Aaahhh, Euro!!

Well, the Dollar has struck yet another all time low against the Euro. It now takes $1.44 to buy just 1,00€. Check out this graph to see just how much stronger the Euro has gotten in the two months (exactly today) that I've been in the Eurozone. Or look here for a one-year comparison chart or here for a two-year comparison chart.

Edit: And after posting, I realized that today is the same day as Black Tuesday in the Wall Street Stock Market Crash of 1929.

Genocide & Germans... Vergangenheitsbewältigung

I need to post more about this weekend but I visited a friend of mine that did study abroad at my high school. I stayed at her house, with her family, and had a great time with one rather special moment...

Tonight I was having dinner with Lea, her mother and her 14-year-old sister. Her mother asked me which side of my family was Armenian and I told her it was my father's. She asked if I'd ever been "back" to visit and I told her that I hadn't but figured I would at some point. She was very surprised and couldn't believe I hadn't been to Armenia yet. She thought it was especially strange that I hadn't visited any of my family that lived there. I told her that I didn't have any family and she absolutely did not believe me. After I told her a few more times that I really didn't have any family, she asked me why.

[Do a quick Google search on the Armenian Genocide now.]

I realized just how bad this was going to get and said rather softly "because of the Genocide." Lea's little sister than asked (in German) what "genocide" was... this was followed by about five minutes of rapid German speaking where I only understood a couple words... "Hitler" ... "Holocaust"

I just wanted the ground to open me up and swallow me then and there.

Thoughts on Labor Unions and the French Difference

Two things I need to "analyze" for you all: Labor Unions (and their strikes) and the different "approach" to the environment in France.

1. What sense does striking make to have politicians support labor unions plans? The Deustche Bahn had been striking during morning rush hours for a couple weeks now... which has inconvenienced (at the least) thousands of commuters and possibly cost many lots of money. (I could've easily missed my flight and had to pay to rebook.) The French rail strikes that have closed systems actually cripple many peoples' abilities to get around which can lead to (especially poorer) people loosing their jobs since they can't get there. How exactly does this garner popular support for the strikers? When I walked into the Köln Hauptbahnhof after paying 30€ for a taxi, a striking Bahn worker offered me a leaflet on their strike. I didn't take it and, if I'd known more German, wanted to tell him to get back to work. Besides, who seriously expects to strike for a 31% pay raise!? That's ridiculous.

2. I am still pretty shocked about the lack of environmentalism in France. I guess I really have come to expect minimal packaging and a plethora of recycling options from my time in Germany. It seems like everywhere I go in Berlin there are four different types of trash cans for paper, glass, packaging and waste but in France there was just one type: waste. It also felt somewhat odd to receive free plastic bags with anything purchased. I guess it's much more American in that regard but I've grown accustomed to the German way of minimizing waste and recycling as much of whatever is leftover. It's going to be a strange adjustment back to America--hopefully I can maintain the German concern for the environment when I'm back in the States.

European Union

I've been catching up on the last week's news today and am pretty excited for the new developments within the EU. The European Council met in Lisbon late last week and finalized the draft of the Reform Treaty which is remarkably similar to the failed EU Constitution from 2005. It will introduce some much needed reforms to the governance and structure of the EU. It's especially important considering the much greater number of member states (now at 27 but only 15 when the Constitution was proposed in 2004).

The other good proposal is of the "Blue Card" to allow easier immigration of highly-skilled migrant workers from outside of the EU to come into any EU member state to live and work. This is also needed by the EU to support current living and social welfare standards (particularly in the older, Western members) and to continue to support the EU's ability to compete in fields where China and India are rapidly gaining ground. (Of course, the US should also work on increasing the numbers of highly-skilled and educated workers... but that's another story. Meanwhile, good job EU!)

