our bookish student leader taking tequila shots with me and everyone on the dance floor. And I say "I" because I was chiefly responsible for all this. Everyone let loose and had a really good time I think, I definitely did. Although we were at this sort of bohemian club and everyone there was indy and artsy which is great, but the girls I was with were like, "Oh man I love this European chicness" and I look and see granny shawls and chicks with bedhead and unibrows and think, "wait, what?!" And they're like, "I wish I could look cool like that." You can. It's called homeless. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. Earlier in class too we were looking at pictures of Sienna Miller, who looked like hot shit on a platter with a bun on top of her head that was fizzy and greasy, and one girl said, "I love her bun." and I thought she was kidding... and then everyone jumped in and agreed. WHAT?! They go on..."she looks like she just rolled out of bed and didn't try but still looks flawless." I agree, if you delete the last part of the sentence. What is wrong with people?!

Unfortunately the good time I had at the bar was somewhat tainted on the train ride home when a man saw fit to FONDLE himself while staring at me and making obscene gestures. He was across the aisle just playing with himself and I was so embarrassed and grossed out. It was fine and I ended up moving away from him, but UGH! It was so disgusting and he kept licking his lips at me. Yeah that's the way to get a date.

Today I went shopping at Zara and got two dresses, one of which I'll probably wear tonight when I go to a club with everyone. Pam's host brother is a promoter so he got us on "the list". Sounds swanky.

Museums and Sonograms

Yesterday I experienced what I consider to be the highpoint of Berlin. The History Museum. After our morning German classes the class trekked together in a pack to Museum Island which is about a 20 walk from our class. Most people did so somewhat grumpily because it was so cold, and everyone is tired and jet lagged, etc, etc. Not me. I was like a small child on Christmas. Sam asked, "Do we have to go to this Museum?" to which I answered, "No Sam, you get to go to this Museum."

So the building is this bright pink monstrosity that was restored to its original classic architecture after WWII and the guy who designed the pyramid for the Louvre, Pei, also designed a glass ceiling for the Museum, so it's pretty impressive. But, even more impressive, the Museum itself. I spent the whole time on the modern history floor, which has an original copy of the Treaty of Versailles, Costumes from Cabarets, Hitler Youth uniforms, Original papers from the camps, a Trabi, Erich Honecker's desk (final GDR president)....EVERYTHING. I was basically salivating the whole time. And there's an upstairs with medieval history. I stayed an extra two hours after our group left (until closing) by myself. It was awesome.

Back at IES we had Kino Night, which means that we all watched a movie. It was called "Herr Lehman" and it was bizarre and I didn't always get the German humor, but it was entertaining and kinder chocolate was provided so it was definitely worth going (kinder chocolate FYI is everything that is good about Germany). The plot was essentially this guy living a bohemian lifestyle in a district of West Berlin right before the wall fell. I am not someone who really wants to embrace a bohemian lifestyle so it was a little depressing for me in all honesty. Like so dirty and pointless and they all were so restless...but it was ok.

So this morning I woke up with the worst headache. So I ended up going to a German doctor's office. I can't think of a time when I have felt more retarded. I speak so little German and they spoke so little English and the whole thing was frustrating and I felt like a neanderthal grunting, "I doctor want" while everyone looked at me like I was an idiot. But I'm fine. Although they did a sonogram to look at my kidneys....it was so weird. I was like, "You guys know I'm not pregnant right?"

So I'm just chilling in my room after taking a little napster with the cat. Hopefully this weekend will be fun, I'm getting a little frustrated at knowing no one and trying so hard to make inroads...

My plate is filling

Today was a long stressful, busy, day, but honestly I much prefer that to being bored and lonely. Not that I've been super lonely. It's just hard for me to adjust and I don't necessarily think the people in my program really "get me". Not that I'm trying that hard to make them. At this point I'm figuring, nobody likes a tag along. I might as well focus on experiencing Germany and meeting actual Germans, and if my fellow classmates come to like me, Great, if not, well, it's their loss.

