Scotland Part I: The escape to freedom

I have to apologize for the delay of these posts... They were written on Sunday, but I haven't had time to type them until today!


So the planned in me thought it was a good idea to sleep 2 hours from Tuesday to Wednesday last week.. My thought.... I'll get done with class at 4 pm on Wednesday, shower, eat, and go straight to bed!  At 6:00 pm I was in bed asleep! Woke up ready to leave... only to see that it was midnight!!!  I went back to sleep around 1:00 am and at 3:45 I woke up with my alarm.  I sluggishly got my things together and walked to the train station.   The walk was a mixtures between peace, strangeness, and creepiness.... The train was a few minutes late and with 3 minutes to change from the train to a bus (located at a mystery stop, whose location I was not very sure of) I was concerned.  As expected I missed my bus! The next on would get me to the airport at 5:50... my plane left at 6:50 and the check in closed 30 minutes before!!!! Well.... I would have taken a taxi... but I had no cash.  My goal was to wait to get cash in Edinburgh, since I needed pounds... NOT Euros.  Sooo... bus finally pulls up with a sweet looking woman driving.... Too sweet... It was the longest bus ride of my life!!! Traffic jams, stopping for people who were running to catch the bus (2 blocks away), etc... At one point, she even turned the bus off!!!! I thought it was a joke! I made it to Tegel with 20 minutes left to check in, so I hurried to my gate... or the gate that I thought was mine.  Boy was I wrong! My gate was on the complete opposite side!! So I ran!!!! Made it with 10 minutes to spare and out of breath... The first flight was short and sweet.  I felt like I was back in Boston flying to NYC to interview for my internship.  Why?  Because it was clear by the suits that most of the people were traveling to Cologne on business.  I, on the other hand, was sporting the no make up look that I have perfected over the years.  Cologne was a nice 3 hours of resting.  If it hadn't been such an early morning, I would have gone out to see the city, but I didn't want another close call! I went to go through passport check and was told that I was too early ... sooo I got breakfast and waited.  The flight was long, but I slept a good bit of it!

Once in Edinburgh I started the never ending immigration line... I always feel like I'm being herded through these lines! While standing in line I made a self diagnosis... I am suffering from a disease called language confusion.  There was Spanish, there was English, there was German!!! AAAHHH! What am I supposed to respond in?? Ugh.  After immigration I found an ATM and got some pounds.  I headed over to the first store and bought some overpriced water, so that I could get change for the bus.  Why? Because one must pay with exact change (good thing I had done my research). The people that I rented a room from (airbnb) suggested a few different buses that would take me from the airport to the house... I picked the one that didn't require me to change buses.  Too easy right?  I'm still not sure if it was the right choice, since it took over 1.5 hours, BUT I did get to listen to some Spanish, look at lots of landscapes, and save some money (apparently, since Keith, the landowner said it was the "economical option").

Once I arrived at the house, I got the royal tour.  The house was located in a very non-touristy precious neighborhood full of older couples and families.  The house was a small two story "old house" (just 130 years old) that had one tiny, narrow, very steep set of stairs that led to my room and the tiniest master bedroom I have ever seen... The host was supper welcoming ( in his pajamas and robe) and informed me that they would always have breakfast, coffee, and tea ready for me in the morning.  I never met his Japanese wife, but apparently she exists and they own a deli.  Soooooo... I thought I was missing stuff when I spoke to people in German... I'm not sure I missed any less when certain people spoke to me with a Scottish accent!!! Keith introduced me to the cat  but I still don't know what her name was, because his accent was soooo thick! She apparently lives in "my room." Side note: I'm allergic... So NO THANK YOU!  






After getting advise from Keith on the best routes to take to walk to the center of the city, I headed out! I quickly realized I was not in Germany anymore when a man saw me taking a picture of Arthur's Seat (please keep in mind that I was in a very NON-touristy part) and said in a precious Scottish accent, "miss, are you taking a picture of me, because if you are, I'm going to have to charge you, miss!"  I can't remember the last time someone spoke to me on the street... probably before I got to Germany!  After a fifty minute walk, I made it to Old Town and my beloved Royal Mile. 








Memories started flooding in... Performing on the mile in 2009 with the OHS Fringe Festival group, walking the streets with my friends, and the countless trips down those roads during our 10 days there... Man it was amazing... I walked all the way up the royal mile to the castle, and since it was already 3 pm, I headed for lunch! Fish and chips!!! Yum!!! Again, the 3 ladies working at the restaurant were incredibly hospitable and chatty!  So much so that I didn't know how to respond sometimes!!! It was sooo refreshing!  Their accents were priceless... One of them told the other "me and me granddad are going...." I'll never forget it! Soooo funny! At one point, when leaving I almost spoke to them in German, but I caught myself!! I'm telling you... this language things is hard! 


Walking back to the house I made two observations.  First, people walk on the wrong side of the sidewalk and refuse to move.  I couldn't figure out why people weren't following the stay on the right side of the sidewalk rule!!! Then.... I realized.... they drive on the other side!!!! So the one walking on the wrong side was yours truly!!!! As if walking on the sidewalks wasn't hard enough, crossing the street is terrifying.  I never knew which way to look... so after a point... I just decided to go for it... I believe DSG called it playing chicken when we did that crossing the streets in Greece in 2005! Haha! My second observation is the amount of WIFI that this gorgeous city offers.  Not only do almost all restaurants have wifi, but the phone booths on the streets and the museum lobbies do too!!! Berlin... you have a lot to learn!!!!  On my way home I stopped at a phone store to purchase a charger for my phone... Yes, I brought the wrong one.  I wasn't going to bother with my phone, but then I remembered it was my only way to take pictures! 

After a VERY long day,  I returned "home" and was asleep by 6:00pm... only to wake up at 11 pm.  But I was back asleep by 2:00 am and slept until 8:30!!!

Planning, reading, working, planning, walking, reading, reading,reading

As y'all can tell, it's been a while since I wrote... More than a week... And I really don't feel like I have much to tell... The big event this past week happened hundreds of miles away, at home, where my dad graduated with his PhD in History! So my attention strayed to another continent.

