As this blog is just so thrilling for those who follow it, here is the recounting of the adventures from yesterday.
Tuesday morning was spent, again, in meetings, as we filled out the numerous forms needed to register us with local authorities, prove we had insurance and start the process for getting our residence permits. Afterwards, I talked with the academic coordinator for CIEE Berlin about the classes I'm taking, and all is well: German, German History, German Cinema (may switch to architecture, we'll see), Modern Jewish History and the History of the Holocaust. The latter two are at Touro College which doesn't start until February 16, so for the next two weeks I technically have Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays free, plus weekends, barring the fact that those are all packed with excursions and events. When all the classes are running, I will be in school Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. I'm definitely not complaining.
After the meetings, a two friends and I grabbed lunch and then we proceeded back to the study center to hang out until our next excursion. The center is really nice, with beanbag chairs and couches with blankets and pillows in the lobby. It's fun to relax there in between events. We joked around, talking about German cows, and if they make the sound "moo" or "möö." I know almost no one reading this will understand it, however, for those who can, it was really funny. We also may have pulled one over on another student who was a little gullible, but that's another story.
The afternoon excursion was to the Deutsch Kinemathek: Musuem Für Film und Fernsehen. Although I didn't know anything about German cinema, it was still really neat. The exhibition employs the use of mirrors and televisions really well. Afterwards, three of us went shopping at a nearby mall. I bought necessary items for school, some notebooks and a small planner, as I haven't had a chance to sit down and look at my finances and travel plans.
That evening was Stammtisch, which is a regular informal get-together. CIEE's Stammtisch includes all of the program staff, the Language and Culture students, the architecture students, and our "buddies," local students who want to meet Americans (god knows why) and improve their already excellent English. I got a free beer which was nice, and quite good. One of the local students was sitting next to me and we hit it off. After we finished our beers, we went over to the ping-pong table and played around-the-world, or Chinese.
Chinese consists of all the participants walking in a circle around the ping-pong table, while whoever is at either end hits the ball to the opposite side, which the person behind them doing the same when the ball returns. If you miss, or have a bad serve, you're out. Eventually, when it dwindles down to three or four, people are sprinting around the table to get the ball in time. Once it is at two, a normal game begins, playing to five points, and following that, another round of Chinese. It's quite fun, especially if you have some alcohol in hand. I remained at the bar after most of my peers left, chatting with someone from Portugal and my German friend. Everyone was quite nice, and seemed surprised that I was an American, which amused me to no end. All the while, couples were salsa dancing in another part of the room, which was entrancing. Berlin is a city like no other.
After some more games, I called it quits and headed home, riding a tram for the first time. Once back, I skyped two of my closest friends, one who is back home and the other who is in France, also studying abroad. It was so nice to catch up and hear their voices, despite the terrible connection. This morning is more relaxing, as I don't have to leave until later than usual. Today, the group is going to the DDR Museum which chronicles life in the Deutsche Demokratische Republik or East Germany, and later on, I'm having dinner with my new German friend and one of her acquaintances. I'm quite excited.
That's all for now, folks. Tschüss!
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