Social endeavors are starting to take a back seat now anyway, because I am getting busy. I am in the highest level of German, and typical of the German stereotypes, my teacher is incredibly demanding. Which is great because I want to actually be able to speak the language, but horrible because, I have to....actually speak the language. Today, our homework is to write a fairy tale in German. The plot of mine is thus; A princess is named star because she's that pretty. One day in the woods she meets a witch. The witch tells Star she will grant her one wish. Star wishes for Prince Charming. The witch says, "Love is the best wish, always" and grants it. So they live happily ever after. Seriously. Tell me I don't have potential to be a novelist. That shit is epic (unfortunately my writing capabilities and imagine extend my German composition skill).

Also today, the professors introduced themselves and our courses. I'm super excited about one called "Dealing with identity in Europe", which seems like a complete bullshit course from the title, but will deal with Roma (shout to the Russ side and their gypsy roots), Turkish Immigrants to Germany, former East Germans, German Jews and other minority groups and how they reconcile these differences with "being German". Also cool sounding, a class on gender in Berlin which will investigate prostitution (which is legal here) among other things, and a sociology class called "Sex, Drugs, and Rock N' Roll" which begins covering the Cabaret's of the roaring twenties here in Berlin (shout out to Liza, baby!). Needless to say I think all these courses will amount to a very interesting semester.

After leaving IES I went to the FITNESSSTUDIUM (fitness studio) which is a big piece of shit. It's in this creepy dark courtyard, although only a block away from IES, but there are only two treadmills and some janky looking machines that maybe were used before Unification. That's it. And it's hot. And it's smells like foot. But, I ran on the treadmill and felt very proud of myself for doing so (although no wonder the Europeans smoke and drink and never exercise, that foot smell is an assault to the senses).

So here I am at home, having just cooked dinner and greeted the cats (I am starting to talk to them, in German, which is like THE ultimate crazy cat lady thing to do) and I am getting ready to hop in the shower and meet up with Christian, the German bartender from the other night, for a beer. I am also dorky enough that I am seriously considering asking him to proofread my fairy tale (if that doesn't show him my dazzling intellect...).

Oh well. To the dusche (shower, not douche bag, although, come on, it's funny, right?)!

ALMOST acclaimated!

Today was my first ALMOST day of class, today begins our week long "intensive" German. I am in the most advanced class (yep, I'm that cool) so there are only 7 other people with me. It's kind of great to be in such a small class and we didn't use any English the whole time. I'm hoping I'll improve by leaps and bounds so when I return to UD and have to take 300 level courses I won't completely flounder. My teacher is an ALMOST good-looking German man (he has GNARLY teeth) who is funny and goofy in the way that all language teachers are. Although suspiciously to demonstrate the different tenses (equivalent to Whom, Whose, Who, etc) , some of his sample phrases where "I love my teacher", "It is my teacher who I love", "My teacher's love is whose love I want". Ummm....Is this because leiben is an easy verb or because you are trying to send subliminal messages and seduce the 4 women in your class? Whatever the case may be, it was a really helpful exercise working on phrases like Woraus, Womit, Wohin, Warum., which I learned at the end of last semester but am a little shaky on so almost ninety full minutes of going over it was helpful. And I'm kind of surprised that I'm not the worst one in the class. My German is a lot better than I give myself credit for and some people don't seem to know pretty basic grammatical quirks that I have down...I guess I'm just my own toughest critic (no one who knows me would have suspected).

I'm glad this heinous orientation business is almost out of the way, I hate NOT being in a routine. Even though we don't start our "real" (non German) courses until next week being in any kind of class is a huge step up. And the orientation is a terrible alternative. I'd prefer to just be let loose in the city and told to sink or swim. My tendency is usually not to sink, I am buoyant by nature. But I mean, I hate being told things. The orientations are lectures about how not to be an idiot, basically. Just give me a map and I'll figure it out. Or if I don't it's probably not essential. So hearing 3 million times how to use the tram or where the trashcan is in the building could be dispensed with. Also, the orientations are in huge masses, and in those huge group things it's always stressful like, "will I have anyone to sit next to me and make snide comments with?", "Will I seem weird if I laugh at inappropriate times like I always do?" This is my constant inner monologue. In a class with a task at hand (other than passive lobotomy-esque listening required from orientation) I can better camouflage my awkwardness.