TUESDAY: As planned, I continued my schedule of reading.  I woke up early and finished my homework for class.  Headed to class... After class I walked home, where I got online and figured out how to reorder my debit card pin... I want to point out here that I got my bank account over 2 months ago.  I have received 3 debit cards, but never a pin.  I have gone in 3 times to reorder a pin, but since they can't do that... they always send a new card... and the pin NEVER comes.   So I reordered the card and changed my address to include my room number (something that is not common here).  After that, I headed walking to Starbucks.  It is one and a half hours from my dorm, but I am loving getting to listen to "Anne Frank's Diary," while I walk.  At the beginning, it really bothered me listening to it, since it is a teenager's view of things... and one can be incredibly vane and ruthless while judging others at that age.... As Anne grows, I become more and more interested in her story.  Tuesday afternoon I skyped with my amazing thesis adviser, who gave me more guidance on the next steps of my research. As a result, I sent many emails and wrote many notes!  Saturday night was a big night here!! Well not really here, but kinda.  At home in Oxford, my aunt Elena was arriving from Uruguay to surprise my dad for his graduation.  Since my sister had an exam, one of my best friends (ended up being two of them) drove up to Memphis to pick her up.  The idea was to surprise my dad at the office, where he was grading papers, but instead, they were confronted with an empty office.  My mom was giving an exam and Maia was taking one... so it was up to me to locate my dad.   So... I called his cellphone, but he didn't answer... by that point Sarah, Claire, and Elena had gone to Newks to get a bite to eat.  By the time dad noticed he had a missed call and called me, the girls were already at Walmart buying a balloon to surprise him with.  Well... I didn't want to miss the surprise... So I stayed on the phone with him (Skype) and transmitted to Claire (via iMessage) where he was located in the house so they could be aware when they surprised him.  After what felt like the longest time, dad says, "oh there come your friends Sarah and Claire." I acted surprised... Dad was expecting Katie, Maia's friend, who was supposedly coming to spend the night because she had to move out of her dorm early.... That's what Maia had told mom so she would have the house ready (up to mom's standards) for company! Sarah and Claire brought him the balloon, which he showed me and said, "can you believe they brought me a balloon."  They told him they had something for him in the car that they needed help getting, so at that point... while mom is pulling in... they all head to the car.  Mom said she expected a dog... and I don't know what dad expected, but they got tia Elena! What a surprise! And I got to live vicariously through the internet.  Isn't it a wonderful thing!!!!!! After some time talking, I headed to bed!

WEDNESDAY:
Another early morning! I still had to finish reading the final pages of the book for class, but I got to my 8 o'clock class with all 200 and something pages (in German) read!!! Whooooohooooo!!! Then on to my 10 o'clock! Had all my readings for that class done too!!! Whoooo!! Then grammar! I hadn't been to this class in two weeks (due to the class excursion and a national holiday).  I thought I had prepared everything, but I missed the email in assignment, because I hadn't been in class. Oh well!  After class I went with two of the Dutch girls to get some ice cream in the cafeteria.  After about 30 minutes of talking, we were joined by the Italian guy from our intro class.  I realize how ridiculous it is for me to constantly write about these awesome people and simply identify them by their nationality, but if I used names, this would become sooo confusing, so fast!  Anyway, we had a lovely time sitting outside, it was sunny at that point, and we discussed/planned their trip to Hamburg.  If I hadn't felt so overwhelmed with homework/thesis, I think I might have joined them.  But I have to prioritize, because I will get to have my fun in July and August. Now... I need to buckle down! After our conversation I walked home with my friend Anne Frank and settled down for a night of reading/thinking.  I made some delicious home made (healthyish) french fries, salmon, and salad and talked to my aunt Marianne.   Incredibly, our conversation led to some factual holes I have in my Uruguay facts, so she put me in contact with a friend of my grandmother's in Uruguay.  I had a great conversation with them (him and his wife) over skype and I was able to fill in many holes!  They were very very sweet and I was SUPER happy to hear their stories!

THURSDAY:
Thursday started lazy and late, but what is expected of (yet another) national holiday?  This one came unexpected, if I had known, I would have planned a trip for my 4 day weekend... but oh well!!! I was actually awakened that morning by a call from Hannele, who wanted to check on me, because she hadn't heard from me in a while.  Sweet lady!! I feel horrible about not having called her, but I really have had my mind on a million things. I headed out at some point to Starbucks.  When I left my apartment, it was sunny and clear, but by the time I got there... it was sooooo dark (and clearly about to start raining).  I was wearing a white tank top.... Did I mention I don't have a car here?  Soooo... after an hour of reading "Weimar Germany: promises and tragedies."  I headed out to catch a bus to get me home! The plan was to buy food on the way, but thanks to the rain and my choice of wardrobe, I was left at home... with ZERO food.  Hey... one night of no food won't kill me! On Thursday night I got to talk to another of my grandmother's family.  This time, Omi! I had spoken with her about Oma's story when I was in Uruguay two summers ago, but she was once again incredibly helpful! I love to hear her stories, because I feel like my Oma is telling them.  Omi is such an amazing spirit, I LOVE talking to her! I wish I could do it more often!

FRIDAY:
Friday started late, again... But oh well!  I worked all week with mom and Elena and my sweet friend/boss Penny to get everything together for a wine and cheese party for my dad's graduation.  (Side note: I really hope everyone who reads my blog knows that my use of run-on sentences, poor spelling, and horrible grammar is not done purposely and will continue to increase proportionally with the time I spend here) Anyway.... the planning was a blast, and I was looking forward to how they decorates, prepared, etc... Friday was THE night!  As soon as I realized they were too busy to share the day via Skype, I hurried to Berlin to meet Alexandra and Colby.  I didn't want to wait and think about how I was missing out on the big day and all the event planning (my favorite thing to do on this planet). So... instead... I ate! (Side note: on the way out I checked my mail (like I do 2 to 3 times a day) and found my 4th debit card! now... to hoping the pin follows) We got together and went to a Mexicanish Restaurant, where we ordered chips and salsa roja to start out with... Little did we know that it means chips with Ragu Spaghetti canned sauce.  NOT RECOMMENDED! After that, we walked through the streets of Prenzlauer Berg! I love this place soo much! After much walking, we settled in for some coffee and cake at Anna Blume, a lovely cafe! We felt so full/guilty afterwards that we walked all the way to Alexanderplatz!  Once there, I took the train back home (already 11:45) and I settled in to watch my dad graduate.   It is pretty incredible what technology does!  I watched it with my aunt Marianne... she watched in Uruguay and I watched here, and we chatted via skype as we watched!  My pictures of my computer screen as dad walked across the stage turned out to be the best! hahah!  At around 8:40, the graduation was still dragging on... I knew my mom must have been a nervous wreck, because all of the guests were scheduled to arrive at 9:00, and most of them weren't at the graduation!! So I text Maia, who said the three of them (her, Elena, and mom) were saying the same thing.... So mom sneaked out and headed home... in the pouring rain! I called her and tried to appease her nerves by telling her that Courtney, my best friend and her adopted third daughter, was on her way to help her.  After that, I expected to hear from them... I was online and my cousin Lucia appeared with her husband Nacho! They had watched the end of the graduation and were waiting to Skype with them to congratulate dad.  By then it was around 9:30, so I figured guests were already at home... In case you aren't doing the math.... it was... 4:30 am here!!!! But, I didn't want to fall asleep right when they were skyping me.  Instead, I decided to skype with Lucia and Nacho for a while! We got to talk for about an hour and it was soooo great to catch up, but at around 5:45, I gave into my sleepiness... The birds were out and so was the sun.  I figures no one was going to Skype, which clearly meant the party was a hit!  I quickly fell asleep and did not wake up until like... 2 pm!!!!!

