Week Two (ii) - Exploring and Celebrating

Wed 16.1.13: 

After lunch, we had our Berlin vor Ort field trip to the Dahlem area (just a few blocks away from the center). We walked through the Freie Universitat (Free University; free in the sense that it was established by the West during the Cold War - all German schooling is funded by the government) and saw the auditorium in which JFK spoke as well as the Chemistry building which held Einstein's office. Dr. Jander showed us through many of the FU's libraries and a few nearby museums before we reached the Dahlem cemetery, which was truly beautiful, further accentuated by the gleaming white snow that blanketed the paths and gravestones. Interred in this cemetery are Martin Niemöller, a vehement critic of the Nazis who was held specifically as a WWII POW under Hitler's orders, and Rudi Dutschke, who played a vital role during the German liberation movement during the 1960s, akin to the student movement in the US (also a response to the Vietnam War). While this cemetery wasn't nearly as large or renowned as Père Lachaise in Paris, learning about a few of the significant people buried there added an extra dimension that simultaneously personalized it and made it seem much more prestigious.

Finally, Dr. Jander pointed out the "best pastry shop in Berlin," Aux Dèlices Normands (we must return!) as well as his childhood house, and childhood sweetheart's house around the corner. All of us sighed at this cute gesture, especially because Dr. Jander seems very German - usually quite serious but enthusiastic about teaching us about German history (and often subconsciously waving his hands around while talking) - and so this personalization was incredibly touching :)

After the tour, doing some homework, and grabbing dinner, I got home around 10 and, instead of writing my German journals as I should have, decided to start reading Ready Player One. About a geek-fantasy scavenger hunt set in a futuristic society but concerning the 1980s, it was incredibly appealing, and I ended up reading it straight through… finishing at 5am lol. Needless to say, in hindsight this was probably a poor choice on my part, yet I was unable to stop reading in the moment.

Th 17.1.13: 

I arose early (painfully so, after staying up so late) to finish, aka start, my journals and then I settled in for a long day of class and homework in between. The combination of Econ and E40 today was absolutely brutal - by the end of E40, all of us were dead tired and utterly unable to focus on the new and confusing material. Regardless, after E40, Tina, Tim, Susan, and I went to see a street art gallery, which seemed to center around minimalism and/or conservation (though, with my patience for art, I can't really say, as we left shortly after breezing through the rooms). 

Susan and I picked up some Gemuse Kebab for dinner, and this place offered two spices labeled as follows. Bold me accepted two spoonfuls of the Rambo flakes, which added significantly more spice and heat than expected. The entire time, as my pores opened up and my tongue felt like an inferno, the good-natured server kept smiling knowingly at me and suggesting I grab a drink (never!) as I babbled about how good but hot the flakes were. What an endeavor!

Victory picture!

 

Fri 18.1.13: 

After our first test in German class (I think I did respectably), I headed to the Turkish market at my stop with Esther, Molly, Sarah, Susan, and Peter. This market totally meets the recommendations - over a half mile of farmers' market-type stands alongside the river, with great variety, excellent prices, and a fun vibe! We delighted in picking out several delicious-looking cheeses and spreads, which we promptly devoured back at my place for a late lunch. My goal is to sample as many cheeses (and other enticing dishes, of course) as possible while here - today we got a standard hummus, a basil-feta-pesto spread, and a tomato-paprika-spice spread, all of which were delicious :)

Afterwards, Molly, Susan, and Peter left for Museum Island, and Esther, Sarah, and I met up with Adrienne, Kayo, and Nish at KaDeWe, the huge department store by Wittenbergplatz. We browsed a number of the designer stores for fun (according to Sarah, the prices are better than in the US - time to stock up!), found a line of socks called "Sensual Stockings," discovered a number of adorable stuffed animals, saw several entertaining-looking German board games and intricate chessboards and pieces, and browsed the food floor for chocolates and other delicacies. The prices throughout KaDeWe are extraordinarily high (for a student budget, at least), so we didn't get anything, but we still enjoyed looking around and imagining buying multi-hundred Euro boots or an exquisite plate of lobster tail.
We relocated to the Moroccan place in Kreuzberg for an affordable dinner, and we were all delighted with the ample portions of delicious food. It was Nish's birthday, so we picked up a few drinks and chocolates at the store, then headed to Lulu's (a long subway ride, made slightly entertaining when Adrienne, Nish, and I created a beer bottle symphony by whistling across the tops) to meet up with other people. When we arrived safely at Lulu's (Kayo sagely reassured us that our clinking bottles scared away all the urban Berlin bears), we toasted Nish and prepared to head out to Club Soda, a fairly touristy club but it at least plays American music. On the walk to the subway, Kayo decreed we're not allowed to have any 'intelligent' conversations in these situations, and so we hurriedly steered away from a conversation including the word 'economics' in favor of a discussion about Taylor Swift. We had another long subway ride to get to the club, with many of us dozing off, but once we arrived, we met up with even more of the Stanford crew (I also ran into my host sister Hanna) and for the most part had a really enjoyable time. We're still not entirely on the Berlin schedule, though, as we took off around 4am and went to bed - at some point, we ought to try to pull a local-style 2am to 8am or later night :)

Sat 19.1.13: 

I awoke at 3:30 and lazed around the house for a bit with my host family, then realized that I would be hosting an Asian-dumpling cooking party for dinner, since I have a decent-sized kitchen and living room space, and we were trying to cook for ~10 people. People arrived around 6, and we generally just hung out and chatted about our experiences in Berlin so far. Inevitably, stories from last night were pretty popular - some highlights:
  -  Adrienne and Nish falling asleep in Club Soda, and us not noticing when we left, so they woke up at ~7 to an empty club. Then they fell asleep on the subway ride, waking up at the end of the line and having to switch trains to go to their stop... this happened twice!

  -  Kayo bluntly asking me, "Is that always how you dance?" I guess dancing on my knees was kinda memorable.

  -  A few of the girls stopped to use the bathroom in a Burger King, but the layout was such that a certain table had direct line of sight on the bathroom stalls (not sure why there wasn't a bathroom door, with stalls inside)... and that table was the only one occupied, by guys no less, on the entire floor.

  -  Returning home, I was sleepily dozing on the subway, but waking up when I heard the changeover station announced. During the change, two creepy-ish guys started following Susan, Molly, and I, and when Susan and Molly told me to wake up and hurry, I told them they were "being needy."

Anyway, after a few hours of relaxing with delicious Asian-style dumplings with excellent company, we made our way downstairs to Iqbal's place (he lives the floor below me) to meet up with a bunch of the others to decide what to do. Many of us weren't feeling like another night of clubbing, but still wanted to wander around, so Esther, Sherri, Kayo, Adrienne, Nish, and I rode to the nearby Mehringdamm stop and grabbed some pastries from the 24hour Cafe Tinto. Once we'd regained some feeling in our fingers and toes, and before we fell asleep, we braved the cold once again (with me sharing my coat once again - not sure why/how, but I indeed radiate heat and can lend out my jacket for brief stretches, to much amazement) and withdrew to our cozy beds.