Sunday, September 12, 2010

"People are just people, they don't need to make you nervous, people are just people like you"

What an unproductive day. We went out last night to Club Nacht. Viel Spaß, but I now know to never wear those gorgeous red heels I bought from H&M again, or at least not when I'm going to be dancing and walking that much. My feet are a wreck, as well as those heels. One club we went to was right on the canal, and my friend and I went swimming. Fun but very very cold. Once again, we didn't get back until the sun was up, and then I replaced the day with the night and slept until 5:00. I need to get myself on a better schedule or this semester is going to be really disorienting.

I talked to my parents today, and I guess this letter to the editor that I sent to the Leader got published. It was about the Mosque they are trying to build in New York, and my dad said it was the talk of the town, although he's quite the exaggerator. Apparently when all of my Grandma's friends are calling her up and talking about it, it's big news. Either way, it makes me happy that I'm putting my writing to use again. I really miss writing, especially since I don't have much spare time when I'm in school. I'll have to change that.

So, disclaimer on the last post, I am not stereotyping Germans, just recording my observations. I know that not everyone who belongs to a certain culture fits in a pretty little box. Still, it's fair to say that most things I've said seem to be true across the board, especially in Berlin.

We went on a city scavenger hunt on Friday for class, meaning I finally saw some of the touristy things in Berlin. It was a pretty ridiculous assignment though because we had to ask people on the street different questions and then take pictures with them, and no one wanted to stop and help us. City people are always on a mission it seems. Then my friend got a ticket for "schwarzfahren" (riding the U-Bahn without a ticket). It wasn't too big of a deal because she had a ticket, but not with her, so she only has to pay 7 euro as opposed to 40. Still, I hadn't been checked since I got here, and the one time some people are riding the U-Bahn without a ticket, they check us. Isn't it funny how the world works.

We went out on Friday night to a wine bar, where you pay 2 euro for a glass, and then pay as much as you think you owe at the end, meaning you can actually drink all the wine you want for 2 euro, if you're feeling stingy. The wine was really great wine too, but I think our huge group of Americans was a little too rowdy for the atmosphere. Still, it was a great time, and I spoke German with a lot of different people. We also met some guys from Latin America, whom I spoke Spanish with. It was a great situation because they spoke German too, so I would speak German and then they would respond in Spanish. Surprisingly, I understood most everything. Thankfully all of my Spanish hasn't flown out the window.

Okay, time for a few more generalizations:
1. Germans aren't very animated talkers. They don't use their hands very much, especially compared to southern Europeans.
2. Berliner Pilsner/Becks (in Berlin that is) are equivalent to our PBR/Keystone/Natty Light
3. Germans don't wear very many bright colors, therefore I stick out like a sore thumb
4. My host mother only buys food that is in season and local. I don't know if this is a common trend, but it seems really cool to me.

I'll post more pics to facebook.

Liebe Grüße,
Eriiiiiiiin

1 comment:

  1. My Italian host mother only ate seasonal foods too. It might be a more European thing?

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