I am really struggling with how much information I take in,
intending to share with you, and actually accomplishing that task. I only
remember a very small fraction of what I mentally note to tell you all!
I guess I will start with today (June 1). Today I met with
my tandem partner for the first time. Basically the tandem program here is
indentical to the one I participated with in Kassel: a German who wants to
speak English is paired with a person who speaks English but would like to
speak German. It went really well! My partner’s name is Peter Schmiz
(prounounced like Schmitz). What a nice guy. Actually, he seems to be another person in my life
that the “New Girl” T.V. series mimics. He watches that show too. He’s a 29 year old guy from the west of Germany, and has
been living in Berlin for about 9 years. He lives with his girlfriend in the
Kreuzberg district, near his sister. Also, he speaks English pretty much
perfectly (with a few exepctions, such as “Wancouver”). His English is wayyyyy
better than my German. Anyway, we are supposed to be speaking 50% German and
50% English during our time together, and we have agreed to meet 2x/week, and
at least 1x/week. We got along well, and seem to be of similar political/social
views. He's no longer a student at my university, but that is because he graduated this year with a bachelors in geology and geography. I think that's pretty cool. HURRAY I MADE A FRIEND WHO HAS TO SPEAK GERMAN WITH ME,
MWAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA.
Today we met at “Cinema Café” which is the oldest Café in
Hackeschermarkt (and according to Peter it is also the coolest).
Hackeschermarkt is like a tiny German shopping district with stores similar to
those found on our Main Street that sell funky clothes, little gadgets and
gidgits, and handmade things such as leather bags, leather belts, leather
shoes, and wooden toys. The little shopping sectors are also amongst apartment
buildings, water foundtains, and trees, lined with cobbled streets. I bought
some little trinkets, photos to follow:
I’ve been thinking about what little things I could bring
back home for people to enjoy, and that is a true challenge. All the super cool
non-touristy stuff, that is made in Berlin is actually quite expensive. I saw
something that I kind of wanted to get Carlene (I figure she doesn’t read this
blog anyway): it was a long necklace with a pendant in the shape of an old
fashioned bird cage, and inside the actual mini-cage is a bird on a perch, and
when you bob the little pendant the bird swings around inside J .I know she likes
those long necklaces. I also saw a million things mom would love such as a
REALLY cool purse made out of cork, sadly it was like a million Euros... I saw a wooden tree with
solar power leaves that you can plug your ipod into for charging that made me
think of dad, and I saw funky trabant magnets and wooden carvings that I wanted to give to oma and
opa. All of this stuff together would have cost me a fortune, but it’s the
thought that counts, right?
Oh, and I made my first German word: “Autokrankenhaus”. Yup,
I didn’t know the word for a mechanic, so I came up with this beauty. Do you
like it?
I am also planning a small trip to Kassel. By “planning” I
mean “thinking about planning” (I thought you would like my phrasing Uwe). They
are revealing another one of their “Documenta” art pieces in June 6th.
The entire town saves up money for 5 years, and on the 5th year they
reveal an art piece that the city has purchased and errected. They are usually
really big, and are put on public display. Here is the one from the last
Documenta: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_walking_to_the_sky
I would also like to visit my guest family from my last trip :P They are such sweet
people to be around.
Oh, guess what?! The “Deutsches Historishes Museem” has a
DDR (GDR) exhibit that I will check up on soon. I also purchased a book the
last time I was there: “The history of the Berlin Wall”. I also got a teenager
book in German called “The Bottle Post” (Die Flaschenpost) about an East German
boy who communicates with a West German girl by a bottle in the river. When the
wall comes down they meet. I am struggling to read it, or any of my books,
since when I am wondering around I have started litening to music again. Listening
to music seems to give me some confidence when walking around in the evening,
and before fencing.
Speaking of fencing, the youngsters have been referring to
me in the formal form! HA HA I am older than them, and more experienced
therefore they have to respect me. This system is awesome. I guess the onus is
on me to allow them to use the informal, but I refuse because I am enjoying the
power, mwahahaha.
My general mood over here in Germany has slipped into the
comfort zone. I don’t mind just leaving my apartment, going to the city centre,
and just wandering around. I keep finding these little nooks where the cutest
shops are, and secret gardens. I don’t have anxiety when heading out to grab
something to eat, and I enjoy speaking to people in German (ordering food,
giving/getting directions, and asking general questions). If they switch to
English, I keep talking to them in German, and eventually they switch back :P
In school I have been able to keep up with the primary
readings, and not so much the secondary literature. Some exciting news is that
we (the program) will be going to the city library to look at some of the
original handwritten manuscripts of the texts we have been analyzing for our
classes! Yeah! So like 600 – 900 years
old!!!!!! WHAAAT that’s crazy, and I feel like you should be super excited
about this!
And on July 15th, when the University/study
portion of the program is over we will be travelling to southern Germany/France.
We will be visiting the cities of Stuttgart, Tübingen, Strasburg, amongst
others. We will also be looking at more original texts, and YES this is covered
under the program fees. They have already booked the trains and hostels.
Yayyyy.
I think this is all I will right about for now :P I am going
to grab a quick nap before fencing. I hope to upload the pictures to go with
this post by tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment