I paid my debt to the BVG

Once I got back to Berlin, I was happy to be back. Somehow even after London it seemed nicer. I can’t really explain it, perhaps after a rest I was just ready to see it differently. With two weeks left, crunch time basically began. Not only for finals but doing all those things you wanted to do but haven’t done yet. Living in London did help me to realize how impossible it is to get everything done, so I had a much more relaxed attitude about it in Berlin. I’ve seen lots of stuff, but still have left some things to do if I ever come back. Commuting everyday, going to the TU, and doing the everyday activities like grocery shopping and going to the internet café and things like that have given be a good flavour of Berlin.

But after London my adventures here were far from over. I’ve already mentioned some of the stuff I’ve done, specifically the awesome football stuff, but there’s more.

I’d like to tell you a story of the girl who forgot her wallet. I have had a monthly card for the underground system here for June. Unlike most systems, you don’t tap in/out every time you use it, it’s like a trust system, and occasionally you get checked as you’re on the train my plain clothed people. You may recall my mishap in Munich when I tried to cheat the system. Well, anyway, I wasn’t trying to do that this time. I had a final Wednesday morning, my mind was elsewhere, wasn’t planning on buying anything and I just forgot my wallet. I didn’t realize this until I had gotten to the TU, and there is no getting back from the TU without money or using the S-Bahn. I mentioned this in class, and no one volunteered a few cents for a ticket, even when the teacher said she would give me money, she didn’t, so I had to risk it. To get home, I take the S-Bahn about 7 stops, then the U-Bahn 2. I got through the S-Bahn nerve-wrackingly, being extremely vigilant the whole time, then switched to the U-Bahn and took a breather. Well, I should not have let me paranoia slide. I was suspicious of these people who came on on the last stop, but didn’t get worked up enough to get off the train in time. Well, I got checked. Never happened before. Never. And of course, the one time. Soooooo annoying. But the guy was nice about it and just told me I had to take my monthly card down to this place within a week to avoid the fine. I did that today, and it wasn’t too bad at all. Although, obviously I would have preferred not to do it. Unbelievable and totally just my luck.

Steve was here last weekend (for the last time… ) and we weren’t as efficient as we were the first time he visited but we did see some important stuff.

Most importantly, we went on the school sponsored tour of Sachsenhausen, the nearest concentration camp. The tour was excellent and the place was impressive (in the aweful kind of way) and we learned a lot. Honestly, I think you only need to go to one concentration camp in your life to really get the picture. And after going and seeing so many Nazi/World War 2 things in Germany, you really get inundated with awful stories and start to grow immune. I think it was good to go though and see it. It was sobering to say the least.

We also went to the East Side Gallery which is the longest stretch of preserved wall in Berlin. It was painted after the wall was opened by a bunch of Eastern Artists, but 18 years later is just that normal hodgepodge of touristy graffiti. But it was still interesting to see and there were some cool things. I won’t be able to put pictures up until my internet works, so stay tuned.

I showed Steve the Hotel Adlon (Michael Jackson hotel), the Brandenburg Gate, and the Reichstag. On the walk up Unter Den Linden, we saw the Memorial to all the victims of war, which was sort of meh, and the memorial of the Nazi Book Burning in 1933 (perhaps a little too modern art for me) and then we peeked around the Berliner Dom. I made sure we got in all the important stuff.

We also went to this really nice Indian restaurant down the street that I had just gone to with Julie and Corina. It’s probably my favourite restaurant in Europe. Which is weird, because it’s Indian (Asian fusion) but it is sooo good. Although, when I went with two girls we got free Naan bread. I did not get free bread with Steve there, not surprisingly. But he paid so it evened out :-P

Being with Steve was of course really nice and we made sure to utilize our last days together and not be lame and sad, so that was good. Won’t say too much more on the subject.

I’m not entirely sure what it is, I think just being constantly on the go for 6 months, but I am so tired. My only break was the two weeks at home which was consumed by pain of wisdom teeth removal. I am just so tired and need a break so badly. School is over now thankfully, and finals went OK, not as well as midterms but OK. Thank goodness it’s over because my motivation is just completely shot. Completely. I am so tired and drained and all-around knackered. It was so hard for me to get motivated to write the cover letter for my Fall internship and I’m sure it’s crap. I still have a ton of packing and cleaning to do, and just need to give myself one final push to get it done.

