Stand by me Milka

I'm dedicating today's blog to my dad! It's been one long year, but it is finally over and I'm so proud to call you my dad and look forward to many more healthy years to come!  I also want to share this video with all of you, because you continually "stand by me" from near and far! Click here to watch the amazingness!

I must apologize for skipping days, but I haven't had that much time/material to write.  Today on the train ride back from Potsdam I wrote the following:

Saturday I got to sleep in until 10 for the first time all week! I woke up to the sun on my face and figured that since it was a nice day, I would walk to the market at Alexanderplatz.  It is exactly a 40 minute walk, so I thought it would be very enjoyable with the nice weather.  Nice weather? Did I really just write that.  Scratch that... It was 9 degrees F (which is about -13 C)!!! It looked zoo nice from inside!!! But the wind was brutal! My goal for the morning was to find a scarf... A German scarf! Everyone here wears amazing, huge, thick, warm scarfs!!! On my way to Alexanderplatz, I walked through Oma's street, passed her houses, and enjoyed the market on her street.  Everyone was out, eating on tables (tall ones where one stands while one eats).  If you weren't actually on the street or looking at the snow, you might not believe it was soooo freaking cold!

Kollwitzplatz

Kollwitzplatz

After battling my way through the wind to Alexanderplatz, I finally found my scarf and enjoyed some people watching while eating my first currywurst standing on one of these outside tables.

My awesome scarf!!! 

Alexanderplatz

Alexanderplatz

 After about 15 minutes, I had enough and headed to a cafe to enjoy some hot tea and make use of the WIFI.  Since I have had the hardest time finding internet in this city, every time I find it, I make use of it!!! While enjoying my tea, I researched Prenzlauer Berg some more and began realizing the amount of databases that are available here.  I was so excited and pumped that I rushed back to the apartment to get to working on the letters and stories.  My goal was to look at the narrations and letters and write down any names mentioned or addresses provided so that I could look them up on the databases.  Since I couldn't bring all of the documents to Germany with me, mom helped me from home.  Turns out I only found Taly and Frieda again.... Cousin and aunt that were killed in a concentration camp.  The rest... nowhere to be found.  I also found out that the plaques or stones are updated and I could possibly pay to have one put in from of Oma's house! That might become my next goal.  Along with another big goal.... My aunt Marianne informed me that she had the phone number of my grandmother's childhood friend in Berlin, Hanne Schulze.  We don't know if she is still alive, but we know that Oma was still in contact with her when she died, and we also know that she was never notified that Oma died.   In the next few days I will try to make contact with her.  However, the number is registered to an apartment that is now rented by someone else, and the apartment has a new number, so I am not sure if she died or is perhaps in a nursing home.  

After all of my investigating, I went out to dinner with Colby and Martin.  After dinner we all went to Kaisers (the supermarket) ... and here comes confession time.... I have a  problem... a huge problem... It's an addiction really.  I am addicted to Milka Chocolate, more specifically one with fruits and nuts.  I can buy a bar (100 g) and eat it in less than 30 minutes.  I don't even realize its happening anymore!!! Before coming to Germany, I went through 2 months of near Vegan eating. And it felt great!!! Then the week before coming to Germany I got off the wagon in order to eat "all the foods I would miss." Once here,  I worried less about food, because my primary concern in the U.S. was the chemicals added on to the food... Here, there is no MSG or high corn fructose... so then I can eat whatever, right? WRONG! I forgot one small detail... Sugar is like a drug... but really! Hints the addiction with chocolate.  Since I was well aware of my problem and knew that I would be spending Sunday in my apartment doing homework, I bought some all natural vegetable juice and some all natural fruit juice in order to do a "day cleanse."

I spent Sunday in my room with lots of work! Though I stayed up until 2 am working with the databases, I still woke up early to work on my big presentation about Oxford! A 5 to 10 minute presentation, not so bad, right? WRONG! For some reason I was a nervous wreck.  All I can do is thank Corina for preparing me and teaching me how to do this.  If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't even know what a Referat (presentation) was and what the handout would need to look like.