Fun fact though, I think I made a friend! She's from Texas, not in a sorority, and she asked if I wanted to grab a coffee with her after class which officially means she doesn't think I'm a sociopath. We both talked about how we have very few friends that are girls, how we want to sort of deviate from the group and meet actual German people, and how she has a good friend who lives in Berlin that used to live in East Germany who was ten when the wall fell, so all these things make her an ideal ally for me. I also think she'd be willing for the other more intellectual things Berlin has to offer, Museums, Coffee Shops, Parks--instead of just every trendy bar. I really am not in the mood to see the female, German, equivalent of Snooki from the Jersey Shore dance to American Pop from five years ago (and pay a 5 Euro entrance fee for the privilege).

So all in all things are going well. I went shopping at the grocery for the second time and have become familiar with bagging my own groceries, etc, and I also really like how much fresh produce the Germans buy, even if that is a bit more expensive way to go about it. I would rather spend money on my health than on souvenirs or clothes. I am trying to do like the Germans do and I even bring my own nylon grocery bag, which is neon pink. I feel very environmental when I do it and I think Jeanie would be proud (although maybe not so much of the pink).

As the title of this blog will suggest, I feel ALMOST acclaimated.

White Trash Fast Food

For those of you who think I'm clever...I'm not. This is what the bar we went to last night (Saturday) was called. And it was AWESOME. But, firstly, I started my day off bright and early at 2 pm. The cats were looking at me accusingly as I slept and I figured it was probably time to be productive. So, I took a shower and then ventured by train to Friedrichstrase to go shopping for some delicious food. Ok, so the store right by my house, Netto, is a huge piece of shit compared to Edeka, which is pratically gourmet. Netto is like the 7/11 of Germany groceries. But Edeka is like exactly what you'd hope a European market to be. I tried to supplement my choices with some weird stuff, like I got bananas and chicken breast but also, ham flavored cheese. So we'll see. Certainly I see why the Jews and the Germans have had issues, ham flavored cheese couldn't be ANY less kosher unless it was wrapped in a lobster tail.

But so I got home, had a little wine and cooked myself dinner. I hadn't seen my host mother most of the day but she walked in while I was skyping with Jeanie, taking a break from cooking and chopping things. She was actually very impressed at my cooking ability, she said I'm the first American who has stayed with her who has made "real food". I was pretty impressed and felt very European with my chicken, tomatoes, artichokes, wine and balsamic vinegar stir fry and then I added green beans to make it "square". I asked her to join me but she had just eaten, but she sat with me and had wine and we got to talk a little bit which I really enjoyed. She likes fifties what she calls "r & b" but it's like bands like the Oysters and Elvis and Franki Valli. Which I like too. So she put on one of her records (she has a collection of maybe 500 vinyls) and we chatted and I knew most of the songs. After I ate I went to get online and figure what was happening with the rest of the group, and this is like at 8 on a Saturday night, she started cleaning. I was really confused. I offered to help and she said no, but this women literally cleaned the apartment from top to bottom on Saturday night. WHAT? I guess it's true what they say about the Germans... Oh, and weirdly they also like "fresh air" every morning. Which entails opening EVERY window to "air out" the apartment. It's often below zero. This doesn't matter...air must be fresh. It's like, Jesus Christ, you guys invented the Mercedes but you can't figure out that freezing air in the morning is an unpleasant way to wake up?