On that note, I’m tired of writing… I’ve been doing it all afternoon. I will write more when internet works again here. As that’s not likely, I will obviously make sure to post when I get home with the sum up.

One last Tschüss!

-Kate

Ich besuche London und vergesse ich dort meinen Herz

Yes, I went to London for the mid-term break. And I know what you’re thinking “why on earth would you go somewhere you just lived for 4 months when you could go anywhere in Europe?” But let’s face it, the rest of Europe doesn’t have a really cute boy whom I happen to be very enamored with in it. And trust me, leave America for 5 months and you too will take a few days in the closest place you can call home. This was not a “let’s go exploring” vacation for me; this sort of was a “going home” vacation. Everything was familiar, they spoke my language, and Steve’s place is no hostel. It was good to see people, as well (even if John was being kind of a wanker). I arrived in London sunburned and with what may or may not have been sun poisoning (Dad! Don’t worry! I’m OK!) and Steve was amazing taking care of me. I really don’t know what I would have done in some foreign country. Things would not have been ok. He was excellent. A public thank you to Steve for being awesome.

But we didn’t do nothing. You have seen the pictures I think. Did a few things I had always wanted to do, like get some good fish and chips, go to Kew Gardens, and go the beach. But also some old favourites like the Gourmet Burger kitchen and obviously we went to Oddono’s (Twice…). Steve made his excellent curry for me, watched Family Guy (in English!!) and just hung out and it was great. It felt really good to be walking around South Ken again and knowing where everything was (still better than Steve). And I got the behind the scenes view of the Natural History Museum. Oooo. No, not that exciting. Sorry.

Brighton was good stuff. Sure, perhaps not the hot southern New Jersey weather, and perhaps the water was just over 50 degrees (I did not go in, my feet loudly protested). Steve, being a true Brit, did take a dive. He then promptly put on a sweater. But when the sun was out, it was quite nice. A very nice big big beach. Sure there were some chavs in training nearby, but that’s ok, it was still nice. The place has clearly cleaned itself up since Grandma was there many years ago. We went and got our fish and chips at a really good restaurant (definitely fresh… nice) and “American floss” aka Cotton Candy. No idea what got lost in translation there. It was sort of like Cape May. It was without the endless tourist shops and in general much smaller, sans Fudge Kitchen and Joe Bogel, thankfully. No familial encounters either. It was nice, and I was super careful in the son. I promise!

I went to LSE and got a graduate prospectus and talked to a woman who answered my questions. I looked through the booklet and I am hooked. I need to get my grades up, and then I am there. I really hope I get in, it’s an amazing school with amazing programs and it would be amazing to study in London again.

Being in London was nice. It just felt right. I actually didn’t want to leave. Partly because of Steve but in general I just love London, yes, much more than Berlin. This time leaving, I knew that soon after I would be leaving Europe and my next visit to London will be in who knows how long. Probably years and years from now.

Perhaps I felt so nostalgic because I wasn’t going home, but once again somewhere foreign. I’ve realized that I think no matter how long you’ve lived in a place or how well you speak the language, it can’t really be home unless you speak your native tongue. There’s just something about speaking what you grew up with and spent most of your life speaking. There’s a connection there I think you don’t get no matter how fluent you are. Perhaps one day I will live in a foreign country and become fluent in some language and feel differently. I’ll let you know then.

I want to make it clear that I don’t dislike Berlin. I just like London better. Berlin is, as mom pointed out before we parted ways, just shabbier. It’s getting there and probably improving all the time, but it still is covered in graffiti, sans skyscrapers and filled with non-traditionalists. It definitely has it’s own charm and I’m extremely glad I came here. But you know, then you see someone shooting up in the corner and you just think, is this really my kind of place? The program has been amazing, and I’ve learned a lot, and my German, which I have always wanted to learn, has improved beyond what I ever thought I would get in 6 weeks. I would not change my choice to come to Berlin by any means. It’s the capital of one of the world’s most important countries and is becoming increasingly important as the EU slowly takes over the world. I’m really glad I got to live here and learn more about it and its history. London, and some certain people there, just spoiled me.