Boo on NBC

So I just got back to Berlin from Paris last night and am spending today lounging around. Since I've finally got DSL in my apartment, I thought I'd catch up on episodes of one of my favorite shows: The Office. NBC and Apple got into a pissing contest over fees for selling the latest episode on iTunes and NBC withdrew from the store. Which means I'm not able to buy a season pass to season four on iTunes. Instead, I thought I was stuck with only being able to watch it from NBC's "Video Rewind" website where I'd have to be on a constant internet connection to watch.

So, I was very excited to pull up the page and start watching the first of now four episodes of this season... only to find a page saying "We're sorry, but the clip you've selected isn't available from your location. Please select another clip." And that's the same no matter what clip I select. I guess in some way it makes sense for NBC to restrict it's products to the US market... but that leaves US expats to find other means. I'm now googling to find any sites that are hosting the current season.

Home in Berlin

I just got home to my apartment from Paris. I took a 12.55h train from Paris through Belgium (so I did see Brussels) to Köln Hauptbahnhof at 15.45h. Then I waited an hour for 16.49h train to Berlin. I got to the Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 22.20h. My iPod's battery gave out halfway to Köln and I'd finished reading my books during my night in Frankfurt... I'd slept too much the past few nights to sleep on the train and just spent the time sitting. Pretty bored. It sure made the 9 hours traveling go a lot slower.

Once I got to Berlin Hbf, I noticed that the S- and U-Bahn system maps were all covered with sheets of computer paper that showed a "strike" system detailing what lines/stations would be affected by the ongoing strikes. Fortunately I could get from the Hauptbahnhof to Friedrichstraße station, where I could transfer to my S25 line. I got on the first S25 that came in my direction, even though it was stopping about 4 stops short of my station--I figured if I needed to catch a taxi, it'd be better to go a shorter distance. Once this train ended at Priesterweg, I sat out on the cold platform for about ten minutes before another train came to go the rest of the way. Not so bad really. And that concludes my trip to Köln/Frankfurt/Paris.

Paris, Part Deux

Today I slept in far too late (to be traveling on a short time period) and got up around midday. Lunch was a quiche at the University cafeteria before I left on my own for the Paris city center.

I walked around the Tourist's Paris for about 6 hours before heading back to Karen's apartment at the Cité Universitaire. I started at the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral and wandered among the many roads until I finished at the Tour Eiffel. I think I heard more English spoken on the streets than French... the English national rugby team may have lost its match last night but many of the fans remained in Paris for the rest of the weekend.

After getting back to Karen's apartment, I fell asleep for about an hour and then we left to find dinner. We wound up going to a Japanese restaurant in Luxembourg--not quite the independent nation but still just a couple hours away... :)

But now it's off to bed--I'm still feeling really tired (and a little cold) from Friday night. I'm going to forgo the trip to Brussels in favor of some rest and relaxation in Berlin and am heading to Berlin tomorrow.

Paris!

I survived the night and made my train to Paris!!

At 08.00h I went into the shopping level of the station to the Euro World store and bought a scarf and gloves for 1€ each. I wish I'd had those last night! After getting those, and a cup of coffee, I saw my train had arrived. I boarded and absolutely loved the warmth from the heaters but stayed bundled up in hat/gloves/scarf and two jackets until well after we were under way. Deutsche Bahn pleasantly surprised me by providing a rather large breakfast to all passengers going to Paris--I guess since it was a 4,5 hour direct train, a meal made since... but that's not something I'd expect in the States... at least without an extra fee!!

The train ride was rather uneventful but I got some much needed rest before getting to Paris Est. I'd been texting Karen and apparently the French rail strikes were worse than German--many rail lines in Paris were totally closed down! She recommended that I try to take the Metro as far as I could towards her and just let her know how far I got!! Fortunately, the Metro line 4 made it far enough and I met up with her rather quickly.

I was going to explore the touristy sections of Paris this afternoon but wound up joining Karen while she went to north Paris to try to find a man selling a bicycle. It sounded really sketchy at first and I was more than willing to join Karen as she searched for this mystery man. Once we got there, it turned out to be a massive flea market of many of the Parisian immigrant groups all peddling their wares. We never found the bicycle man but spent several hours wandering the many kiosks. As we were leaving, we bought a roasted ear of corn from a man on the sidewalk with a charcoal grill. Again, that sounds pretty sketchy but it was really, really good!