SATURDAY:
As expected, Saturday was a reading/studying day.  I actually got some writing done! Clearly it is nothing that I would turn in as part of my thesis, but it is thoughts and stories, which is waaaay more than I have done in a while! I also transcribed an interview!!! That makes Saturday a success!!! In preparations for a visit from Alexandra and Colby on Sunday, I swept, mopped, and dusted! Then... I headed out to the grocery store, where I purchased all of the necessary ingredients for crepes (I know... I'm getting repetitive.. but what can I do, I just have a stove top!!! )

SUNDAY:
I spent the beginning of Sunday planning.  As I mentioned, I LOVE planning and organizing! This time it was a trip! It is the "sister trip" that Maia and I will take in July! We are hoping to get to know some of Italy and the British Isles in just 15 days! That is one HUGE task! But we can do it!!!! After many hours on Ryanair and Easyjet, we Skyped and discussed our possibilities.  Nothing has been concluded, but one thing we are doing for sure is "the Ring of Kerry" in Scotland!!! I somehow came across it online, and I have fallen in love with it!!! I can't wait to go.   In the evening, Alexandra and Colby came over and we had crepes! They were a huge hit and we had a blast hanging out in my super empty/clean room! After they left, I continued talking the trip over with Maia until 3 am here... Didn't actually fall asleep until 4 am! That's what happens when you mess your sleeping schedule up!!!

MONDAY:
Oh well, I really hated myself Monday morning during my 8 o'clock, but it's ok.  After class I walked home with Anne and started my reading for my 2:00 o'clock! I was sooo prepared for that one that for the first time ever.... I got to answer questions!!! Being used to my lovely Croft classes with over 100 pages of reading per class (clearly I never have enough time to do them all) and accounting classes, where I never know if I should attempt to answer a question....  it was REALLY great answering questions knowing that the answer I was giving was correct!! It didn't hurt that the class is in English and the rest of the students are German, but HEY!!!! A girl needs to feel like she knows something sometimes!!! After class I returned home, watched a quick movie and fell asleep at 7:30 pm.  And... I didn't wake up until 8:30 am! Whew!!! Maybe I'm back on schedule!!!

Tuesday:
The early morning today meant that I was extra productive! Before my 12 o'clock, I prepared my homework for tomorrow and organized everything for this week (aka organized the million printed material that I have had stuffed in my back pack).   At 11:30 I headed walking to school with Anne.  I'm getting to the continuously depressing part of Anne's story and I know that I still have many more depressing months to go.... But it is very interesting.... Class was ok, but after class... the most amazing thing occurred!!!! I found my debit card pin in my mailbox!!!! Believe it y'all!!! I officially can access my scholarship!!! Whoooo!!! I guess it's time to pay my parents back! hahah! So... after that... I was ready to continue the exciting things! So I packed up my two humongous bags of dirty clothes and headed to the Waschbar, where Olga and Susi washed my clothes (the names of the washers) and Elvis and Bill dried them (the driers)... Elvis was a disappointment and shrunk a lot of my sweaters, but I guess I'll forgive him since they were a bit large to begin with.  Once back at home, I have dedicated my evening to planning my trip this weekend! Did y'all forget??? I'm going to Scotland!!! WHOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!! I cannot wait!!! Only downside is that my flight leaves from Berlin at 6:50, which means I have to leave Potsdam at 3:40!!! Gross, scary, and sooo not what I would prefer to do, but hey!! I'm going to Scotland!!! And guess what!?!?!? They speak English there!!!! I can't wait!!! And you want to know something else??????   I'm getting to see Ghost:the Musical!!! I think this weekend will be the perfect breath of fresh air that I've been needing!!!!


Anyway guys! I wanted y'all to be updated, since I know my next entry will be all about Scotland.  The past few weeks have not been the most exciting or happiest of my life, but I'm making it over here in Germanland! I do wish I could share some of the walks or quiet study moments with some of you at home, but it is helping me realize how lucky I am to have people back at home that are as busy and studious as I am! It makes the whole process a whole lot less lonely! I have also made another big realization... not new though... I am BEYOND done with school! I know some people love it, but I am sooo not one of those people.  I think I would like school much better here.  There is less emphasis on tests and only emphasis on these papers that they have 1.5 months FREE to write them in... Like, really??? But even if I were living here with their lack of cares about grades, I think I would still be done.  Planning this "sister trip" and my dad's wine and cheese stuff has reminded me of how much fun I had last summer at my internship, how much fun I had working with the Honors Retreat planning last summer, how much fun I have at work, and finally how much fun I have "working" as a whole... I love having a project, devising a plan, and executing... I don't like papers, I don't enjoy having mountains to read, and I REALLY don't enjoy feeling like there is SOOOO much to learn that I could never catch up. I think this is my major issue at the moment.  My classes and my thesis deal with detailed topics that are based on all this general knowledge that I either lacking or not mastering... On the other hand, when I work... I can catch myself up easily on the projects and make sure I can complete the task.  I guess it's good to have projects to remind myself that I do have LOTS of things that I enjoy doing.  This is one of the main reasons that I am thankful to have RebelTHON next year!!!! I digress... so let me wrap this up altogether!!! Bis (till) soon!

A Blooming Potsdam

Soooo... this blogging thing is clearly going to become more and more unusual. I'm going to try my best to update at least once a week, but the way I'm feeling.... it might not happen.  I am officially 100% on school/thesis schedule.  I have to write: 20 pages (in German) for one class, 10 pages (in German) for another class, 10 pages (in English) for another class, and 20 pages (in English) for another... Still haven't received topics... BUT I do know that I have to have it all done before July 12th... Oh.... and then there's the thesis thing... I don't know who said these 5 months would all be about traveling, but we are clearly not on the same page... Any who, as you all know, I like being busy... so I'll try to make the best of it! (and try to get things done too)

Let me start by saying that the weather this week has been incredible (when I say this week, I mean last, but y'all get the picture)!

MONDAY:

After I posted the amazing video of Courtney last week, I went to my afternoon class (in English) and enjoyed the benefits of being fully prepared for class (reading and all)! To this day, I have been prepared with readings for all of my classes... things might change soon if I can't figure out a way to get through my German book faster.... it's due Wednesday!!!! Any who! After class I had agreed to meet Colby in Berlin for dinner! I asked to meet in Prenzlauer Berg, because I'm missing it a LOT!!! This week was kind of rough for me... It can be kind of frustrating living in Potsdam... or more like living where I live in Potsdam.  Even though it is a breathtaking place... I can't just go downstairs to a cafe and read... I have to take a 20 minute bus to get to a nice coffee area... Everything was different in P.Berg!!! I digress... Once I met up with Colby at the Hauptbahnhof (the main train station in Berlin), we headed to P.Berg, more specifically the Mauerpark (the "wall" park).  The park is in Prenzlauer Berg and is famous for its flee market on Sundays, but on this lovely Monday it was a bit empty.  My observation: there was trash!!!! I could have taken sooo many pictures for all of those people that insist that everything in Germany is immaculate! Let me tell you... it's not! Haha!  We utilized the nice weather and crazy park as the setting for our ranting... I've come to accept that ranting is an unavoidable part of studying abroad.  As you all probably already know, I tend to complain (a lot) about school work anyway... but.... throw me into a new place,where I feel like I should constantly be exploring,  and I complain a lot more.   Why should I be inside or outside in one place all day reading, while others are taking off to France, Spain, Italy, etc??? Why do I have to be reading about concentration camps and crusades?? Why, because I signed up for it?   As one of my good friends Hunter once said to me, "sometimes I just need to complain to complain, I don't need answers or solutions!"  And that is what we did at the Mauerpark! After a long talk we made  our way to Kreuzburger to eat a good "healthy" (yeah right!) meal!  After that, we headed to Rossman's so I could buy a few things that are hard to find at my local places in Potsdam.  Then... we headed for ice cream! The initial plan was to walk off the food by walking to Alexanderplatz's train station (40 minute walk), but 10 minutes into the walk, I got a message from Omar saying that him and Zoraida had arrived in Berlin.  Zoraida and Omar are my mom's friends from Uruguay.  Zoraida grew up on my mom's street and they have stayed close friends!  The whole family (Omar, Zoraida, and their four awesome kids) came to visit us in Oxford for New Years this year! Now, they were visiting Berlin for a few days.  I quickly called them and decided to go visit them for a bit.  They were in Kreuzberg... nowhere near where I was... so at 8:30 I headed towards them!  After reaching their apartment, a bit later than I wished, I got to visit with them for a bit.  The location of their apartment was amazing! They stayed in the city for 3 or 4 days and were lucky enough to stay with family friends that own the largest apartment I have seen since here!!! After a bit, we all headed to the grocery store to search for their dinner, and then I headed back to the train station, since my goal was to get home before midnight.  I had to leave them midway to the station, because I had to take off running. My train was leaving in 3 minutes, and if I didn't catch it... I would have to wait 1 hour at a train station for the next train.  I got to the station right on time.... but the train was delayed and I was 3 minutes behind schedule, which would put me 2 minutes late for my first connection... Luckily that train was also late!!!! So I made it to train 2! However, I was going to make it with 1 minute to spare to change trains at the Zoologische garten station... For those of you that don't know berlin, this station is pretty big... and there are lots of stairs and passageways between the SBahn and the Regional bahn!!! But anywho, I made the run and made it right on time!!!!! After 3 trains and one bus, I finally made it home! (with some delicious alfajores that Zoraida and Omar brought me!!!)

TUESDAY:
Well... as usual, Tuesday started a bit later than expected... It is unreal how I sleep through alarms when I know it is a possibility!! After barely making it to class (at noon), I struggled to stay awake!!! Ridiculous, but my German class is a bore!!!! I am very thankful for this bore, if not I would really be drowning in work!!! After class I headed back to my dorm to rest up a bit! After some time resting, I decided to go to Potsdam's pedestrian street, where there was supposed to be a music festival (fighting racism).  I was excited to see something, but was not sure what that something would be.  While getting on the bus I encountered a couple of moms with their children, all dressed up as witches!! WHAT?!?!  The bus was packed, so I figured whatever was happening should be worth it! And boy was I wrong!!! The plaza was full of people wearing black and ear stretching jewelry... (I don't know the proper terminology, but you guys should know what I mean... those things that stretch out your ear lobes and make people smell like dying flesh...) The techno music, fog, and smoke drove me away pretty quickly... So I headed to my beloved Starbucks, where I researched the witch wardrobe... It was All Hollow's Eve... OOOOOOHHHHH! Got it!   After a quick wifi session, I headed to Kaufland to buy... cleaning supplies! Wow, my life is really exciting! I really was born 80! Oh well... my room/kitchen/bathroom really needed some deep cleaning! Leaving Kaufland I decided to get some Chinese food for the road and I headed back for a quiet evening.  I could have excused it with the fact that I had class Wednesday at 8, but I didn't... Wednesday was Labor Day (pretty much everywhere in the world except for in the States). I did however, get the pleasure of sitting in on the first RebelTHON board meeting!!! Through Skype!!! Everyone should be really excited, because it is going to be amazing next year!!!!