Deutschland Gewinnt!!

Wow, so it’s been a long time, I’m sorry about that. Internet has gotten progressively worse since the start of the program. And ever since I had that odd encounter with hijacked AIM at the internet café, I’ve been wary of going down there too much. Also, Steve was here last weekend, finals this week, London last last weekend… it’s been busy.

So, I’ll start with some things that I’ve done since I last posted.

I went to the (in)famous Checkpoint Charlie with Julie awhile back. It was extremely kitschy and very pro-American. Which obviously meant I liked it. There’s the actual reconstruction (or it’s the same thing, I forget) of the checkpoint outside with a big American flag, a big sign warning us we were leaving the American Sector (why would you want to do that?) and even believe it or not, fake soldiers in like 1960s uniform from the US, the SU, and Great Britain (they might have had French ones there, but I didn’t see any when I happened to be there). The soldiers were lackluster to say the least, clearly annoyed with the lot they had been dealt as their part-time College job, but they were there, which was a nice touch. You had to pay to get your picture taken with them, but when I finally decided it was so painfully tacky and touristy to be worth 1 Euro, the American soldier when off-duty and I no longer felt it was worth it.

The House am Checkpoint Charlie was the big museum attached to it. It was mediocre (full of translation typos), but the point was there: people didn’t like Communism and did whatever they possibly could to escape. A few of my favourites: hollow out two surfboards, put someone in them on the top of your roof, and drive through; hot air balloon over the border (this worked in the 1970s with 8 people); and last but not least, armour plating basically all of your car and just driving it through the wall. This didn’t work too often, but I appreciate people’s efforts.

There was a big wall display (no, not the wall) full of information about the whole Cold War, and reading it made me realize how repetitive all of Berlin’s Cold War history monuments, museums, etc are. Sure, a lot happened, but let’s face it, there’s only so many classes and places you can visit before you just know what it is they have to say about it.

Can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this before or not, so I’ll just do it again. Whenever you’re around really touristy areas where they tend to congregate, you will inevitably run across the “Kosovo Refugees.” These are usually women and children who will go up to you and say “speak English?” If you make the mistake of thinking the little boy in the Holocaust memorial actually just needs your help, and you say yes, you will be handed a piece of paper explaining how he was born in Kosovo and is now a refugee and English speaking people (namely, Americans and British) had their hand in his country’s demise (why don’t they ask Serbs?) and how you need to give them money. They are everywhere. I have been asked at least 14 times. It’s gotten to a point where they come up to me when I’m clearly speaking English with someone and ask and I said “no, I don’t” with my American accent. Then they say “speak Deutsch?” And I reply “nein.” If they really push after this about me clearly speaking one of those languages, I give some Spanish reply. This tactic works well.

Berlin seems to have a lot of people constantly asking for your charity and no one seems to mind this. On the subway, you will be regularly confronted with people giving you some spiel about why you need to buy their newspaper and who it helps, etc etc. There’s lots of different instances of things like these, and I have to wonder how profitable such ventures are. People are so inundated here with helping random people that I have to imagine they get tired of it and probably have some tight purse strings. But I don’t know, they keep doing it, so perhaps Berliners are just generous people (although I’ve never seen anyone give money).

Anyway, real issues. I went to Weimar, known to some as the home of Goethe and Schiller, others as the home of the Weimar Republic. And it was like any other small town in Europe. Surprise surprise. They’re all starting to blend together. We did see the Bauhaus campus (no, not the band, the architectural movement!), the building where they had Parliament, Goethe’s house, and all that good stuff. Weimar was quite pretty, as you can see from my pictures, and Corina and I even got some nice cheap and good pizza for lunch. Weimar wins for least expensive place in Germany so far. (I think Manchester wins overall) As I’m not a huge Goethe buff, and there’s not a whole lot of history involved in the Weimar Republic (you know, all 14 years of it), it was ok. It was a fun day out, and the weather was nice. On the bus back, Alfredo Franco (one of the professors) got a little microphone happy and decided to have a music concert (he’s really into Bauhaus…. Like really into Bauhaus, and I think seeing it all day long excited him in ways I’d rather not write about). Him and Professor Donahue bought a bunch of desserts (likes cookies and things) and told people if they sung hits from the ‘70s they would get some. I didn’t have the balls to go by myself (I am one of the worst singers I know), but Corina went with me and we did a “we don’t really know the lyrics” version of I got you Babe. That was good, and we got the cookies. Other people did funny stuff. This has nothing to do with Germany at all, but it was enjoyable.