But the Highlight of the day was definitely White Trash Fast Food. I got there at 10:30 when we were supposed to meet but everybody else got lost, lamely. So I was there alone waiting and within 5 minutes, two creepy men had come up to me. WHY WHY WHY?! I am a creeper magnet EVERYWHERE I go. This one Australian guy asked where I was from and I told him Ohio, and he said, "that's where the most beautiful girls come from." Oh shucks. Do I look like a dolt? I know you've never heard of Ohio and I am pretty but you're old and weird, so go away. Looooooove, Annie. Oh and he also wanted to tell me about his kids. Again, pass. But luckily Andriana and Quinn got there within 5 more minutes so I was rescued. Albeit later than I would have preferred.

Within the next hour everyone started coming, and it was so much fun. We all clicked and chatted and there wasn't weirdness like there had been so I was really excited. Everyone was getting along and dancing and the energy was great. They played almost all American music but the best stuff we have. They played "Blitzkrieg Bop" by the Ramones, "Are You Gonna Be my Girl" by Jet, "Kids" by MGMT, "A-Punk" by Vampire Weekend, "Bruises" by Chairlift, all the stuff I have on my ipod and love. It was great. I was so excited. It's like what I wish the clubs at home played but they're playing P.Diddy and Britney Instead. Although last night, Saturday, at the Soda club...they played Britney. But that club was more like a typical club, and white trash fast food was dirty and gritty and much better in general. But in clubs like the Soda club, when they play American songs the Germans know every word. Which is weird, because they speak no other English. But I saw Germans in the subway singing every word to "Bad Romance" flawlessly. That's one thing Americans can say for themselves, best music in the world.

But back to White Trash Fast Food, another fun thing about it was that there were naked women dancing on stage. Well not totally naked, but in mesh body suits and you could see their nipples and their thongs. Which to me, was a very real distraction. But I guess in Deutschland nudity is not such a big deal. But it was crazy it was like a basement club...but then there are stripper type girls like at the trendiest nightclub. Totally bizarre.

So I left around 3 am and headed back to my house mothers. And I woke up this morning at 1pm, which is a little embarrassing but I'm chalking it up to the time difference....as my former host father would say. "Jet lag? Yeah Jet lag from the discos..." which you know, fair enough. But my host mother and her bf were here eating breakfast too at that time, so we sat down together and chatted and I really like both of them and I am feeling less and less like a stranger in someone else's house. All in all, it's been a great start.

"You're American" becomes "Are you French?"

Yesterday I didn't blog, mostly because I was frustrated when I got home from class. During the day our group went on a sightseeing bus around the city. Which was lame. The earphones didn't work on the bus, so we had no way of knowing what the significance of what we passed was. Some I knew, some were obvious, but there were certain buildings and things we just looked at and thought, "huh?" After the bus tour though we had the afternoon to just meander around and visit things. I opted to go to the museum at checkpoint charlie which wasn't nearly as cool as the museum in Leipzig or the Stasi museum. It was sort of a dog and pony show honestly. But I went with people from our group, including Sam from Fargo who is quickly becoming my favorite person. I think it's a midwest thing. Also with us were Eliza from New York, named after Eliza Dolittle, Steve from Long Island, and Kyle from Boston maybe? Definitely East Coast. After the checkpoint Charlie museum Eliza and I went to Rossman, which is like a CVS, because I needed some toiletries and she needed a hairstraightner. Ugh. I didn't know what was for faces and what was soap and what was lotion and it took about 30 minutes of scanning bottles to come out with lotion, facewash, and sooap. As if the absurd amount of time wasn't frustrating enough. When Eliza tried to pay the lady said, "No master card!" and I thought "shit" beause I had no cash. So both Eliza and I had to leave, go to the ATM and then come back. It was a rush hour. Five people behind us in line rolled their eyes. I felt like an infant.

Then, not picking up on the obviously bad omen from my first shopping trip, I decided I would try going to the grocery store when I got off the S-bahn, the grocery store only being like five minutes from my house. I did ok, although German meat frustrates me because it's like, raw looking, but I think they're supposed to be cold cuts. So I don't know if I am going to be munching on raw meat or deli meat and I don't want to die of salmonella because I put raw pork on a sandwhich. What an embarassing way to die.