Since I was inside all day, I thought drinking my juices would be easy! NEGATIVE!!! The vegetable juice tasted like chunky blended up cold tomato soup with salt and garlic.  I tried to mix it with the fruit and ruined both of them.  It was soooo gross.  By the end of the day I just wanted something else to eat... so I went to the only convenience store open and bought something to eat... too bad it was Milka chocolate!!!! I am horrible!! I even bought the wrong kind, but even though I didn't really like the one I got... I totally ate it! It's horrible! The milk chocolate itself is just soooo goo goooood!!!!!

 I woke up today at around 6am to finish, and by the time I got to my seat in class I was ready to go.  Clearly, Cristin noticed, because she asked me to go first.  The presentation went fine, and she seemed to love it! She loved my handout, only corrected 2 mistakes (which in 7 minutes of talking isn't too bad) and said that it was great!  I was so proud! Everyone seemed interested in learning about our southern state and the wonderful town I currently call home. The presentations today were all very interesting and I now have a longer list of places to visit!  My next topic causing my nerves is the placement test that I have to take to get into the classes that are in German.  I have to place at C1 level... so I told Cristin my concerns, and she laughed... she said, "you won't have any problem with that!" Seriously?  Does she know it's a page long fill in the blank!?  Like... they cut words in half and you have to finish them.  And I am horri___ at that!!! Ugh! We shall see!!!

On the train today, I sat in amazement of how beautiful this place is.  There were lakes, snow, graffiti (which I'm growing to learn and now decipher to discover which crew painted it), beautiful houses, and precious kids.... I love the landscapes I get to enjoy from the train.  Across from me, sat a man wearing clothes that were covered in paint.  He looked to have had a very long day at work and was enjoying a beer while listening to some pretty loud music.  Why is he interesting? Because he is one of a million in this country that can open a beer bottle with ANYTHING in sight.  I still don't know what he used, but in less than a second, he had opened his cold beer.  IMPRESSIVE.

Once in Berlin, I headed to Schoenhauser Allee 79, where I had found a post office.  Little did I know that it was in a mall... A mall that has been 3 blocks from me and I was so not aware... Oh well! Better late than never.  Now... the post office.

- Locate the post office/post bank at the back of the mall
- Enter
- Notice a line...
- think... should I be standing in this line?
- think... I need an envelope
- see and envelope pack
- grab envelope pack and start to open it
- wait... should I be opening this pack without paying for it???
- stand there awkwardly thinking about what I will do at the counter without an address on the letter I need to send to the DAAD
- give in and open the unpaid pack of envelopes.
- quickly write the addresses and put the letter inside
- get called to the counter
- ask to mail the letter/pay for the envelopes
- I am given some glue to glue shut the envelope
- I pay and leave pumped to have succeeded!!!!!

In case you haven't figured this out yet... It's the little things that count while here! Once back in my apartment my landlady welcomed me  with a sweet hello  (while on the phone) and then continued to tell the person on the phone that "meine Martina"(my Martina)  had arrived. So sweet! Once she was off the phone she came to my room and we talked about when I will move out next weekend.  She has been soooo nice!  She invited me to a concert last night, but since I had so much homework I had to skip out (don't you guys worry, I have a lot of plans to go to a lot of show/music performances).  Today we talked about how unique this neighborhood is and the meaning that its culture has on my research.  She really has been sooo nice! It's like having a host mom for a month, except I've hardly seen her because I'm barely here (I feel a little guilty about that).

After our chat, Colby and I met at this mall I found and had some vietnamese/japanese food.  I had some sushi (a bit healthy) and then we got ice cream! I am the worst. Once at home I started rewatching my food videos to get re-inspired.   Here (http://www.hungryforchange.tv/free-worldwide-online-screening) is the link to the first movie I watched... It really changed the way I view food.  I also watched another movie tonight dealing with the effects that food has on cancer.  It is all so interesting and scary/exciting, and it makes me want to keep eating healthy (minus the chocolate of course!).  I guess tomorrow is the perfect day to start/start chocolate withdrawals hahah!  Well I'm off to bed because I am exhausted! Sorry for the long post!!!!