OK, now, the good stuff. Deutschland Fussball. Yes, so no idea who’s been following, but the Euro Cup 2008 is on now. And of course, Germany is in it. Not only is Germany in it, they are about to go to the final. The first game they played was against Poland and it was big. I don’t know if you’re aware, but for reasons I can’t entirely understand (note: oozing sarcasm), Germany and Poland don’t particularly get along. When they play each other, shit goes down. Before they even played, there was a Polish newspaper that had on the front cover a picture of the Polish coach holding the Captain (Ballack) and Coach’s (Löw) heads on a platter. Nice. He later apologized. This was probably tinder for the fights that broke out between the two fan groups in Austria (Where the cup is being help) the night before the game. But Germany crushed them. We went to a fan set up with lots of benches and TVs and lots of fans in Alexanderplatz (see pictures) and it was definitely good fun.

As you may remember from the pictures, there is a picture of me drinking on the U-bahn. This is a very strange phenomenon to me. It was allowed in London while I lived there (thanks to new mayor Boris Johnson, that is no longer the case), but I never did it. Here is just seems more natural. If you’re en route to something like a Football game (note, I almost never call it soccer anymore, c’mon America, let’s get on that party train… we’re unique enough as it is), you just have to. So yeah, just an aside.

Anyway, Germany won that one and I happened to miss the game they played against Croatia (which they lost) because I was in London and got the times wrong, but oh well. Anyway, they then played again Portugal, which I don’t think many people really expected them to win. We went to a bar / concert hall type place (sort of like TT the Bears if you have any idea what I’m talking about…, only bigger) where many a German fan congregated. This was kind of annoying because they perhaps packed too many people in and everyone not sitting in chairs insisted on sitting on the floor and if you stood up because you couldn’t see beyond the chairs in front of you, you got roundly yelled at by angry German fans. They are dedicated, but apparently lazy. This just got annoying so we left at half time. But it was an amazing game. The score was 3-2, but the playing did not reflect that at all. The two Portugal goals were lucky, Germany was phenomenal. They totally deserved to win. Sorry Ronaldo, you may be beautiful, but Man Utd won the Champions league, you don’t also get to win the Euro Cup. Now go, go deflect to Real Madrid.

So, this meant Germany was in the semi-finals. And better yet, they were playing against Turkey. Turkey has had some amazing come from behind wins and basically shocked all of Europe by getting so far. Are Turks even European? That’s a discussion left for the EU, but believe me people have been wondering. More importantly, Germany has the highest population of Turkish people outside of Turkey. And more importantly, I live essentially in a neighbourhood called Kreuzburg, which has the highest population of Turks in Berlin which has the highest population of Turks in Germany. Basically, you can see Doner Kebap and Baklava everywhere you go. Everyone was expecting shit to go down last night when they played. Fortunately for me, it did not. It was a really good game, 3-2 (Which left everyone, even the losers, which a sense of Pride, they did not get hosed) and I got uber pro-Germany. Watched it here because I didn’t want to get caught up in anything out and about and we had an excellent time. Pictures to follow soon. You can be sure I will be watching the final (against either Russia or Spain, that is to be decided tonight) on Sunday from the good old USA.

I just wanted to share a random and gross observation. On the day I went to London, my milk expired. I have no idea what I was thinking, but I was just like, ohh, I’ll deal with it later. Then when I got back, knowing what awaited me, I just let it go a little longer. When I finally did deal with it, it was chunky. But, it didn’t smell. Yes, apparently, rotten German milk does not smell bad. They are very clearly onto something here!

Anyway…

Weird story. Yesterday Julie and I were on our way to class and went to the U-bahn stop as normal at like 8:15 and we were walking down the station, and halfway down between the two sets of stairs where there is like a bigger open space, we saw someone sitting in the corner doing drugs. And not just smoking a joint, like, getting his syringe ready. This was one of the least pleasant things I’ve encountered thus far in Berlin. I can’t be entirely sure, I’m fairly ignorant about that kind of stuff, but I think I’ve seen enough Requiem for a Dream (not to mention Trainspotting) to know what the hell was going on. Poor Julie didn’t, and I had to break the bad news to her. Perhaps this is something you would encounter in any city, I have just been lucky so far as to not; however, I feel like it’s probably less surprising in Berlin than places like London and Boston.

