Dogs, babies, and Wifi

After yesterday, today was an incredibly productive day.  I slept in until 8:30 and then quickly grabbed Oma's 30 page report on the 1930's in Prenzlauer Berg.  I got ready for my day and headed to meet Colby.  Together we searched for a comfy cafe to sit in for hours and read/write/and think.   The first observation I made (not only today, but since I got here) is that there is no WIFI anywhere!!!! It has been so hard that  my mom sent me a link with all the cafes around my area that have it.  All of them are at least 7 to 10 blocks from here.  With Colby we headed to the closest bunch and tried to find a good one to sit at.  All of them were either full or only had outside seating... and it's still snowy outside! Giving up on the idea of WIFI, we decided to go to a cute street that we pass on our regular walks and try to find a place there. As we walked past a few we started laughing about our experience at a coffee house yesterday.  After our trip to visit the Synagogue, we chose a little cafe that looked very unique and artsy.  As soon as we sat down and looked around we were both a bit horrified.  The music was something that one could only understand when high on drugs and the people... the smell... the surroundings... let me just say I could feel dread locks growing on my head.  It was probably a great place, but our sense of awkwardness made us leave before ordering.  Today, we were ready to find a normal, nice, and comfortable place to spend our morning/afternoon in.  Our first try on our favorite street was a fail...
- Use the wrong door
- Rude lady points to the correct door
- We walk away avoiding walking into a cafe where everyone would be starring.

A half a block away we settle for a place called Rosalyn that looked precious.  Turns out that it ALSO had WIFI. What are the chances??? Let me tell you... with the WIFI situation, they are slim!

After ordering the most delicious and humongous breakfast/lunch, I started working on Oma's 30 pages.  The detail is unbelievable and her voice carries through her words.  My goal today was to submerse myself in her stories so that I can find my inspiration again.  After reading and taking ample notes, I started looking at letters again.  It never seizes to amaze me the incredible stories that each of the letters tell.  While we were sitting there, a woman came in with her baby in a stroller.  This is not a scene that would shock me in the United States or in Uruguay, but here it made me look up.  In the past week, I have noticed 2 things.  First, dogs go everywhere.  They go in to the stores, the restaurants, the malls, etc.  The second things is babies in strollers go NOWHERE.  The first time I noticed this I was walking home from the train station after going to Potsdam.  Passing by a store, I realized there was a stroller outside.  I didn't think much about it until I realized that the baby was in it!!!!!!!!! What??? I watched the stroller for a little bit and noone every got close to it.  After like 10 minutes, the mother came out of the store and kept going with the stroller.  A few days later, while Colby and I tried to identify Oma's birth home, we saw a stroller outside and again!!! A baby!!! It is freakin 28 degrees here people! Take your baby inside!!! You'll bring your dog in but not your baby??? What??? It is crazy!

Anyway, after the disruption of having a mother bring their baby into a store, I went back to work, and the next thing I know it was already 2:00 and I felt like we should vacate our table.

I decided to return to my apartment and continue reading and taking notes.  When I arrived, my thesis advisor had answered my questions about my research's directions and I quickly started taking her advice.

My goals for today and tomorrow are:


1. practice writing Sutterlin, something I hadn't done in a while. (I even bought a lined notebook today to practice with)

2. visit the archive
3. Actually trace my Oma's routes through the city (to school, to the theater, etc)
4. Find out more about the neighborhood before she left, through archives perhaps!
5. Listen to an interview that I have of her telling a bit of her story (to help me get inspired)

On Friday I will be starting my welcome class in Potsdam, and even though I will have some weekends here, the week days will be full of German classes.  However, I will have my long train rides to read!!!!