meine katze

University started on Monday morning with my earliest class at 8:30am. Not so sure that the hour is best for learning about German 20th century reflection. I really can't complain about the time though, because it gets me up, ready, and I'm done before 10:30.

Cat and I took advantage of the day by exploring Berlin together. A nice lady on the train gave us suggestions for different districts to visit, reassuring us through words and actions that Berliners would kindly help us find our way if we needed directions. We ended up getting off at Alexanderplatz which is, among other things, located at the base of the gigantic TV tower, significant to Berlin's skyline.We walked around, enjoying the atmosphere with our goal set on Hackescher Markt. The woman on the train pointed us to this area to find young people and cheap places to eat. Needless to say, we remembered the name.I had to include this picture - we had a great time at this little dönner place. We were in good spirits and made brief, chipper conversation with the man at the counter. He ended up bringing us out complementary tea, wishing us a nice time in Berlin. - - if you haven't tried dönner, I highly recommend it.

Cat and I met up with a guy from UCSB, currently studying in London. We all met each other in freshman summer start and Cat became closer with him through their literature program. When she posted a public comment on Facebook asking if anyone was planning to visit Berlin anytime soon, he responded, saying that he and his parents would be in the area on his spring break. It is funny how things work out.We walked around Berlin together, conversing and admiring views. It was interesting to hear about David's time in London and how his attitude has changed towards life in Santa Barbara, and so on. I am really glad we got to meet up.

His parents called and invited us out to dinner. We walked to his hotel, which was really neat. The hotel was designed in a ring, so the lobby was an open cylinder and all the rooms had views of Berlin. Through the middle of the lobby ran an elevator surrounded by a gigantic fish tank. I thought it was a really cool idea - wish I snapped a picture.

Dinner was nice - his parents are really good people.

Tuesday, we went back to Berlin after my classes. [Yes, I do attend class. I will write more on classes later.] This time, we exited the train at the Berlin Hauptbahnhof, near the center of town and various important buildings.

First, the Reichstag. We sat in the park, admiring its grounds and reading about its significance. German Parlaiment meets here (as Berlin is the capital of Germany). The modern looking dome at the top is open to the public to walk in a swirling path and look down at the government at work. I hope to soon get a chance to walk inside - the line was pretty long that day.

Of course, we walked near the Tier Garten and over to the Brandenburg Gate. The Potsdam Brandenburg Gate is alright, but it just can't compare to Berlin's. We read about it's significance as a transpotation gate to monitor trading and its reconstruction over the years.Graffiti - oh so common. I, seeing a big differnce between murals and vandalism, can't appreciate it.Berliner Dom near the Lustgarten:It is a stunning baroque Cathedral, inside and out.

Cat and I continued walking around the city and stopped for a 2-3 hour dinner near Hackescher Markt again. The conversation was great and made me (again) appreciate the company of my friend.

Berlin is pretty awesome - Cat will convince you to visit, if you need convincing.

wohngemeinschaft

Ladies and gentlemen... my dorm:

There are multiple buildings to the right of those in the photo, so it's nice to have many more students nearby (especially when mine don't want much to do with me).

Up on the fourth floor I can see out the hallway to the cute little rentable gardens next to the dorms (I have the corner room in the very last building). It's nice - people who enjoy gardening and do not have their own yards can rent small plots for recreation. Theres a man in the picture cleaning out their little pool while his wife sunbathes.

And here you can see how close the bus stop is... definitely handy for my new lifestyle.

büdingen bilder

oster bilder

Now that I have my own computer hooked up to the internet, I can share some photos from days I have already written about.

PuckiMarcus and Claudia - and what a loving son he is

Anaïs and I

one of my new favorite board games

drinks afterwards

eine ganze woche

On Tuesday, I woke up bright and early, ready for my first day of orientation. The orientation was set to last three days, each from 9am-1pm. All 22 students met in a seminar room with chairs initially in a circle with our orientation leader, Cristiane from Berlin, who will also be our grammar teacher for the rest of the semester.

We ran through various games and open discussions that were supposed to get us to think more about our reactions to culture shock, life in Germany, and our expectations of the program. In that respect, it did a great job for the majority of students. For me, it was more of a way to get to know one another. I would have benefited from the program much more, I think, if it was more focused on Cristiane’s suggestions to American students new to Germany, and less on the student’s surface observations of life in Germany. I specifically remember one discussion round, when we were supposed to be talking about culture shock and interacting with the German people, and instead it turned into everyone complaining about the shape of the pillows, the fact that you must put in a deposit for shopping carts at the grocery store, or that you have to buy water at a restaurant. Very often, it was easy for everyone to talk about material issues, which is an American stereotype.