WEDNESDAY:
Thanks to a late night of skyping and netflixing (yes, I just made it a verb) I woke up late... Surprise! I knew that a big party/protesting day was happening in Kreuzberg, Berlin, and I thought I would check it out! However, on the way to Berlin I remembered that Claire was defending her thesis at home, and I wanted to listen in! So I rerouted my trip to Alexanderplatz.  I knew of a little cafe there that would provide me with the necessary wifi to watch Claire!! It was a blast!! By the time she finished, I had heard from many people that Kreuzberg was too crazy and crowded, so I decided to stick around the center of the city and meet up with Martin and Colby.  Once united we met up with Alexandra and two of her friends (one Italian and one Russian)! From there we headed to an American diner that they knew (reason: huge tvs to watch the Bayern vs. Barcelona game).  Biggest part of the game, if Bayern won, then it would be a Germany vs. Germany final! The diner filled up fast! And we were soon joined by a group of guys who had to sit at the table next to us, because we were too many!  (Czech, French, American, Italian, and Brazilian)  The game was fun, but I secretly was rooting for Barcelona, because I felt kind of bad that they got killed last week and it's my momma's team!!!!!!  It was fun getting to spend time with people outside of Potsdam, but after dinner Alexandra, Martin, Colby, and I rushed off so I could catch my train, if not I would have to wait another hour... See!!! It gets old sooooooooo fast!!!! They were sweet and made sure I was on the train and on my way before they headed to the S Bahn.  Even though Alexandra lives in Potsdam, she lives on an S Bahn stop and the regional train doesn't help her.  On the other hand, the SBahn leaves me 30 minutes away (by bus) AND the buses run once a blue moon at night. Wonderful, I know! Once I got off my train I ran into one of the girls (from the Netherlands) that was in my intro class here.  She was also coming back from Berlin and had an incredible story to tell.  She went to Kreuzberg... and there she met a guy... a British guy who lives in Berlin... and is a photographer... and they spent the whole day going around Berlin taking pictures... He is also an expert in military history (I believe) so he gave her tours, etc.  Then they relaxed at a pub... WHAT?!?!?!!? Not real!!! Why does this stuff not happen to me!!?!?!?!!? I almost wanted to look at her and say..."who are you, Mary Kate and Ashley??????" UNREAL. I walked home in awe.

THURSDAY:
I love Thursdays! Thursdays involve sleeping in late, 1 class, and then relaxing or doing whatever needs to be done (not school related!). This week it involved scrubbing (literally) the floors, but that was TOTALLY fine by me!!! Since I was sure that my old roommate had completely moved out, I knew everything left could be tossed.  Half way through the grossness, I met my new roommate and her boyfriend! They had just picked up her keys and were looking around.  He asked me to write a lady to let her know that I would be vacating the apartment next semester, so that he could get a contract now.  Guess who the lady is!?!?!?! The ogre! Priceless! After cleaning, I was planning on texting Colby and Martin to see if they wanted to come over for dinner, but they beat me to it!!! I headed to Kaufland to buy the necessary things for a nice dinner (crepes/caneloni, whatever you call it)!  Once I returned, I figured they would be arriving any minute.  Boy was I wrong!! Due to an arson attempt by a left extremist group, the train systems were mostly stopped between Potsdam and Berlin... So it took them 1:45 minutes to get here!!!! Poor things! I felt sooo bad!! Once here I started to cook, and we snacked on some chips, cold cuts, and olives! Dinner was delicious and you really can't go wrong when you end with strawberry nutella crepes!   Once we were done stuffing our faces we started planning the trip to London/Edinburgh for May 17.  I had planned on taking a weekend trip to get away and also to watch Ghost (one of my favorite musicals) that is touring there! Colby and Martin decided they would join and we would take a trip through London too, since Colby has never been.  However, after a quick planning session, we decided it was too expensive.  Therefore, they will go to London and I will go to Scotland! Works for me! Next thing we knew it was almost midnight and they still didn't know how they would get home... so after another insanely long trip and some walking, they made it to Berlin... Our plan was to meet in the morning to go to Leipzig, but when Colby called me at 11 am, it was clear that was not going to happen!!!

FRIDAY:
So, since I moved to Potsdam I have wanted to do a walking tour... but due to my foot... I haven't! Colby's call in the morning informed me that Martin wanted to tour Potsdam! Whooooohooooo!! Finally, a reason to do it!! So at 1:30 we met in the middle of Potsdam and started our day of walking.  First, a stop for food.  Second, a walk through the dutch neighborhood.  Third, a dutch hot chocolate (melted chocolate).   After that... we were ready for the real walking!!! Sooooo.... we headed to Park Sanssouci! The park end at my University and includes 3 palaces, a Chinese tea house, and more. Half way through the walk, we met up with Alexandra.  We continued until the end of the park and I was sooo grateful to see it in bloom and dressed in green! All the other times I had walked the whole thing, it was covered in a white blanket of snow!

  After the walk, we headed to the train and headed to Babelsberg, a town on the outskirts of Potsdam that has another famous park with a palace! Here we walked some more and enjoyed the sunset on the water! It was a great treat!!! Martin led us back out of the park right on time (aka, we didn't have to walk through the park in the darkness!)

We entertained ourselves trying to find a place to eat dinner at 9:30 (yes, that is when it gets dark here now!!!).  We failed, so we headed back to Potsdam's train station to grab a quick bite before we each headed our separate ways.   Nothing was open there either, so we each headed home!!
SATURDAY:
Reality set in again on Saturday... Soooo much to read.  So I had to decline some awesome offers... Instead I headed to my beloved Starbucks and I sat... and read... and then read some more! As a treat, on the way home I picked up a pizza and fell asleep (TOO LATE) watching a movie!

SUNDAY:
More reality.... Just so y'all know... I'm not on vacation over here!!!!! Hahaha, so another day of reading! Early to bed.....

Monday:
Up bright and early for more reading before my 8 o'clock!!!!  Then class, wonderfully interesting as usual (still frustrating because of all the things I miss due to language issues!!!!).  Then home to read and eat a healthy lunch... 15 minute power nap, back to class.... Relaxing walk home.... bus to my beloved Starbucks... more reading... Stop at a bakery to buy organic rye/wheat bread. Stop at Kaisers for some sandwich ingredients... Miss the train... Instead of standing in the sun for 20 minutes, I decide to walk home through the park!  So I walked Park Sanssouci again while listening to the Diary of Anne Frank on tape. As sad as it is, I've never read it, and I think I need to.   An hour later I arrived here, to my humble abode!  I was getting ready to pick up my book again, when I realized that I have the rest of the week planned out to the second... which meant if I didn't write now... I wouldn't for another week.  So here it is!!! I'm sorry about the length, but you are officially caught up with my life!!