Onto something less serious. There is something different about bottles here. Furthermore, soda bottles are made of much harder plastic than in other places. I do not understand that. And pepsi is even harder to find. But there’s something about bottle caps I just can’t stand. You know when you open a bottle cap and there’s that little ring that’s left behind on the bottle? Well, in Germany, on every single bottle, the ring stays connected to the cap. Ok, that’s fine. But, the whole thing doesn’t stay connected, only by like 2 little sections. So you end up with these semi circles of plastic peeling off the bottle cap and being a weird nuisance in general. And you can’t peel them off, they are stuck fast. Anyway, you notice weird differences when you live away long enough. They no longer become novel and turn into “but, why?”

I usually talk about finances, so I’ll do a little bit of that now. I’ve definitely spent less here than I think I might have in 6 weeks of London. Food is more expensive here (I love you Sainsburys), but everything else is cheaper. Especially laundry. And I would like to note that I have become so economical I actually took only dirty clothes to London and washed them for free at Steve’s. Brilliant. I made sure to take no dirty clothes home and what was still dirty he did for me and brought to me later (awwww!) I still steal toilet paper and make sure to save all my bottles to take them back to the deposit place. I eat more noodles now and make my own iced tea in lieu of Pepsi or buying anything. Gummy bears are mad cheap, so don’t worry about that. I also go out wayyyy less here (I’ve only been out clubbing once since I’ve been here.. how lame is that?) which saves tons of money. Anyway, Berlin in general is cheaper and of course the exchange rate is getting better* so overall I’m doing alright. I also survive on a lot less here ( I don’t even have a microwave or toaster) probably because of the 6 weeks mentality so it’s nice to know I can do it.

*I would like to take this opportunity to express my frustrations with the fact that the dollar has just now started to get stronger again against the Euro. Every time I see the stock reports on the little news stuff they play on the U-Bahn TVs, I see that the Euro is sinking. Of course. I leave Saturday. How much does that suck. Unbelievable.

I never used to like carbonated water. I never saw the point and firmly believed it tasted differently and not as good. Even in London, where carbonated water is far more prevalent than the US, it still did not appeal to me. Something has happened to me here. I can’t get enough of the stuff anymore. I love carbonated water. I will miss it intensely when I go back. It’s even started to replace gummy bears as the thing I treat myself with. I cannot explain why this is happening. It’s just so delightfully refreshing. How can you go wrong with water with bubbles? You can’t.

I bought strawberries the other day from the stand in Alexanderplatz that I walk by every single day with the best smelling strawberries ever of all time and they were the best tasting strawberries ever of all time as well. They grow them nearby and they are just, oh, soo good. I wish I could share them with you all. Take my word for it. Wow.

We went out to lunch the other day for German class on the last day (with the intention of having it be speaking and ordering in German, but that degraded quickly) and as we sat in the restaurant I heard a Wolfsheim song come on. I was of course the only one who knew it and since you probably haven’t heard of them, the first time I heard them was a Goth club (although, they are more EBM) and it was neat to hear them in their home country. It’s sort of nice to be in a country where alternative music is more accepted and people have heard of it. I’ve discovered a lot of cool music here (thanks mostly to MTV being one of the only semi-English channels) and I will take it to America to share. Anyway, it was just a neat “oh right, I’m in the country where some of my favourite groups are from!” moment.

I’ll split the entries now to make this not entirely monotonous.

London adventures next!

-Kate

Mini Update

Internet isnt working at the apartments, so Im here at the good old internet cafe, probably having my identity stolen via AIM. Long story, but I am forever wary of that YMCA guy. Luckily he is not here.

