Today has been a VERY long day! To tell you the truth, I don't even remember when it started!! But it started at 8:00! Because at 10:00, I had to be at the doctor's office!!! Today the wait was a little bit longer, but when I went in... he basically just asked me how I was doing. I told him it was still hurting and he prescribed me what I understood to be bath salts. He also told me to make sure I use ibuprofen until it goes away. Still no break, bruising, or swelling... so it's not going to fall off !
After the visit at the doctors I got back on the bus and headed to campus for my class. On the bus I found a pre-k or day care class. SOOOOOO PRECIOUS!!! I miss kids! I love babysitting and getting to play with happy kids, and here... I haven't really gotten the chance to do that. Oh well.. these children were adorable. Three in particular were sharing a seat that faces an older lady. She was talking to them and they were thrilled to speak to her. After about 3 minutes I found out the lady was visiting from Stuttgart, the kids were getting off at Kastanienallee, and the kids had just been to a park. Each of the children was carrying wild flowers that looked to have just been picked. After a few more minutes, one of the little boys gave the older lady a flower and said, "here this is for you, since you aren't getting off at the same station as us." Then he turned to his teacher (who had more lip piercing than anyone I've ever seen) and told her, "here, I picked this one especially for you!" Soo incredibly adorable!!!!
Once on campus, I realized how hungry I was! In the rush of the morning, I had forgotten to get one of my vegan breakfasts ready!!! Oh no!!! So there I went... straight for the amazing little cheese and tomato breads.... UGH! Next, I rushed to the library to print off my homework for my next class, but as is usually the case when one needs to print something for class... the printer wasn't working. UGH. Oh well!!! Luckily it was just my German language course! This course is a bit of a confidence booster, because I don't have to try too hard and I can understand it all! I know this might mean that I could go to the next level of the class, but I am ok!! I can barely handle my work load as is!!! The teacher speaks spanish, and she always tries to clear up unknown words in Spanish for the people that speak Spanish... Then she looks at me and the Australian girl for English clarification... Today, the word that came up was "Stimmung," which means mood. Well the teacher could not remember the word in Spanish and it was driving her crazy! So after letting her think for a bit, I busted out and said, "estado de animo." She was so confused that I could hardly stop myself from laughing. The Spaniards gave me the most confused look and it took them all a while to process or remember the fact that I actually learned Spanish before English... It was pretty funny!
After class I took the bus to the middle of Potsdam and again failed at my attempts at vegan... the smells were just too amazing... So one Bratwurst later.... I was headed to Starbucks to sit and wait for Hannele and her daughter to call me. At 16:00 her daughter found me and led me to the cafe where Hannele was waiting. Turns out, their favorite cafe is also the cafe that Christiane took my mom and I to in 2009. Tooo funny! We had an incredible time! They treated me to some amazing tea and coffee and I really enjoyed talking to them. I really can't explain how thankful I am for them. They were so concerned about my foot, that is all they wanted to hear! After the 3 hours with them, my main concern was my horrible German. I shocked myself with the amounts that I understood, but my speaking... man oh man have I got a LOT to learn!!!! I guess that's why I'm here...
The conversation could not have been more entertaining. The both of them gave me a lot of insight on my research and even mentioned things that really made me think about everything differently. Hannele mentioned the past... the ability to leave it behind and move forward to build a future in Israel... And at that point I also realized that Oma was stuck in the middle of times as well... She lived in the past (Germany), the present (Uruguay), and the future (the Zionist movement and Israel)... Sooo much to think about! Hannele also shared some stories about her family and how her cousin survived hidden in basement and attics... At that point she also told me that she really can't talk about these stories anymore. She says she can't... She said she was lucky enough to leave, but the memories she has of Berlin before she left... most of them are horrible enough that she doesn't want to talk about them. I truly can't begin to imagine... As I waited with her standing on the sidewalk, while her daughter got the car, I was so struck by her words. She and her daughter are just so kind to welcome me into their lives...