Things I am thankful for here:
- Park Sanssouci
- weather
- bread
- Prenzlauer Berg

Things that have made me miss my homes this week:
- Zoraida and Omar --- Uruguay
- Tony nomination released, everything about this ghost pair:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FAJh2m22ww            ---                   New York City
- Thesis, graduation parties, dad's graduation party planning, etc.         --    Oxford

My Best Friend is a Rockstar: a musical gift from home

Today I wanted to share something amazing with y'all! Thanks to my awesome sister, this morning I got to listen to my best friend's performance at a fundraiser for Ole Miss Theater.  I was pretty upset to be missing it, but now I get to listen to it on repeat on my ipod and I get to share it with y'all!!!  I have no doubt in my mind that Courtney will be a huge deal pretty soon!!!

A Tasty Study Break!

So this weekend included a whole lot of reading and a whole lot of dictionaries... So I took some cooking breaks! Here are some pictures of my fun times in the kitchen!!!

Delicious salad for dinner:  Spinach, feta cheese, cucumbers, onions, olvies, lemon, olive oil and sea salt

Sauteing some onions and mushrooms boiling spinach!

Starting my own version of Bechamel sauce

Mixing in mushrooms and onions to the sauce

Grilling the salmon

Post crepe making!

Dessert Crepe with Nutella and strawberries

Laundry at a bar, and spontaneous parades

I have to start off by apologizing for the lack of posts this week, however, I have been both busy and lazy this week...  As a result, you get a super long post with all sorts of stuff! 

Monday was a fun packed day, but it started way too early! My 8 o'clock class on German Jews in the 19th Century was my only class on Monday, because my 2 o'clock class was cancelled for the week.  After class I rode the bus to Charlotten Bahnhof to find the Waschbar.  The other Ole Miss girl, Alexandra, had seen this cafe/bar, where one can go to wash/dry his/her clothes.  Since my building only has 1 old washer that is always taken, I needed to find a place to wash ALL of my clothes.  After 5 minutes of walking I found the place and decided I would go back to my apartment and grab my clothes.  I packed 6 kg worth of clothes into 2 huge IKEA bags and I headed to the Waschbar.  I was sooo self-conscious going in... I really though that I would be the only person actually washing clothes at this place, but luckily, I was wrong! There were other people with comforters, towels, sheets, and many IKEA bags!  After buying the tokens for the washers, I picked a booth and sad down for lunch and a quiet afternoon of reading.  It took me a million tokens to wash and dry all of my clothes, but thanks to their WIFI and my reading assignment for class, the afternoon flew by! 

Once back in my room, I hung the clothes that I had that were still a bit damp.  Since I still haven't found a drying rack, I had to improvise....

While things dried, I headed out for a quick run.  I can't explain how jealous I am of people that can run... I know it is something that you build up over time, but between my impatience and my tendency to get bored, I don't know if I'll ever be able to run a long distance (or a reasonable one).  Oh well... I guess I have to start somewhere. 

After running, I got to skype with Blake, who is living in Istanbul.  He has been following my blog and graciously offered to listen to my thesis rants and give me some advice! It was absolutely the best! He gave me lots of helpful tips that I will be putting to use, just as soon as I get done with a book for my class.  The conversation left me very inspired to organize my life and get to work! Oh side note, I met my roommate!!! Someone came by and knocked on the door.  She said that she heard one of the people living here had moved out, and I explained to her that I didn't know if someone was living here or not.  I explained to her that there were things left here (a few cups, cookies, a towel, etc), but I had never seen anyone.  She then told me that she will be my new roommate, as long as I am planning on moving out after the semester, because she wants to live somewhere where her boyfriend can move into next semester.  I assured her that I would be gone after this semester and she was glad to hear it!  She seems very sweet, is German, and studies English.  She has not moved in, because she still has a place in Berlin, but she will be moving in slowly in the coming weeks. 

Tuesday I woke up in time to head to campus, do my homework, and run to class.  After class, I headed straight to the main street in Potsdam to sit at the Starbucks and read.  Why Starbucks you ask?  Again, it is the only place (other than the laundromat/bar that has WIFI). My goal for Tuesday was to make a dent into the book that I have to read for my class on Wednesday.  This class is fully dedicated to two accounts of survivors from the concentration camp in Oranienburg.  The book I have to read is really two book, each one written by one of the survivors.  I have found one of the books in English, but the other one has never been translated.  It is great great practice, but goodness it is taking me soooo long to get through it!!!! For the first few pages I looked up each word I didn't know, but by the time I got to page 4 I realized I had wasted like 2 hours!!!!!!!!! After that I decided I would just read through the first section and then re-read and look up what wasn't clear.  I had to get through the first 10 pages before Wednesday, because these pages described the town where the Jewish man lived before being transported to the concentration camp. On Wednesday, our class was making a trip to this town and we were going to use his story to get to know the town.  After some long hours at Starbucks, I headed back to my apartment.  It was going to be the first of 4 late nights for me... This week I worked with the new RebelTHON exec team in Oxford to interview all the applicants for next year's board.  This meant that Tuesday night, between 12:30 and 2:30, I Skyped with Maia, Zach, Wil, and Claire in order to go through applications and set up times for interviews.   As you can imagine, Wednesday morning was no fun!

On Wednesday I had to meet my class at the train station at 8:30, which meant I had to leave my dorm at 8:00... Clearly I was not happy to be up that early, but I was really excited to go to Rathenow, the town I had read about.   Once at the train station I met my professor and the class and got on the first of 2 trains headed to Rathenow.  The ride was 2 hours, and it was about the most awkward 2 hours in my 2 months here.  I hadn't really met anyone and I ended up sitting next to my professor both times, so I just read... Soooo awkward.  Once at Rathenow we met our guide, who is a historian that has worked with our professor on the survivor's history.  She gave us a tour of the routes that the man describes in his story.  After that, we headed to the culture center, where our professor and the historian handed out letter to us.  The letters were written by many different "witnesses" of the night that our main character was arrested.  He was a Rabi in Rathenow (there was a very small Jewish community), who reported a Nazi official who beat him up.  The official was sent to jail, and our main character was extremely hated by all of the Nazi officials in the town.  On the night of his arrest, he tells that a man attacked him, and since he though he was drunk he just ran home.  Once he reached his home, however, another man attacked him.  At that point, our main character decided to fight back and stabbed him with his keys.  The man turned out to be a Nazi officer and he made sure that our main character was arrested and sent to the concentration camp. The letters that we read provided different stories that were reported about the event, but all of them were from people who clearly wanted our main character arrested.  This exercise was extremely interesting, because it helped me see how one uses letters in order to reconstruct a historical event.  After our exercise we went downstairs to eat.  Only 3 students, the professor, and the historian decided to eat at the culture center, so I got to talk and bond with them over lunch.  It was actually both really interesting and relaxing.  The professor made me tell the historian about my research and they both seemed very impressed.  After lunch we continued the tour around town and went to a school, which was the empty high school that was used to keep prisoners in before transporting them to the concentration camp in 1933.  The visit there was unreal.  First the woman guided us to the gym, which looked exactly like the picture in our book.  There we found a class playing volleyball...



