I lied in my last post. I didn't end up going to Potsdam with my hostfamily yesterday. Instead, my host-mutter decided that we would stay home for the day as the past two have been busy for both of us. So, I slept in, lounged around, and then we went for a walk around our neighborhood, Neukölln.
We walked about ten minutes to Tempelhof, the sight of a former airport, and now a park. It's a massive open space, with everything still in place, runways, terminal, etc. As the daughter of a pilot, and one myself, it was wonderful. People were walking, running, biking, kiting, gardening, wind-skating/boarding, playing football, rugby, and frisbee, etc.
The airport terminal is massive (4,035 feet long), and was completed in 1941, although the site had been used as an airfield for quite some time before. Orville Wright even visited it during his world tour - an Ohio connection, yay! It closed in 2008, as a part of a plan to construct a new airport, and also close Tegel Airport, another Berlin port. However, the new location has not yet been completed.
After wandering around for about an hour, we walked home through the Kiez. I saw a lot of small shops, cafes, restaurants, a church with its spire chopped off, and a Bücherboxx, which is a 'take a book, leave a book' exchange. It was really neat to see. I'm looking forward to exploring this area even more.
That evening, we went to see my host-brother in a performance in a older powerhouse. The building itself was really neat, and the performance itself was very interesting. And by that I mean, I believe it was bizarre, or as they say now, "contemporary," something that was amplified by the fact that it was all in German. Ask me about it sometime when I'm drunk.
Today was the first day of classes, so I officially began learning about the history, cinema and language of this wonderful nation in which I am residing. It's nice to start on learning things again, but Mondays will be long days, with classes from 10-6 with small breaks in between. Today, my small adventures included trying currywurst for lunch, which was surprising to me as it was just be a hot dog, covered in ketchup and curry powder (I thought it was more).
After class, everyone else headed off to find food or office supplies, but I cut off to wander around the church that is down the street from the study center. It was completely gorgeous, of course, it's called Zionskirche. However, it didn't seem to be open to the public, so I kept wandering. That's the beauty of a city like Berlin, you can walk until you find public transport.
I ended up back at Bernauer Straße, and decided to follow the wall, which is marked by a line of cobblestones all around the city. I read more at various info panels along the path, and kept walking until I had unintentionally made a full circle back to the Dr. Pong bar I had been at on Saturday night. From there, it was a short walk to the U-Bahn station at the corner, and I headed home.
Another minor victory, besides the currywurst and the exploring, was that I had another chai tea latte today and am interacting better with the locals. I'm trying to use German as much as I can, so it is a small kind of accomplishment I suppose. I'd like to find a coffee shop and a bar that I can become a regular in. Hopefully, if I acquire a local friend and/or language partner, that will be completed quickly.
This evening consisted of dinner with everyone in my host family, the first time the five of us have eaten together, a frustrating session of fighting with Skype to talk to V, and catching up with emails. Nothing super exciting to a reader of this blog. Tomorrow, a paperwork session to get my visa, an academic advising meeting and a trip to the Film Museum at Potsdamer Platz.
Tschüss!
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