Soooo on the walk home I'm feeling pretty good about my abilities and I'm re-energized until I realize I am lost. Lost and carrying groceries. Lost in the cold, carrying groceries...and I have to pee more than I ever have before in my life. Great. Fucking fan-tastic. So I walk along getting loster and loster, mentally berating myself "fuck, fuck, fuck" to the rthym of my footsteps crunch in the snow. My pride would have allowed me to wander for a while before asking for directions... but my bladder was about to explode so I decided to ask a guy nearby. I asked in my best German and he said, "You're american aren't you" in English. Crushing. But ultimately he gave me directions and I found my way home. But by that time my arms were on fire and sore from the groceries. Bad day.

But then, I took a shower, relaxed a little and at 9:30 met people from the program to go out to a club. It was a lot of fun to drink with everyone and let loose a little. Also, the bartender, Christian, didn't speak any English, so I praticed my German. He loved me because I was the only one who could speak German in the group. Also, this guy was sitting alone in the bar and I kept catching his eye and he smiled so I went over and asked, "Bist du Allein?" which means, are you alone. And he said, "Nein, but you can speak English to me I'm from California. And I know the bartender" So we got to chatting and he just got here and is backpacking though Europe and he doesn't know very many people so we exchanged numbers and we're meeting tonight for drinks. Also, Christian and I continued to chat when the bar died down and he said, "Deine accent. Bist du Franzoische?" and I was like, yes! A european country. I'm getting better. Also, he wants me to come hang out with his friends sometime and I got his number too. I am epic!

Tonight I'm meeting Kaegan, the Californian from the bar and then some people frm IES at 10. It should be a great day!

"Tut me leid, my deutsch is nicht so gut.."

The above phrase translates literally to "I'm sorry, my German isn't very good" but what it meant in my case was, "I'm sorry, I've taken three semesters of German and shouldn't choke under pres sue, but apparently I am choking. So don't hate me and my country." I spent a lot of my time mumbling this shamefacedly to every German native speak I attempted conversation with. But at least I attempted right?! Most of my group mates don't know any German at all so I give myself kudos for knowing a little, but man, I know what I want to say, yet when I say it Germans look at me like I'm on crack until I repeat it four or five more times and then they repeat it, correctly, pointedly so, like, "oh finally, I understand your infantile nonsense, stupid American" and I tuck my tail between my legs and cry. This exact instance occurred several times today.

I hate orientations. One thing I hate more than orientations are icebreakers. Needless to say, both occurred today. We did "two truths, one lie" and I was proud, mine were "my least favorite food is pickles," "I was born on an air force base in the Philippines," and "If I were on the show 'Made' I'd be made into a country music star." Unfortunately, while I thought these were tricky and probing, we had just filled out German VISA applications and the girl sitting next to me said, "I saw on your passport you were born in Ohio." Damn. But mine wasn't the worst, Li, an exchange student from China, said two facts about himself and then said, "wait, do I have to make up a lie for my third one?" Um....fail. Just another reason why icebreakers are awful.

If the icebreakers weren't painful enough, we also had to listen to two horrible slide show presentations; one on safety with tips such as"avoid public urination and skin heads" and another on the metro, which was basically a map. Fascinating. But one great thing was that we were all so bored we talked and got to know each other better during these little outings. I met this girl from Colorado, originally from Texas, named Jessica and she seems very cool and interesting. She's a senior and this is her last semester, and since she doesn't have to go back she's just planning on moving to Berlin. JEALOUS.

After grueling orientation minutia, we had dinner as a group at a Thai restaurant. I had a good chat with a guy named Sam from Fargo, but was blocked from talking to too many other people since Andrew and Allie were too busy talking about common people they knew from New England prep schools. I'm telling you the East Coast is INCESTUOUS. So Sam and I, both being from the Midwest, made fun of both them under our breath and said things like, "Will you be taking summers in the cape this year or in the Hamptons?"