Then the lady took us upstairs and showed us a timeline that was posted on the wall that showed the school's history.  Our professor quickly pointed out a mistake and told the woman about the book they had published (the one we are reading).  She could not believe that the school didn't know anything about the book... I wasn't that surprised for some reason. The lady then took us to a classroom.  None of us were sure why!!!! It was soooo awkward!!! Even our professor was confused.  The kids stood up when we entered, until the lady told them to sit... I was so confused and so were the rest of my classmates.   The lady introduced us as a class from Potsdam and then we left.  Legitimately the most awkward and pointless thing. 

After the tour we headed back to the station.  I really liked the town and I loved getting to know the people in my class! It was a wonderful experience.  On the way back I got to talk with the professor and two other students about my research. The professor thought that I was doing this research for my dissertation and when I told her it was for my bachelors and I had to be done by December, she didn't know what to say... guess what, I don't either!!! She gave me a few good suggestions on libraries to go to and also recommended a registry of rabbis that might have my grandmother's grandfather's information. I will try to go find it next week! I am sooo glad that we were able to talk a bit so that she can continue to give me helpful pointers throughout the semester.

After getting home I went on a quick run through the park.  I ran the longest I have since I got here and loved the awesome weather.

Runs in the park

I was sooo exhausted when I got home, but I had a message from one of my classmates from March reminding me that there was a get together in the outskirts of Berlin.  Since I have been missing out on a lot of outings due to my foot, I really wanted to go.  The trip took about an hour, but the place was amazing!!! The houses were precious and it was literally in the middle of nowhere! Soooo cute! I was glad to see a lot of people that I hadn't seen in weeks, and we had a blast sharing our crazy class stories and planning trips in the months to come.  At around 11:00 a group of us headed home.  I would have stayed longer, but I had to be home in time to start interviews for RebelTHON!!! My Wednesday did not end until 4:00 am when we interviewed the last person, but it was soooo worth it! We had such amazing applicants and I was thrilled to get to listen in on the interviews! (technology is an amazing thing!)

As expected, Thursday started off pretty late! I went to class, and then I headed to the paper store.  My goal was to get all the necessary things to organize my life.  This week I realized that with the amount of reading, writing, and learning that I have to do before July 31st, I better get on it fast!!!

Finally starting to get organized

Anyways, after that I returned home and rested a bit before interviews!  Thursday was another late night Skyping home... And Friday was another late morning followed by reading for class and then some more Skype interviews!!!

Today, Saturday, I finally slept in and then got up to head to town.  There I found a band playing on the pedestrian street.  It was really unexpected, and sadly.... really out of tune! Hahaha, I started my walk toward Starbucks (my reading nook) and got a Bratwurst for lunch on the way!  Once settled in with my coffee a parade started right in front of my eyes... It was the strangest thing.  Noone was watching, but for an hours groups of bands and people paraded in really strange and varied costumes.  I still haven't figured out what it was, but here are a few pictures:

That is it for now... I am lacking inspiration to write today, so excuse my poor writing...

Dresden's Bathtub: a review

So as I mentioned in my last entry, this weekend Colby and I conquered the immense task of finding a bathtub.  Since this journey also included getting to visit a beautiful city that was bombed to pieces (hope that's the right one Maia :) ) in the last bit of WWII in February of 1945, we were pretty excited! Friday was a quiet day at home in preparation for my first trip while abroad!!! However, this quiet day turned out to provide some pretty great accomplishments! First, I made a trip to Kaufland (a new one) where I finally found nail polish and nail polish remover!!! HUGE!!! If I didn't find some soon, it would be a close-toed shoes summer for me! Secondly, I had a Skype interview for the position of director for RebelTHON next year! And.... I am officially the co-director for next year!!!! I am soooo excited to get started working on this!!!! After a quiet evening, I went to sleep looking forward to the adventures that Saturday would bring!!!

Saturday started at around 6... I took a shower and headed to the train station at Park Sansoussi...But before I checked my bag to make sure I was not forgetting the most important things: Ibuprofen and the BATH SALTS (or whatever the medicine I was prescribed is called).  The walk to the station was amazing! The weather has been perfect (a little cool, but not too cold) and the birds were out chirping around.

Walk to the station

From the station I took a train that took me directly to the main station in Berlin (only took 35 minutes!). There, I bought a chocolate Croissant and a coffee for Colby and I.  Two minutes later, he met me and we found the train that would take us to Dresden.  We found tickets for this train by searching on a website called ltour.com that provides cheap prices for last minute trips!!! Because of the price we found, we were able to take the EC train, which is waaaaay quicker and goes straight to Dresden.  The crowd was primarily Czech and included a large group of 35ish year old men who were having a bachelor party. VERY entertaining! After about 2 hours, which involved talking, sleeping, and minimal reading for class, we arrived in Dresden.

First impression: grey.
Second impression: more cobble stones.

I am a firm believer that weather can make or break ones experiences in a new city.  I remember introducing my friends Drew and Courtney to the neighborhood in Montevideo where I grew up, and all I remember saying was "y'all.... you would love it so much more if it wasn't so cloudy and ugly!!!!" In the case of Dresden, I quickly started worrying that this would also be our case!!!

After walking for about 30 or 45 minutes through the old part of the city, we decided to see if our hotel would let us check in early.  The grey, the cobblestones, and the hunger were not giving us a good first impression... so we thought depositing our bags and recharging at the hotel might do the trick!!! Our hotel was located in the middle of the historic section of the city.  Legitimately 30 steps away from the Frauenkirche, the church that was bombed to pieces in 1945.  This entire area is a block from the Elbe river and all of the museums, exhibits, theaters, and opera houses.