Anyway, so my time in Berlin is surprisingly winding down. This past month has flown by, and now Im down to less than 2 weeks in Europe. To be honest, Im more than ready to go home. Im just very tired. Like, not sleepy tired, but knackered. I took my 14th flight in 4 months the other day. Yes, for real, 14th. I love going to all these places, but the constant go go go has really started to get to me. And I guess the fact that its summer, but Im still spending my days sitting in classrooms and doing homework. I like both my classes and I like what Im learning, but summer school is not for me. 2 semesters in a year is plenty.

But despite this, Im still doing a lot. As you can see from the pics I posted, before break, I went to the Germany football game. Euro 2008 is in full force here, and its a lot of fun. Living in the Turkish neighbourhood, you get to hear that excitement and hear the fireworks go off whenever they win, and then being in Deutschland, you get to experience the same thing whenever Germany wins. If Germany beats Portugal this week, which isnt likely, but if they do, then Turkey and Germany will play each other. Craziness will inevitably ensue.

We ended up having a Monday off due to some weird scheduling problems, so we decided, as you can also see from the pics to go t Wannsee. It was super nice and a lot of fun, minus the sun burn. Which was stupid, but it didnt feel that hot at all, and I was like, pshhh, Northern Europe, whatevs. That whole aspect was kind of a mess. Oh well. I do look nice and bronzed now, though. Woot. It was really pretty, and nice swimming in something not wildly salty.

In other news, this keyboard is really hard to type on. Not only because some of the keys are in different places (notice I didnt say wrong, I said different... so enlightened), but because its really stiff and actually legit is tiring my fingers. So I will write more when internet at meine Wohnung arbeitet. When the internet works at home.

Tschuß for now,
Kate

Article

Berlin's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week kicked off with one of the few big names on the program -- Hugo Boss. Before I start in on why Hugo Boss overdid it, it's important to note that Germans overdo everything, so it's probably unfair to give Hugo a hard time. Let me explain: Do Berlin clubs really need to stay open until 5 p.m. the next day? No. Do Germans really need to drive 180 miles per hour on the autobahn? No. Must they drink beer at breakfast? Hopefully not. But they do -- because they're German, and somehow, therein lays their charm. If the Germans are going to do anything, they're going to do it to the extreme. They take a good idea -- or even a bad idea -- as far as it can go, and then some. Nihilism, hedonism, and sadomasochism all have their own niche in the collective German consciousness. And let's not forget fascism. Berliners definitely haven't, since it's all over Fashion Week here.


From an article during fashion week in Feb 2008. I think it makes a good point.

More soon, after my presentation and other school related things tomorrow. Got a lot to say!

For now, pics:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2278342&l=2c42e&id=919676

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2278333&l=8c36a&id=919676

You Can See the Stars in Berlin

Sorry I haven't updated in forever, I was going to wait until after Steve's visit, but then I remembered I immediately had midterms following that.

Midterms were super easy. Like, worrisomely easy. I don't want to say too much because I haven't gotten my grades back yet, but yeah, they were both probably the easiest exams I've ever taken. And I just did a semester in London, so that's saying something.
I'm finally starting to get German. Mareen is an amazing teacher, and things are really starting to click for me. It's tough to get things like the nominative and accusative when frankly, I don't really understand what they are in English. Although, I could now tell you. I love finally being able to go around and understand (well, some) signs and things. When Steve was here, I was actually able to do a little ordering food, and understanding what people were saying, asking for tickets in German and things like that. There were definitely times when I was still completely out of it, but for 2 weeks, I'd say that's pretty good. Going to the country to learn the language is definitely the way to go, you really do get much more out of it. Hopefully by the end of 6 weeks, I will be able to hold my own.

Last week I went to a "Freiluftkino" (Free air movie), that was out doors on a big screen, like drive in movies, although replace the cars with reclining deck chairs and big blankets. We saw a movie called the Counterfitters about the counterfitting operations that happened in Sachsenhaus Concentration camp during the war. It was really good, even subtitled. There was also a protest going on in Kreuzburg at the time (squatters, which are really big in this neighbourhood, were protesting the fact that the owner of the building was reclaiming his space), and there were tons of police sirens. You know, the quintessential wail of the German / European siren that continues to send shivers down my spine. It was a movie viewing situation, the movie and the atmosphere, that really could have only happened in Germany. It was enjoyable.