Tonight's dinner was a my first experience with a European McDonald's. It tasted pretty much the same. :P Although, I was shocked by how environmentally unfriendly the store was! Maybe I've gotten so used to the German obsession with minimizing one's environmental impact, but the amount of waste created just at the McDonald's in serving product to be eaten there was shocking. I can only imagine how weird it'll feel once I return to the States! I've grown rather accustomed to having four different trash cans everywhere I go and having to bring my own bags to buy anything. I'm always impressed in Germany when someone freely bags something for me. (Which reminds me, I got a really cool gift bag from the European Central Bank because after I bought a Euro knit cap and the cashier offered to bag it for me.)

After our McDonald's dinner, we went to a movie (I can't recall the name) that was about a French army unit operating in Algeria during the independence struggles there in 1959. It was a good movie (despite the lack of subtitles!) but I unfortunately full asleep halfway through because of my lack of sleep the night before. Now I'm going to bed after staying up far too late catching up with Karen. (We worked together last year as RAs and she's now in Paris attending law school.)

Frankfurt (and its Hauptbahnhof!)

Welp, I'm up pretty early today... right? I didn't really get any sleep last night--I had to spend it in the Frankfurt main train station. But we'll get back to that... let's go chronologically. :)

Yesterday morning, I woke up very confused about where I was, why an alarm clock was sounding and who was talking to me, telling me to wake up. Then I realized it was 03.15h, I was in the house on the Mosel, and that was Mark talking to me. I got up and helped load the car so we could leave just before 04.00h for the Frankfurt Airport. Two hours on winding roads and a stretch of the Autobahn and we were at the airport before 6 and I said my goodbyes to Ginna.

We drove to the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof where I attempted to purchase reservations on the trains to Paris for that afternoon... but they were all sold out. The Rugby World Cup is being played this weekend in Paris and apparently a lot of Frankfurters were going! So, I bought a reservation on the next available train... at 08.30h the next morning!

That day was spent exploring Frankfurt (including its Cathedral and the European Central Bank with its massive Euro symbol). I liked visiting the ECB but wish they'd lower their interest rates to help stem the rise of the Euro to the Dollar... the exchange rate has hit 1.43 dollars to the euro!!

Last night we went to dinner at a surprisingly expensive (compared to their posted menu--false advertising maybe?) but very tasty Lebanese restaurant just a few blocks from the Hauptbahnhof. Then it was back to the Hauptbahnhof for more waiting. Mark and Julie had an overnight train to Salzburg that left just before 23.00h but after that I was on my own in the station.

I wandered around that station some but didn't find anywhere that was particularly warm (it was a cold evening and could only get colder). I wound up back in the public waiting area near the center of the station that had many benches and some wind screens. I managed to get about an hour of sleep around 01.00h but was shivering far too much after that to sleep. At some point, I think around 3 or 4.ooh, I looked in my bag and saw my bottle of water was forming ice... So I decided to look for a warmer place and walked into the closed U-Bahn station underneath the main level and leaned against a wall for a while. After I started to feel a little better, I went back upstairs and miraculously found a very warm hallway (maybe 45ºF!) and sat on the floor. I noticed that some other people (both obviously homeless and travelers) had flattened cardboard boxes to sit on and I decided to find one for myself. After a brief search, I pulled a box from a trash pile (it was clean!) and that greatly improved the situation on the floor. About half an hour ago, I got up and went to get my baggage from my storage locker to avoid paying for a second day's storage. Now I'm in a relatively warm but phenomenally expensive (3€ per hour!) Internet Café in the station. My train leaves in about two hours and I can't wait!!