That's our hotel with the red roof... Don't be fooled by the blue skies... this was Sunday

Once at the hotel, we did not have any trouble checking in! 

View of "the busy street" from our room

View of the Frauenkirche from our room

The first thing we did when going into the room...  CHECKED THE BATHROOM!!!!! Thank goodness!!! There was a bathtub!!!

The reason for our weekend trip!

I really thought I would turn into Elpheba

 So before doing anything else, I tested my new medicine, took the 30 minute bath, and rested with my foot raised for the assigned 30-45 minutes.  Y'all... the medicine was green!!! Soooooo green that my towel and everything else got stained... Too funny.  

Foot bathed!

By the time I was done... the hunger was unavoidable! We quickly looked through the restaurants on the busy street (just 2 blocks) and settled for an Asian restaurant that looked over the street.  There, we were serenaded by a man that was playing below us... what was he playing??? But Johnny Cash of course!!! What was he wearing on his hat?? A confederate flag! Hilarious and definitely German. People loved him and crowds would form during every song as people stared in admiration, awkwardly bopped to the beat, and even sang along.   The next thing we enjoyed admiring were the birds... maybe we didn't admire them... maybe they just annoyed us... It is soooo clear that they are constantly fed, because they legitimately we coming up to our plate trying to get food!!!!!!

You can see the man playing on the bottom left corner! 

Asian... Again

Colby and his bird... 

After lunch we continued to walk the grey city.... We started by crossing the bridge and the Elbe towards the newer part of the city.  We figured that would be an easy way to walk all of the "touristy" spots.  We found some flowers and cool buildings on the other side, but we both agreed that the grey was prettier of the other side of the Elbe.  After discovering a really cool market type deal.... we headed back across the river.  

Cool market

We spent our afternoon walking along the river and walking through the historical buildings that surrounded us on every corner.  It is really a gorgeous city!!!! 

After many miles, we headed towards the theater to see if there were still tickets for the Philharmonic's concert that evening.  Sadly the ticket office was closed until 6:30... the concert started at 7:30... Therefore, we decided to sit down at a nearby Starbucks and use its wifi to find an alternate way to buy tickets.  We didn't find it, but we did enjoy a great cup of coffee and a lot of funny "snap chat" conversations with people back home.  A little before 6:30, we headed towards the theater.  As we started seeing people come, we began to panic... Are we wayyyyy too underdressed???? People were showing up in suits and floor length dresses. Yikes!! Should we even try?? In my mind I could hear my mom saying "don't worry, it is a city of tourists, there will be people wearing all sorts of clothes!!"  So we decided to give it a shot! Our plan if we got tickets was to rush to the supermarket get wine, cheese, and olives to eat by the river after the concert and to run to the dorm to try to come up with something dressier to wear!!!!! 

There were tickets!!! They were in the back row, but they were tickets!!!!! Yaaaayyy!!! So we rushed to REWE to get the food... got to the check out line and realized it was toooo long! We wouldn't make it!!!! So we had to put everything down and run back to the hotel (not really run... remember, there are cobble stones and my foot would have hated me!!!) Once at the hotel I made a switch into my less tacky converses and tried to fix my outfit with some make up... Colby, as usual, was a little more prepared and looked more philharmonic ready.  Fifteen minutes later we were two different people hurrying back to the theater.   

And then we saw it.... the crowd.... the average age was 65 or higher... there were suits, there were floor length dresses, and for those who were playing it casual.... they left their suit coats at home (but ties were seen throughout).  YIKES!!! We were really underdressed, but that is exactly the time when a back row seat seems perfect!!!  

I was sooo excited to hear the orchestra! Going to concerts always reminds me of my childhood, when we frequently went to watch my mom and/or dad play with the national symphony in Uruguay. I love it!!! 

Very excited for the concert!!! 

And this was one of the most incredible things i've ever heard!!!! 

The program included: 

Richard Wagner's: the prelude to "Das Rheingold"

Bernd Franke's: The way down in the way up (II)

Peter Tschaikowsky's Symphony 4 in F Minor op. 36

The Tschaikowsky was unbelievable.  I didn't realize I knew it, but as soon as each movement started I recognized the melodies immediately.  I couldn't take my eyes off of the oboe player!  I am NOT a big oboe fan, but this woman could play like I've never heard before!!! Clearly the director thought the same thing, because at the end he gave her his flowers! It is unreal watching all of these people soooo together! The speed, the dynamics, the sound, the emotion.. I  just can't explain it!  I teared up, I got goose pumps, and I smiled A LOT. I find watching this like this sooo incredible.  When you watch a performance whether it be theater, orchestra, dance, or whatever.... you know that everyone on this stage LOVES what they are doing.  Who would choose to go into a profession that is soooo hard to succeed in if you don't love it! Even natural talent doesn't justify the hours of practice.... so watching this group really gave me chills! 

Here is a link to the Tschaikowsky (not played by the Dresden Philharmonic, but still) to share the incredibleness! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhoYauWJh54

After recomposing myself after the amazingness, we realized that everything was closed... We hadn't been able to buy our snacks earlier... So we had to resort to McDonalds... legitimately the only thing other than bars that was open.  With our junk food in hand, we walked to the banks of the Elbe and had dinner.  It was lovely so we also walked a bit before turning in for the night (and for a bath!).

The Elbe

 We decided to sleep in a bit on Sunday, but got up in time to walk some more! The clouds had cleared up some, so it was nice to enjoy the city without the grey!!! It really set in how incredible it really is!!! We had an amazing lunch by the Frauenkirche and then waited for it to open at 13:00.  

  

The inside was incredible!!!! So many colors, such grandeur!!! Absolutely beautiful!

Frauenkirche

After our visit, we headed back to the main station to take a train back. Since our website didn't have cheap tickets, we bought a Schönewochenende ticket that allows up to 5 people to travel on weekends without limit for 27 hours using the regional trains. Using the regional trips added about 1.5 hours to our trip!!!! 

 BUT!!!!!! It also let us enjoy a lot of different landscapes and it forced me to read for class! 

 At around 6 o'clock I arrived to my apartment in Potsdam! Thanks to the baths/ibuprofen my foot felt great!! So I went out for a run (the longest one since I've been here!) and did an arm workout! By the end of the day I was beat!!!!