Other than that, last week was vaguely uneventful. Julie and I went down the Reichstag to take a look around on Thursday, which was neat. You don't get to see much, they really limit your access (understandably), but you do get to go to the top and in the big dome and see the surrounding area. It's a very impressive building. No Angie spottings, though. There was a ridiculously long line to get in, so I just hung out on the big steps and did a little sunbathing. That's right, i was lounging on the steps of the Reichstag. I'm kind of a big deal. We were going to stop by the American Embassy, because it's fairly new and supposed to be cool, and just because I wanted to check it out, but when we were done at the Reichstag, it was closed. It's right next to the Brandenburg gate. Seriously prime real estate. Right next to the Adlon Hotel. The really famous / fanciest hotel in Berlin. You may better know it as the hotel whereMichael Jackson dangled his baby from the balcony. Berlin, full of history.

Did laundry for the first time, which was indeed a cultural experience. There were about a billion load options on both machines, and they were all in German. Apparently we discovered once all our stuff was in the dryer that hidden in the corner was an English translation. Live and learn. My clothes came out totally fine, albeit my living room was absolutely covered in not-yet-dried clothing for most of the day.

I've discovered that in Germany, when you buy something that says "seedless," what they actually mean is at least 4 seeds in every grape. And I bought the German equivalent of Cup of Noodels / instant noodles here, and I have got to say: after eating them in no less than 3 countries now, America wins. Ramen noodles are superior. Super Noodles nake a close second. But Germany: work on this. I discovered that its almost impossible to find bacon here. At restaurants, it's all over theplace, but you will not find it in stores. I don't get it. Lunch meat here is also in a league of its own. I saw something in the shape of a teddy bear the other day, that was like processed meat smashed together to make different patterns / colours on the bear, and it was probably the last thing I would ever want to put in my body. They are also way into Gouda here. It's pretty much the only sliced / block cheese you can find. I miss English cheddar. Vermont, too. I need to go grocery shopping, but being on the top floor of an elevatorless apartment building makes me really not want to. I am dangerously low on vittles, though, so I will probably have to.

So everytime I'm in a foreign country, I'm all about blending in as much as possible, which I think I've talked about before. Well, that's not so much possible here. I was walking down the street with Julie the other day, and some guy stopped us and was like "you're American aren't you" And it was just like, um, yeah, what? Thanks for pointing that out. Why do Europeans care so much? Why is it always something they have to root out? It's the most annoying thing ever. And then when they find out you're American, that's all they want to talk about, good or bad. This goes even more for the English, actually. And usually with them it's negative. The Germans are at least pleasantly inquisitive.

Speaking of the English...

Yes, so Steve came to visit last weekend and we had such a blast. It was really nice having him around for the weekend and going out and doing things. It's obvious that I've inherited mom's immense planning skills. I had a bunch of stuff planned out specifically catering to an ecologist's interests and he very clearly enjoyed it. We went to the Zoo, which actually has the most species in the entire world. It was very well done and definitely a good time. We even saw Knut. Knut, if you don't know, is quite famous in Germany. His mother left him to die, and there was some controversy saying that if nature intended, then Knut should be left to die, which is ridiculous. Obviously, they didn't kill him, but he's been raised by humans since birth and is very very captive, if you will. He was huge as a pup because he was so cute, and still attracts quite a bit of attention. He's sort of like a child star, though, and now as a teenager, and is sort of messed up. They put him in his own enclosure because apparently he doesn't so much play well with others. Anyway, the Zoo was great, and then we went to this nice Biergarten I had heard of and had some Weisswurst (veal sausage), Brezel and Bier of course.

The next day we went to the Museum fur Naturkunde. Yes, of course, the Natural History Museum. It has the largest dinosaur skeleton in the world and the first and most intact bird fossil ever found. And you know, who doesn't want to spend their Sunday afternoon seeing that sort of stuff? Actually, to be honest, I love going to stuff like that with people who actually know what they're talking about, so, essentially, Steve. I learn a lot more and am able to really get more out of it.

We did the Fernsehturm, the big TV tower thing in a bunch of my pictures. That was cool, but perhaps not as cool as it should have been? Although, it's going up high and looking down. Basically what you would expect. I was able to point out a lot of stuff to Steve which made me feel cool. I know much more about this city than I thought I did. He was also really impressed with my German after two weeks. He relied on me quite a bit, and was vaguely terrified when confronted with having to use German. He's actually lived in Germany for like 3 years or something when he was little (dad in the army), but didn't learn anything, and then, sadly, took French.

