amerikanerin in berlin

I had my last English conversation group today after school. We met an hour earlier than usual but still chatted right on through two periods. Let me tell you, if you ever have to lead a conversation group and are worried about keeping the conversation lively, invite a whole bunch of 16-year-old girls. I have my own personal posse of them, three or four who've been coming loyally every week. We meet in the halls all the time around school. They're sweet and funny and bubbly, and around them, conversation never lags. It's good fun. We sometimes play games or have show 'n' tell with pictures, and then we always end up just chatting. It starts out about half German and half English (with me contributing more than my share of the English half), and then by the end of the hour we're down to all German, because their English is neither fast nor animated enough for their stories. Which are mostly about boys, American boys, Florida, and Germany's Next Topmodel. Eventually I just sit back and listen to the rapid-fire superlatives: it was SO embarrassing (voll peinlich), and he was SO cute (voll süß)!

Today, for our last meeting, they wrote a sweet farewell note on the chalkboard, and someone brought snacks. Tomorrow I'll have a picture; today the camera didn't work.

by LP at 9:24 PM (Berlin time) | Permalink | Comments

Last weekend I was up north one last time, hanging out with James in Wismar and then Pete et al in Hamburg. Saturday night in Hamburg was epic: we started with a barbecue at someone's apartment around 7 pm, went out to the happenin' part of town around midnight to go dancing, and didn't stop until 5 am, at which point the fish market on the harbor opens and everyone goes to eat fish for breakfast. We missed the 6:20 am train to Schwarzenbek, the tiny suburb where Pete lives, and rather than wait until 7:00 to take the next one--the long one, an hour-long trip--I decided to just get on the next train to Berlin. Long and short of it is, I fell into bed somewhere around 10:30 am. Crazy, I know. My body agrees with you, Mom, cause it gave me a cold. I've been spending the last couple days sleeping quite a bit in an attempt to do penance to my immune system.

In between naps, I've begun packing. I think that, miraculously, all my stuff is going to fit into my two suitcases. They will be heavy. But I may be speaking too soon, since all the odds and ends that always get left until the end seem to multiply themselves by about thirteen-fold.

It's strange, this packing up of ten months in Berlin into two suitcases. I'm having sort of a hard time believing that pretty soon I won't live here anymore. I could wax all philosophical/nostalgic on you, but instead here's a picture of my bulletin board, sort of an archive of stuff I've done and places I've gone since last September:

I went to my last ballet at the Staatsoper last night; had my last ballet class last Thursday. I have two days left at school, and on Friday one of the English teachers is having a little going-away party for me at her house. Then on Tuesday I'm going to France for a week--flying to Paris and meeting Jules, a British girl who was a teaching assistant up near Hamburg, and then going down to the vineyard near Dijon where she's been working. When I get back to Berlin, I'll have a day and a half or so to tie up loose ends, and then I'm back Stateside. Yeesh.

by LP at 3:26 PM (Berlin time) | Permalink | Comments

Oy. I went to the States for a week, and now I'm back. I took no pictures, but if I had, I could show you that my littlest sister is officially taller than I am now. Where was I when that happened? (Oh yeah, playing songs on my guitar.) (I mean, oh yeah, in Germany.)

(If you don't get it, I'm not explaining it. The only explanation is the 23 hours of traveling I just did. Which I'll explain below.)

So yeah. Grace graduated, and I went back to see her senior ballet recital, which is more important than high school graduation. The recital was a terrific show, largely due to the combined talents of the younger two Peterson sisters. And I spent some quality time with my family and some old friends, and also eating some good food. And I drove for the first time (first few times, actually) in 2007. (Also the first time since last September, but the former sounds more dramatic.)

Anyway. The week went quickly, and then I got back on the plane in South Dakota and we took off at 11:00 am Central Time. I got to Minneapolis, waited around a while, got on the plane, everything's beautiful. We were delayed starting because of water. Never really caught how or where, but water and the plane and a problem. But only like half an hour delayed.

The guy next to me was nice, but became less pleasant over the following 20-odd hours because he 1) couldn't keep his elbow off my side of the armrest, even though I ceded him the entire armrest due to his larger size, 2) sniffled and wheezed, and 3) made comments like, "Well, looks like we got some clouds." Strangers who make comments like that are not people I like to travel with. Unfortunately, my seatmate apparently decided that, based on the fact that we were both Americans headed to Berlin, we are buddies. My new buddy sought me out everywhere--upon landing, takeoff, transfer, baggage claim--to make more comments on the order of the above meteorological statement. I think he is lonely. But I still didn't want to be buddies with him. I was too tired.

I was tired because the trip took six hours longer than it should have, because somewhere over Canada the pilot told us that an engine was vibrating, and not good vibes, and we were going to stop in Detroit and switch planes. It took about an hour and a half to get down to Detroit, and then a while to switch people and luggage to the other plane, and then we took off around 10:00 pm Eastern Time.

But when we got to Amsterdam, they had new connecting flights all sorted out for us, so I just had to sleepwalk myself to the right gate and then off the plane in Berlin and then onto the bus and then onto the U-bahn. And then to my apartment. But the weather is wonderfully summery and hot here, and I took a shower that rates high on the list of Best Showers of My Life, and I ate some food, and life is good again.

I miss the family now, but am looking forward to the last month or so I have here before heading back to see what else I can think of to do with my life. At the moment, I will settle for doing laundry.

Labels: travels

by LP at 8:24 PM (Berlin time) | Permalink | Comments