Köln and the Mosel

I started Fall Break today. I was at the S-Bahn station for my 04.51h train to the airport at about 04.40h... and no trains came until 05.32h. I'd only given myself a one hour window to make my flight and was starting to really worry! When my train finally made it to Unter den Linden station and I started waiting on the express bus to Tegel, I saw that the Deutsche Bahn strike was back on--from 02.00h-11.00h. German law prevents unions from striking enough to "cripple" the nation and the rail strikes are typically structured (it is Germany--they're carefully structured) to affect only the morning rush hours and result in severely limited and delayed services.

I got to Tegel Airport at 06.40h for my 06.50h flight but wasn't too worried because of the incredibly small size of the airport. Tegel is a bizarre airport to American's because you go directly to your gate to check in, check your baggage and pass through security but then walk directly from security to your plane (less than 10m). I started to check-in and the airline agent started to lecture me on how late I was and the trouble it could cause--I simply cut her off with a "yes, yes, I know, blame the strike" and she let it go. After her attempt at a lecture, she still checked my bag and handed me my boarding pass and told me (one more time) to hurry. I walked the few meters to security (no line!) and then got on the plane. As soon as I was seated, the plane started to pull back from the gate and took off.

Once I got to Köln, I had to take a cab to the central train station (Hauptbahnhof) because I was meeting my Aunt Ginna and two of members of her church--Mark and Julie. A fun attempt at a conversation in the cab about how annoying the bahn strikes were and how bad traffic construction was. After waiting a few minutes at the Hauptbahnhof, Ginna, Julie and Mark arrived and we began our exploration of Köln.

Immediately outside the station was the Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral) in all its Gothic splendor. I absolutely love the Gothic (and Neo Gothic) style of architecture and such a magnificent example was wonderful. It was built from 1248-1880 and then it's been under restoration pretty much ever since. It was nearly totally destroyed during the War but was quickly rebuilt afterwards.

After that was a lot more walking throughout the city center and just enjoying the city. In the early afternoon, we got in the car and drove out to where Mark and Julie had rented a house in the Trier area along the Mosel River (Landal Sonnenberg). This area is most famous for Riesling wines and the land was covered in vineyards along steep hills leading to the river. All the little towns in the area were in the postcard-esque half-timber style with narrow, winding cobbled roads. Absolutely beautiful. The afternoon/evening was spent in the little town of Bernkastel-Kues. After a great dinner in Leiwen where a cat randomly wandered into the restaurant, we called it an early night. We needed to leave the house by 04.00h the next morning to make it to the Frankfurt in time for Ginna's flight to Wien.

Success!!

I finished all my midterms... and I think I did really well. My second exam today (on Contemporary German History) was on one of the prep questions I'd worked the most on. The architecture exam was significantly more challenging but wasn't so bad... plus there were around only 20 questions.

The most exciting part of this evening was when Dirk, the program director, came into my Architecture exam to give me the package I'd just received from Alice with my DSL modem in it!! I guess I'd been asking about packages so much the past few days that he thought it was best to hand-deliver it to me! So now I'm posting this blog post from my own apartment!! How exciting, and it only took me 5 weeks to be fully online! Unfortunately, none of my other friends that ordered DSL have been fully hooked up... and I feel I'll be sharing this connection for a while. Ah well, it's all good.

Well, I need to get to bed soon... I have to get up quite early tomorrow to catch a 04.51 S-Bahn train to get to Tegel Airport to begin Fall Break.

German Exam--Not So Bad

I finished my German midterm in less than an hour and I think I did pretty well. It was a mix of listening (Hören), reading (Lesen) and writing (Schreiben). Again, I'm optimistic about my grade there and am feeling more confident about my later exams today--Contemporary Germany and Berlin Architecture... although Architecture might kick my ass. I figure if I don't know anything about the building, to just go with Karl Freidrich Schinkel and say it was built in the early 1800s. Or say it was reconstructed after the War. That pretty much covers every architecturally significant building in Berlin!