Anyway, so we saw some basic sights and did the sciencey things, also had some good German food / beer. It was super nice to have him here, even if Berlin is full of allergens that made him cough non-stop the entire time he was here (icky). I really like this kid, really glad he came over to visit me, it meant a lot. We discovered when looking out my window that you can sees the stars in Berlin at night. This was a complete shock to both of us, but very nice. For some reason it meant a lot to me.

In other news, I've decided I need to cut back on my gummy bear intake. I'm on a bit of hiatus. I actually have felt like crap the past two days (my own allergies? general cold? i don't know), and I think I'm going through withdrawl. I only wish I was kidding.

Steve and I also came tothe conclusion that this place, like most of continental Europe is like chilled out to the max. We were out to dinner on a Monday night and everyone was just sitting around, hanging out. Part of this is summer, but you still probably wouldn't see this in the US or even London. I like this for vacationing, but I could not deal with this in my life. It's all well and good to be relaxed and not care about anything, but I am not that kind of person. As soon as someone doesn't stand on the right side of the escalator, I get annoyed. I could not be that person. Also, there are the people who hog the Marx and Engel monument all to themselves for like 15 minutes taking pictures, totally unaware of anyone around them or people waiting to do the same. Ughhh, soooo annoying. It's not that they're being rude, it's just that they don't care / notice. This annoys me. A lot. I suppose it's better for society as a whole though to not have a proverbial stick up the ass all the time, but I'm American, so that's just how it is.

Why do Germans have such a penchant for flavouring their beer? Like, this is the land of good beer, and there is a constant attempt to alter this. Becks makes Becks, but they also make Becks Orange, Becks Lime, Becks Lemon, Becks mit lime und mint. There's X: Bier mit Cola, Bier mit Cherry, Bier mit other things you don't want in beer. Then there's Desperados: Tequila flavoured beer. Like, seriously, if you want that sort of thing, get a mixed drink, or just drink juice. Germany, you have a good thing going here, don't ruin it.

I returned my bottles today at the grocery store, and it was an interesting thing. It's not like the ones you may have seen before in CT or something. You put them in the little hole, and they go down this conveyor belt, where they are scanned and analyzed for acceptability, if they are accepted, they continue on, but if they are rejected, they conveyor back to you. I got 1.71 Euro back, so that was cool. You pay the deposit everytime you buy something (it varies with everything), and it's called Pfand (no idea what the translation is), not included in the actual price of whatever you're buying, but a pleasant surprise afterwards when you forget and didn't get enough change out.

Weather has been super summery lately. And Germany has kein Air Conditioning. Anywhere. The last time I was in air conditioning was Tuesday night when I went to the movies (to see Sex and the City, which I recommend like woah). That doesn't seem too bad, but the temp has been 80 something the past few days, so it sucks. It has cooled down since the weekend a bit when it was hot as hell, almost up the 90s. Germany really need to get on the AC thing. Like, fine, pre-Global Warming, maybe there was no reason for it, but sorry, it does get hot here now. Like, hot hot. Almost 80 in early June means July / August will be deathly. And our teacher today was like "oh man, you take a bunch of Americans and put them in somewhere over 75 degrees and they just freak out" And we were like, actually, German people get hot too. You see them sitting there sweating on the S-bahn, too, so yeah.

Anyway, enough complaining. Open all the windows / doors, and we get a wind tunnel of nice cool air that lets in all sorts of plant and animal life, but makes living here bearable. But trust me, go home and kiss your AC and blast it for a few minutes for me. Be cold. Enjoy it. Avoid sweating for like 15 minutes. Tell me what it's like.

I will leave you with this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agHQhv4uk7w

And then you know will know Germany's most popular commercial, most popular ice cream company, and what gets more air time than Angie. All the time they play this thing.

If I seem uber annoyed today, it's because I feel like crap. I feel like there's a giant cold building up inside of me, but instead of coming out, it's just building up in my head. Booo.

Pictures

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2274316&l=0ae2d&id=919676

More to come when I don't have midterms.

Midterms in June? What?