May
25
As is apparent in nearly all of my past blogs, I prefer to get my writing done in the late morning, sitting in my favorite café with some delicious treat by my side. Today is no different, but it does mark the beginning of my entries while living in Berlin. I arrived in town just under a week ago after spending a week with my sister, mom, and grandmother on a cruise around the Mediterranean. My expectations of the cruise experience were met and my need for a vacation fulfilled. There were some trouble spots, but overall I'm very pleased that my family took up this opportunity to come see Europe and spend some time together before scattering across the map.
After my family kissed me good-bye just outside the drop-off spot of Terminal A, BCN, I checked all of my bags without a problem and headed off to Berlin. (As many of you know, I was a little concerned about the 22 kg weight limit imposed by the budget airline, but the airport employees gave me no trouble at all and I made it here with my small wardrobe, ceramic mugs and Bose SoundDock all intact.) It took the full 2-hour flight to make the language switch from the Mediterranean's latin-based languages to German, and about four days to learn how to ask a barista for wireless internet.
My search for a suitable apartment kept me busy all week. Today I move out of Chaz's apartment into a short-term rental. Next week I'll move into an apartment of my own where I can stay for the summer. I've been staying in a beautiful neighborhood in Kreuzberg, right by the canal. Nearby are oodles of vegetarian cafés, hip bars, and - best of all - large, lush and leafy parks in which I can ride my bike.
My first day in town happened to be the day of the Dalai Lama's speech at Brandenburg Gate, where over 2,000 supporters of a free Tibet came to hear his holiness speak (and release 3,000 Luftballoons!). After the speech, the crowd dispersed into Tiergarten and its surrounding areas as if after a summer music festival. Chaz and I took this time of reflection to visit the impressive Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and talk about his stay in Cairo. I've also had time this week to see one of the weekly markets here in Kreuzberg, visit briefly with my friend Patryk, who sold me a bicycle (deep purple, currently basketless), and go to Michigan's own Hans Papke's dinner party, where I met others who fell in love with Berlin despite coming in the late fall (summer is clearly the best time to be in the city, when swans court each other in the canal beneath weeping willows and the city swarms with bicyclists wrestling ice cream cones). Last night was László's birthday party, which meant a picnic of shish kebobs and roasted bananas in the park, followed by drinks and cake at Matilda (Graefestrasse 12) and dancing amidst the young and drugged in the minimal-electronica club, 103 (Falkensteinstrasse 47/48).
Despite feelings of homesickness that are going to be hard to shake, I'm doing well. My allergies are acting up and it's clear I'm going to have to figure out the local healthcare system in order to get some nasal spray. I haven't started to look for a job yet, but that's next on my list (after getting a basket on the bicycle, of course). The big difference between this journey and ones of my past is that I've already met lots of people and have spent only a couple of hours alone. I'm actually looking forward to having time to myself, to digest the move and develop a plan for the next three months.
I think learning German will actually be quite easy here. The class I took at U of M did a great job, I think. I'm sure my time abroad last year prepared me well, but I'm braving the language barrier and using my German much quicker than I ever did with my French in Paris.
The plan as it stands now is to stay for the summer and perhaps longer, if I find an appropriate job. Some of the people I've met said that it will be nearly impossible to find a job worthy of a permanent move and that I ought to lay back and enjoy the summer unemployed. Others said it should be quite easy, or at least easier than a German looking for work in the States. But, as some of you know, there are one or two specific attachments I have back home in Michigan I have no desire to cut free that may be bringing me back stateside sooner than I previously planned. For now, it's all fine with me. I'll stay flexible and see where my adventures lead me, doing my best to save my money all the while. Just in case.
ciao ciao!
glad to see you've made it and i hope you are enjoying everything!!
keep in touch miss, juicy details and all.
alison