After dinner a few of us went to a bar/hookah bar and just hung out. I had a really good conversation with Andrew and Jessica, although I was sad I was separated from some other members of our group who went the wrong way or something and probably went to another bar. This was the time when I did my most apologizing for my German. The waitress spoke no English, I speak bad German, and no one else in the group of 7 spoke a word, so I was translating, pointing to Limes, ordering SoCo, and hoping everything came out alright. In the end I left her a bigger tip than is typical in Europe, I was so ashamed of my idiocy.

Tomorrow we have the whole afternoon off to explore so I think some more German fun is getting ready to unfold.

No Rest For the Weary

So it is about 11 o'clock Tuesday night, German time, or 4:50 pm Tuesday afternoon Eastern time but either way it's been one exhausting day. My biggest fears seem to have been assuaged--I didn't lose my luggage, I was able to find IES Abroad, I met a bunch of cool friendly people, and my host mom seems really great. However, that being said, I hate first days and while I'm looking forward to getting this show on the road, I'm dreading what the next week will entail; "a metro orientation", "health and safety tips", and endless bureaucratic paper work.

Here are some highlights from my day today: I was among the first people to arrive at IES Abroad among about six others who came in on the 8 am flight. I met up with some people who I assumed were in IES abroad, they in fact were, and we ended up sharing a cab. One, Kyle from New Jersey, and the other John from New York. Also on our flight were two girls, Andreanna and Margot, who seem nice enough even if we didn't really instantly click. One the five of us got the the center (in two taxis) gradually more people filtered in. Kai from Eugene Oregon, Laurel from Minnesota, Andrew from the East Coast, Jacqui from the West Coast, Alexandra who is originally from France but goes to GW with her boyfriend who is also in IES abroad, Sam from Fargo, and David who I thought was Indian but is actually Italian. Just to name a few. Most of the day was spent lounging in the lounge (appropriately) filling out forms, socializing, asking questions, and generally nervously trying to decide if we'll all get along. There ended up being only about 30 people, which is a great number, enough to be tight knit with enough diversity to still find a niche.

The day was broken up at 1:00 when Nellie, who works at IES abroad took us to get German Visa pictures taken and to buy pre-paid cell phones if we needed them. I bought one but I hope it wasn't a mistake because as of yet I can't get the damn thing to work. Cell phones and technology seem to know universally that I am not someone with whom they should cooperate.

Between 4-5 our hosts came to pick us up; well not ALL our hosts. Mine didn't make it until 6 o'clock due to a hold up at work. She seems very pleasant and nice, she's young looking and tall and thin and blond like all German women seem to be (something in the water?! I'm looking at you Heidi Klum!). She and I went shopping (for groceries and shampoo since mine exploded in my bag, nothing earth shattering) and then she cooked dinner for me, which was delicious. I took a shower (badly needed, my first impression to my peers was no doubt one of a person who wallows in their own filth) and unpacked. Dodging Brigit's two cats all the while. And here I am now. I miss you all. Let me know what you think about this blogging business.

Dis-Orientation

My Fatherland adventures have officially begun! After a relatively uneventful plane ride (uneventful meaning there was a man with bleached long blonde hair and a kilt) and a pleasant New Jersey layover (I met a really nice guy who will be staying in Berlin in the Newark bar) I have arrived sucessfully in Deutschland more tired than any human person has a right to be. I am, however, pumped. Tonight, despite jetlag, I will fearlessly tackle the bar scene, and the restaurant scene, and whatever other scene I can manage quickly.

The other kids seem like a cool and diverse group. There are students from G.W., Boston College, Penn State, etc. etc. etc. There will be about 20 of us total and I anticipate good things. We all are just chatting and trying to get over our jetlag while listening to six thousand bits of trivia, housing details, locker keys, again etc. etc. etc. I stupidly forgot to bring my I.D. card from last study abroad in Leipzig which I thought was useless but aparently I needed it. I should also probably get my insurance card sorted out. Well, this is short, but my next ones will be longer and more detailed. For now I'm just going to socialize. TSCHUSS!