Creativity in the Küche/Kitchen

Last night, out of sheer culinary boredom and a lack of proper ingredients, I conducted a little experiment with my dinner. I had a couple chicken breasts that I need to eat before I go out of town and decided to cook it. But, I didn't have any oil and just margarine to fry it in... didn't like that idea so I looked around my kitchen. Then I decided to try fry/boiling it in beer. And I also had a container of chili pepper flakes (a rare spicy find in Germany), so I sprinkled a lot onto the chicken. It actually turned out pretty well. I paired it with some pasta I'd already opened and some cheese sauce that was also already open. I always have a hard time with cooking far too much pasta and last night was no exception... but since I don't have any plastic storage containers, I just have to keep eating to prevent waste. It's not always fun but it works.

First Exam Down, Three More to Go

I just finished my first exam--on Integration, Conflict and Security in Europe. The exam consisted of eight identification terms and an essay on the process of integration in Europe from 1945 until the modern European Union. We were given a study guide with 5 possible essay topics and I really focused on the right one! Yay! So, I feel very confident on that exam... but tomorrow morning I have my German language midterm, at 13.30h I have my exam on Contemporary Germany and at 16.00h I have my midterm exam on Berlin Architecture... I'm truly looking forward to a long night of studying. :)

In other news, I stepped in a pile of Hundscheiße after leaving German class this morning. First time since I've been here, despite the German obsession with letting their dogs crap wherever they choose. It's so strange--Germans have such an obsession with following rules and a seeming love of order but they allow (very well behaved) dogs to go wherever the owners go and to crap anywhere with no need to clean up afterwards. Also, this German love for smoking everywhere is starting to get on my nerves--I really like clean air!

Ah well, wish me luck on my exams tomorrow! And then Thursday morning, I'm flying to Köln/Cologne to begin my fall break. Brussels may have fallen through (at least my free housing) and I'm not sure if I want to pay for a hostel. Maybe I'll just take an early train from Paris and just spend the day.

Let's stick with the important things, okay?

I just got back from getting a backpack from Camp4 (That'd be pronounced Camp Fear in English) in Alexanderplatz. Not as cheap as I'd wanted but pretty low priced and it'll be a good "investment" purchase for future travels. But the important thing is from the S-Bahn ride back home. I was sitting in the very front of the front car, just behind the driver's cabin. My foot was on the seat and, at one of the first stops after I boarded, the train operator stepped out of his cabin and yelled at me to move my feet from the seat. Okay, fair enough, I shouldn't have had them up there... but should he have been smoking cigarettes the whole time I was on the train? I'm pretty sure there's no smoking on the trains or stations here.

An Attempt at a Haircut

The other day when I bought my camera, I also picked up a low-cost beard trimmer that I was hoping would work to cut my hair myself--in order to save money. Well, this morning I cut my hair... and realized just how narrow a cutting width of 22 mm is (an inch is 25.4 mm). It took me about forty-five minutes before I realized I just couldn't finish it all on my own and called Marion for help. She came over and finished it up for me... although I may still be wearing hats more often now!

And speaking of needing to wear hats, I just saw on BBC News that the high temperature today in Berlin is 11º C (51º F) with a low of 0º C (32º F)! That's cold!!

But now I'm off to try to find a cheap and, hopefully, used camping backpack to use on my fall break trip and other trips this semester. I learned during the excursion to Wien that using a duffel bag is a pain when you have to walk many kilometers to get to train stations, a hostel, etc. Hopefully I can find something good in the many Flohmarkts (flea markets) of Berlin.

Not quite...

I found the plug adapter at Saturn, another tech mega store on the Schlossstraße in Rathaus Steglitz and have everything hooked up... but it's still not working. I'm just going to return everything to their respective stores tomorrow and just wait until Monday/Tuesday for the package to arrive from Alice. I'm just really hoping the "not working" has to do with the cable adapter I bought (maybe the wires don't correspond correctly or something) and it's not the Telekom connection... if thats the case, I'm really just going to give up and cancel the service (or lack thereof).

I think I've figured it out...