Out conversation quickly shifted to her hatred for the noise that young people listen to now a days... She said, "we were different... I guess it was different before us too, but I didn't live back then!" During coffee the conversation also drifted toward the fact that the U.S. Senate blocked the laws to extend background checks... Both Hannele and her daughter were just shocked... they both spoke of the horrific things they have seen happen in the world, and they just can't understand why a nation wouldn't make sure that crazy people can't get a hold of a gun... From there, we moved to the food processing situation in both America and German... Obesity... air pollution... and finally Mars. Hannele showed such concern for this world. She couldn't stop saying, " I don't know a time where the whole world has been at peace, where no one was killing another group because of hatred." She kept expressing her concern for overpopulation, pollution, etc... but she said... "but yeah... I guess if we find water in Mars, we could try to live there if everything here runs out..." I felt sad at her statement... I know all generations feel like the next is ruining their world... but it made me sad to see someone who survived the persecution that her family endured during the Holocaust being sooo disappointed at the current state of our world...
On another note, these incredible ladies drove me home after our coffee/cake date! Since they needed to use the restroom I invited them in. Man was I not ready for that!!!! Friday is my cleaning day! And today is Thursday!!! Which means... my room was anything but clean!! At first I thought I would just let them in my kitchen and bathroom, but then I felt bad... So I apologized for the awful room and showed them in. They were appalled!!!!! Not by the mess, but by the apartment itself. When I told them how much I was paying and that I had to buy sheets, plates, towels, etc... they couldn't believe it! Her daughter kept repeating "and this is how we Germans treat our visitors? Horrible!!!!" They were so concerned for me... They wanted me to have more lamps, to be closer to the city, to pay less... It was sooo sweet of them... They felt bad that I didn't ask for plates, etc (but I didn't know them back then!!! ... 2 weeks ago) Hannele even offered to give me money... They are just sooo incredibly sweet... as they say, we are carrying the tradition of being close family friends. I just adore them! Hannele's daughter is leaving with her boyfriend for Spain next week, but I will get to see Hannele, because she is staying here alone!! But she says she loves living alone and is very excited to get a few months to herself.
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| Hannele and I |
After they left I started sautéing vegetables (pepper, mushrooms,onions) and chopping (tomatoes, avocados, and feta cheese) to make a delicious cous cous to last a few days! While doing that I talked to Colby and tried to figure out if we could make a day trip to Dresden this Saturday. After a bit of investigating with hours and trains, we decided to wait for another weekend. And I decided to call mom. While on skype I showed her what I thought were my prescription bath salts and told her I would have to buy a bucket tomorrow to use to help my foot. While reading the instructions to her, I realized that it is NOT bath salts... Instead it is a prescription type of muscle relaxant that one uses with a BATH!!!!! Like 2 drops per 10 liters of water!!!! Well that means I can't just use a bucket.... AAAHHHHH.... So I don't have a bath... So I start thinking... I can't call Hannele and ask to use her bathtub... I just can't! It's her daughter's last week here and they already told me how crazy it is... Well, Colby doesn't have a bathtub and neither do my friends here... So now what!?!?!? While on the phone with mom we considered renting my room in Prenzlauer Berg back for the weekend or getting a hotel room here for the weekend... How dumb would that be! If I'm going to rent a room... why not do it in Dresden???? Sooooo... I called Colby. A hotel would solve our train time issues... It would also get me a bathtub!!! So we searched for hotels in Dresden that advertised a bathtub in their bathrooms, and once we found one that was in a central location.... we booked it!!! So I'm going to Dresden this weekend!!!! My first trip and I am soooo excited!!!! I will take my bath salts (or whatever it is) and take a LOT of baths! I will also take my ibuprofen and try to limit my walking (as not to overdo it!). Anyway... basically we are going to Dresden... because I need a bathtub! I know that's stupid and there were a million easier solutions, but this one is going to be a blast!!! Can't wait! Now I'm off to bed!! Goodnight lovely people!!!
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