Here is a view of my campus (on the right is an area of Neues Palais being surface renovated)

With only one set of keys, Cat and I had to set up a meeting spot. I knew that it was Cats first day in Potsdam, so quickly before I left, I gave three nearby meeting spots and times with maps, leaving the keys with her. “1 at the Mensa. If not, 4 at the Palace. If not, 5 outside the dorm. – agreed.” It was so funny to me because we didn’t meet until 5, but I still managed to cruise through these places and still be insanely productive. I paid my rent, turned in paperwork, chose my classes, bought a laundry card, and so on. It turns out that Cat was also at all these places between her lunch or a walk around the park or a shower, but we somehow missed each other.

We went to the student bar that night, hoping to meet some Germans, since Cat still remembers parts from her 4 years of German classes in high school. We sat at the bar, talking and laughing all night, stopping intermittently to express how happy we were to both be in Germany together, and how lucky that makes us.

On Wendesday morning, the orientation was scheduled around a trip to the city center. Groups of 5 each had three scavenger hunt type games, the main being a questionnaire for Postdam residents to recommend various types of establishments around town. I was kind of dreading this, but it turned out to be really fun. We even met a girl around our age who told us which bars to check out and left us with her number if we ever wanted to meet up. People were generally really helpful and kind.

Afterwards, I took visa pictures, met Cat for lunch, and took a language placement test. It wasn’t too difficult, I found. I’m pretty sure they were just seeing who has some German knowledge, as about half of the students haven’t taken any language courses. The oral portion was set to take place the following day.

We relaxed through the evening before going with a group of California girls and German guys out to a (survey recommended) bar in Potsdam. There, we met an Austrian man who really wanted to hang out again and practice English. He was very interested in asking about California’s Governator, which I always enjoy hearing. After a drink, we went to a university party on the other side of Potsdam, recommended by our bartender the night before. It was a dance party celebrating the spring semester and everyone there seemed so happy. They played a lot of popular German songs; some that I definitely need to get on my iTunes.

Thursday was our last orientation day, which summed up all the activities and games we had completed with a discussion on cultural values. One activity really piqued my interest. We listened to this story:
LISA is in love with and engaged to MARTIN. The only problem is that they are separated by a river, and Lisa can only get across with help. She has two friends; so she goes to SEBASTIAN first, who says he will only help her if she sleeps with him. Lisa says no and goes to OLIVER, who says, “Your problems are your problems. My problems are mine. You solve your own problems.” Lisa goes back to Sebastian, agreeing to his terms and is then able to get across the river. Lisa and Martin are happily reunited, but Lisa is wrought by guilt and tells Martin what happened. Martin says the he will never take her back and asks her to leave. Lisa is extremely devastated and meets a new friend, DANIEL, to talk to. Daniel says “It’s okay, Lisa, I don’t love you, but I will still marry you.”

Then we had to rank in order who we felt the most sympathy for. [Try it now, if you want] The exercise has different outcomes for students from different cultural backgrounds, naturally. Christiane said she has done this activity with many groups and Lisa is unanimously ranked highest for sympathy with Germans and Chinese students. Contrarily, Lisa was ranked at or near the bottom for the majority of students in our group of 22.

I was also given my list of classes
Language: Grammar Revisited, Skills Development, & The Rain in Spain – Phonetics
Memory, Remembrance and Commemoration of 20th Century German History
German Architecture – A Walk across the Centuries
European Fairy Tales – A Comparison

After orientation, Cat and I spent the afternoon walking around Brandenburger Strasse, seeing some sites, and grocery shopping. We stayed in that night, hanging out with some German and Californian students in the dorm.

Friday morning, we slept in and woke up to a cloudy day. No problem though – we made it out in our sweaters and walked through the beautiful Sanscoussi park, headed for the palace. We made it in time to do an audio-guided tour around Friedrich II’s lavish seasonal home, where Voltaire was a frequent guest. The park is especially beautiful this time of year with everything so lusciously green. Passing by streams, landscape art, and knobby trees on winding cobblestone paths was so nice to share with a friend. On our walk back, we stopped by the Japanese Dragon House for an afternoon snack. The house was built to be the vintner’s home and is now a charming restaurant. We walked towards the dorms, stopped at the Lokal Biergarten for a Pils and went home to do laundry. At the biergarten, a nice older German couple made conversation and pointed out various significant antiques decorating the walls of the restaurant.

Later, we embarked upon a crazy fun night out in Berlin. And let me just say - Berliners don’t mess around with their parties. We couldn’t get into one club, so we walked right around the corner to another awesome place and went back later. Apparently most places don’t fill up until 2 or 3 with no real closing time. Our main destination was Club Soda, which has 5 huge rooms spanning 2 floors, all with different kinds of music. It was packed, but not too crowded, and nearly everyone was dancing having a great time (including us, of course). We were very impressed. I did some research online the following day to see what people had to say about Club Soda, but it isn’t even ranked as a top club in the city. I know I just turned 21, but I think Berlin may be the place to be for night life.

Saturday, we went to the Potsdam Tulip Festival, which was held in the historic city center around the Dutch Quarter (Hollandischerviertel). It was so much fun! I think I’ll let the pictures do the talking…