It's been a few days since I last did this and with some encouragement from a friend I'll keep posting. Wednesday and Thursday nights have been some of the most fun nights I've had since arriving in Berlin. If you haven't heard of couchsurfing.org I suggest you check it out. I know, you may think it sounds kind of sketchy and to tell the truth sometimes it can be. But I've heard from numerous people here in Europe about the great experiences they've had and the cool people they've met, so it gives me hope to try it sometime. For our purposes, however, couch surfing served as a party finding tool because you can start a meeting point and people just come to hang out and meet other people from around the world. The "party" took place at a little bar not too far down the street from my hostel in your per usual hipster bar called Mano Cafe. The lights were dimmed real low, there were candles burning; all the right ingredients for a swingers party yeah? After a few beers though I began to loosen up and not be so awkward as I usually am in an unfamiliar setting. We actually met a lot of nice people and they literally came from all over the world. It's amazing to see how many people are in Germany, not for work, but to learn the language and just take classes here. There were two girls, one from Brazil and one from Taiwan who are here just taking German classes without knowing when they were going to return to their home countries, which I thought was awesome. We also met three guys who had met through Couch Surfing but they were from Poland, Germany, and Australia. I was told that Couch Surfing is another great way to find an apartment or living accommodation so I might check into this. Don't worry I'll use extreme caution. Then from what I remember we were told to go to this club that didn't have cover until midnight, so me and another American went down to a hole-in-wall I can't remember the name of and hung out with some of the locals for a few hours. You really do lose track of all time here, not only because I don't have a watch but mainly because you're so caught up in what you're doing you completely disregard it.
Yesterday started a little slow for me mainly because of the excruciating headache I woke up with. After lounging around and designating a good 3 hours to napping, I began to feel better but hadn't eaten anything. If you know anything about me when I get hungry, I'm not the funnest person to be around. Christina invited me to go out to dinner with her and her boss and her boss' son so we met up with them in the part of Kreuzberg called Graefe-Kiez. I had a really good meal of stew with beef vegetables and a side of what looked like couscous and all in all was very good. We spoke German the entire time (because that's the idea obviously) and I can definitely tell the improvement, even though I still have a long ways to go. It gets kind of discouraging because you're trying so hard to understand but when you don't the usual scapegoat is to just smile and nod. I just need to keep after it. But Sylvia (the boss) and David (the son) took us around Kreuzberg and a bit of Mitte to this sand bar in what was East Berlin. I know I'd seen this somewhere in a travel site or brochure but it was 100x's better in person.. We grabbed a beer and enjoyed the weather, which has been great ever since I got here. Note: if you didn't already know it is an unwritten law in Germany that when you "Prost" (cheers) someone you have to look them straight in the eyes and never cross over to cheers someone. It really is a big deal.
I'm a little sad I'm leaving the hostel for misfit European travelers but I'm excited to move in with my host mom, as I like to call her. Today we have our program orientation which includes a boat tour of Berlin. I suppose we have to get the touristy stuff out of the way sometime. No telling what's in store for tonight but I think with a bunch of college kids concentrated in one small area we'll figure something out, haha.
Bis dann!
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