I showed the man at Media Markt a camera phone picture of the wall plug I have for my phone line and he told me that there was nothing I could do but wait on the package from Alice because I needed a "splitter" of some type. Not wanting to give up after getting this far, I went to an Internet Café and did a little research... apparently my apartment has a "BT" type of connection and I need an "RJ-11" jack for my DSL modem. I can buy those for under 5€ shipped from the UK but I want something sooner. I'm going to go back out in a little bit to a different technology store and see if they have the adapter. I think I'm also going to look around Media Markt some too because I don't quite take the Alice man's word that they're entirely unavailable.

T-Kom Success??

The Telekom technician came earlier today... he spoke about as much English as I speak German--that was a lot of fun. But, he got whatever (nonexistent?) problem with my line fixed. I just got back from Media Markt where I spoke to the Alice guy (once again) about the postpackage with my DSL modem. He reordered it for me and will be shipping it to my school building rather than my apartment. Hopefully it'll arrive by Monday or Tuesday. In the meantime, the Media Markt man suggested I just buy a DSL modem and return it within fourteen days. Once I got back home I opened up the box, started to install it... and realized that the telephone jack on my wall wouldn't fit the cable from the modem... now I'm going back to Media Markt to talk to the man about what I can do now.

Waiting on Telekom ... Again

Deutsche Telekom is supposed to come to my apartment again today to finally hook up my phone line so I can have DSL. I spoke with the Alice (DSL Company) salesman at Media Markt several times this week and he told me that if this technician tells me he can't make the connection I should get his name so Alice can "put pressure on them". And I'm going to try to find the closest Deutsche Post office to see if I can get my DSL modem that was supposedly shipped to me on Monday... but the post person never leaves a notice and I have no idea if it's there yet. Speaking of which, I'm going to sit in the lobby to wait on the post person... then I'll try to ask her about my postpackage. Hopefully this'll work out well.

Hahnchenmanntag

Yup, wonderful Thursday must mean it's Chicken Man Day! It's always a wonderful sight to see the Hahnchenmobile "Gaumen Schmaus" at the end of my street when I get off the bus. I just had a delicious half-chicken for 2,60€ in a nice break from my typical pasta and Nurnburger Rostbratwurst sausage dinner. Now I'm boiling the bones to make chicken stock so I can have some good rice for dinner tomorrow... probably with sausage.

For dinners, I typically cook some pasta and sausages. I found some very cheap sausages that taste pretty good and pasta is always cheap here. I usually mix it up with a variety of sauces--right now I have four different kinds of sauce in my refrigerator. I also tried something new with the sausages last night--instead of just cooking them in a frying pan with a little water, I used a mix of water and Potsdamer Rex Pils bier... so much more flavorful. (Can you guys tell that I'm getting really bored/creative with my meals now?)

Digitalkamera ab Media Markt

Today's been a very productive day for me. I just got back from Media Markt where I bought a headset for using Skype on my computer plus a new digital camera. I decided to go with a Kodak brand camera because they're a very respectable camera company (and the camera I got can use the SD memory card I'd already purchased for my now-deceased camera).

Earlier today, my language class took a field trip to the IKEA near Sudkreuz where we had to answer different questions about furniture (Möbel) in German (auf Deutsche). We also had to ask random people questions about their shopping in IKEA and their apartments. It was similar to what we did a few weeks ago when we went to KaDeWe, the largest department store (and possibly most expensive) in Germany.

The "experience" of talking to Germans was useful (except I think everyone that anyone in my class talked to wound up just reading off our sheets) but I think the better part was that I was able to buy another duvet cover and pillow for the second duvet that I have in my apartment.

Fall Break/Semester Travel Plans

Somewhat unbelievably, my semester in Berlin is almost halfway over. My fall break begins in slightly over one week. Next week is midterms and then on Thursday morning I start my fall break travels. I'm flying to Köln/Cologne early Thursday morning to spend the day with Ginna and some friends of hers while exploring the city. That night I'm staying with her friends and then heading to Frankfurt very early in the morning. I'll spend that Friday exploring Frankfurt and then that evening I'm catching a train to Paris. I just received in the post today my Eurail pass with eight travel days on it--enough for fall break plus (hopefully) two more weekend trips in the France, Benelux, Germany region.

In Paris, I'm staying with my friend Karen, who I used to work with as an RA. She finished law school in the States earlier this year and is now working on her LLM (European equivalent of a JD) in Paris. Once she finishes she'll be able to practice law in both the USA and the EU, and will be fluent in three languages! I'm going to spend the weekend there through probably Tuesday. Tuesday evening I'm going to take a train to Brussels and am (hopefully) going to be staying with Matt--another former RA who is spending the semester studying in Brussels. I'm probably going to spend just a couple days there exploring all the institutions of the EU headquartered in Brussels. As much as my classes focus on the EU, I figure I simply must visit!

Probably on Thursday I'm going to leave Brussels and head back to Berlin. That weekend I might go visit my friend Lea in Nord Rhine-Westfalen or I might just stay in Berlin and knock out some more of the museums that I need to visit. The next weekend I might be visiting Lea in Maastricht (The Netherlands) where she goes to University. And that should leave me with just enough days on my rail pass to go to Bayern for another weekend to visit a friend there.

Depending on money, I may also try to get a plane ticket out to Las Palmas, Canary Islands, to visit Fernando... but it's rather pricey. I really want to go because the photos I've seen of the islands make it seem so beautiful and, from what Fernando tells me, it's really fun too.

Otherwise, I'm hoping that Lea, Fernando and Diana will come to Berlin to visit me. That would save me money (haha) and it would be fun to show them around this city since I don't think any of them have been before (or at least recently).

Dead Camera

Welp, the camera I bought a couple days before coming to Berlin has died. Then I did some research online... apparently this model camera only works about a month before dying. Don't buy a Casio Exilim EX-V7!! It took about 1000 great photos and now it's absolutely dead. Apparently my only recourse is to mail it, with my now-long-gone proof of purchase, to their repair facility in New Jersey. Or, now I just don't have a camera and will be looking for really cheap ones at Media Markt now. I'm just not doing too well with technology lately.

Bachelorette Party and a Fox

Well, tonight was certainly interesting. I went to Potsdamer Platz to see "The Brave One" with Marion but had some time to kill and sat in the plaza with my computer, using the free WiFi. After I'd been there for a while, a group of about 12 German women came up to me and started talking at me in German. (Yes, speaking "at" me, not "to" me.)

After they talked for a bit, I said I spoke no German (Ich spreche kein Deutsche) and thought they'd leave me alone... no, one of them (who was wearing a painter's jumpsuit painted with glitter pens and colors) told me she was getting married and that I had to buy something from her. She had a tray with some condoms and a tube of some kind of makeup. I was laughing a lot because I had no idea what was going on but they said to just give a few cents. I put a bit of change into her pocket and she gave me the condoms and the makeup. Then she made me pull a Kinder egg off of her jumpsuit. I still had no idea what was going on but then she drew a smiley face on my hand and then they all lit sparklers and stood around talking to each other for a few minutes before wandering away.

I'm not really sure what was going on but now I have some condoms, some face cream something and a plastic egg with a mini-lipstick, some hair holder things and a little ring. Plus a smiley face on my hand. I really need to ask some Germans about bachelorette parties.

Then, after I got home from the oh so good Jodie Foster movie, (Go see it!) Marion and I heard some movement in the bushes outside the apartment house... and a fox walked out. We just stood there watching it for a few minutes while it tried to get into a trash can and then it just wandered off down the street. Oh Berlin...

Maybe Internet Monday??

Media Markt man called me back tonight... now he says I just need to reschedule my appointment with Telecom and I'll be okay. When I told him that I spent the whole day waiting on the package delivery without success, he told me that if I come to the store tomorrow he can also take care of that. So basically, I wasted the entire day waiting on the package delivery and still don't have Internet. And now I'm sitting in the Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz trying to kill some time before my 22.30 showing of The Brave One with Jodie Foster... pretty exciting!

Updated w/Excursion Posts

I finally uploaded the blog posts about my trip to München, Wien and Bratislava... they're all post-dated below.

And still no internet... :'(

T-Com showed up about 10:45 but there's something wrong with the phone line between my apartment and the main box in the basement... preventing me from having Internet. He said that hopefully it'd be fixed by the Hausmeister once I spoke to him. I found the Hausmeister and kind of explained to him the situation and he said he understood and would take care of it (his English actually isn't that good...).

Then I went to Media Markt about the Internet and they will be sending via courier my DSL modem today (I need to hurry home from the school building with Internet). I must be there to receive the package, which was the problem last time. But, even though I will have the modem now, I still don't have a working line. The Media Markt man said that he would call me this afternoon to tell me what the problems were and then I could try to reschedule an installation time. So frustrating!!

Waiting, waiting...

The Hausmeister came by at 9 this morning to fix the towel warmer in my bathroom. There's a new Hausmeister and he really seems like he's on top of his game. The old one didn't really seem to care about anything.

Now I'm just sitting around, waiting on T-com to come. I was told that they typically come between 8-12 but the SMS said they'd be here between 8-16h ... I might be sitting here for quite a while!

Deutsche Post

So I'm kinda mad at the post service here! I got a notice card from the Post on Monday that a package was waiting for me at the Customs office. Once I had the time (today), I took the bus to the area and then walked several blocks to the office. I knew where it was because I'd had to do it a couple weeks ago for another package. Once I got there and handed over my paper (and a little waiting), I was told that the package had already been picked up... momentary confusion, then I realized it was likely this card wasn't delivered and my package two weeks ago was the one from this card. Total waste of time and pretty disappointing that I didn't actually get another package.

After that, I went to the Media Markt to talk to the guy that sold me the home DSL since I still hadn't received the DSL modem in the mail. The Telecom company is coming tomorrow to activate my line and they aren't supposed to do that until I have the modem. The DSL man at the store told me that if I still don't receive it by tomorrow to go back and he'll call the DSL company for me. Once I got home, I found a card from DHL sitting on the floor with my name on it. (Deutsche Post turns packages over to DHL when they aren't delivered on the first attempt.) It said something about a package for me was in a "Packstation" on the main road near my apartment. I read the address (Osdorfer Straße 98) and started walking in that direction... after I wound up a couple kilometers down the road in the middle of some farms (likely outside the city limits of Berlin) I decided that it couldn't be that far. Once I turned around and started walking back, I saw a Deutsche Post person on a bike and asked him where I should go... it turned out that the Packstation was only two blocks from my apartment. Apparently the house numbering went up on one side of the street until 90 and then went back down the other side (including 98). So... quite a walk and then the DSL modem, right? No. No, it was movie tickets from Deutsche Bank that I'd "won" because I brought a new customer to the bank. Of course, I still haven't received my bank card in the post, but I have movie tickets... go figure.

Tomorrow, once T-com comes to activate my phone line, I'm going to the Media Markt to find out about re-ordering my modem and also to the Bank to have them resend my bank card.

German Unity Day

Today's German Unity Day... 17th anniversary of the formal, legal reunification of the FRG and DDR on 3 Oktober 1990. Which basically means a holiday to everyone in Germany but not much celebration... they are absolutely terrified of nationalism/patriotism in this country. Certainly no one walking around with the German flag on their shirt like it'd be in the USA. I went to a museum earlier this afternoon and then to the Unter den Linden/17. Juni Straße area and to a free concert sponsored by Coca-Cola at the Brandenburg Gate. I had no idea what was being said but it was pretty fun.

Ahhh, German Class

I'm in a break during German class and just played Chamillionaire's Ridin' Dirty for my teacher because someone brought it up in class... then I tried to explain it somewhat. The she said that she didn't understand why he was singing about drinking and smoking weed while driving because it wasn't so bad here in Germany... ahahahahahah.