Week-end

Sunday, June 03, 2018
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Wow what a weekend! I guess it kind of begins with my previous post (going out with work friends) but man was this weekend unexpected!
I began Saturday a bit lonely but decided to get ahead on homework, but one can only take so much concrete, so I stopped after I finished the necessary problems (I have a midterm to study for, but was pretty impressed with myself that I got an answer to every single problem this time, very opposite of the last homework). Once that finished though, I was kind of waiting around for my friend Carmen from work to text, so I ate breakfast and then lunch and then she finally texted saying sorry that she slept so late, she was out super late the night before. Then it really hit me. I am a young 22 year-old who lives with a 50 year-old and just had her first sip of alcohol in Germany five days after moving there... and got home by 10:30 at that. LAME. Berlin is a hotspot for techno clubs and bars - where have I been?? I got kind of sad realizing that I don't have the friends or the environment in which to "really experience" Berlin. I also realized that my study abroad/crazy going out self had relaxed the past 6 months and I had to youth-en up to get that going again. I've been so used to avoiding crowds and overwhelming places this past year that I can now see the distinction of the two attitudes. Ugh. Gotta change again. **I do not believe in changing for your surroundings, but I know I really have fun with this stuff and I want to be young one last time before I'm old (aka 24)** ***also mom I am NOT and will NOT be an alcoholic - I may just get home at 7am and sleep till 1pm***
All that reflection aside, Carmen asked if I wanted to go to the Eastside Gallery with her, to which I of course said yes - first friend!! First deliberate social outing!! I met her at a metro near the gallery, and we went and got some ice cream and it was SO good!! Truly some of the absolute best ice cream I've ever had, I was not expecting it! I got brownie chocolate, but like there were specs of true, creamy chocolate in the ice cream and tiny bits of perfect brownie. All served in a fresh warm waffle cone. Incredible. We ate our treats walking to the wall - crossing a famous bridge and passing many other notable things, but we were just chatting. We live here now, we don't have to stop and stare at everything. I learned Carmen is SO cool. She's doing a masters program I was looking at in Lyon, but she does modules all over the world. She's only been in Lyon for like 2 months at a time. It's also SO SO nice to be able to talk to someone about work, and transportation, and cities just like it's normal conversation. I've never met someone my age/friend-wise who is so in-line with my passions. She's AWESOME and is doing super cool things. Really glad I met her.
We finally got to the wall and chilled by the river listening to music and finishing our cones without trying to spill on our white clothes. We walked some more over to Freidrichshain (Warning: this blog will be filled with atrocious misspellings of German names. I could put in the effort to Google the proper name and copy/paste, but honestly I'm so sick of that. This way also offers a fun perspective of my German improving, hopefully). She's a walker, and I really enjoy that. We walked a ways lol. This neighborhood was so bumpin' - I guess it was a Saturday night but we had a good time and got a beer and listened to a live band. There was truly the most interesting group of people listening, so we headed for the back to avoid an accidental piercing. We enjoyed the beers and walked around some more, and decided to find some food before parting ways. We stopped at this Middle Eastern place which was bumpin' (Ramadan) and with good reason - the food did not disappoint. The lentil soup, falafel, and even french fries were perfect. YUM. Carmen and I agreed to meet up the next day to go to a nearby lake. I was prepared for an impromptu club outing, but that's ok... haha nah I needed my sleep for church tomorrow.
Church tomorrow - I hadn't showered in 4 days (one of the first things Gabi noted when I arrived was how often Americans took showers - thus I try not to take many showers) but it's fine. Great way to make new friends. I went to an English Catholic church (there are 3 of them in all of Berlin) in Mitte (downtown) because they had a coffee hour afterwards (plus the French church wasn't meeting for another few weeks). I went there, found it, got there on time, avoided the rain (all miracles) and got some culture shock walking in. It was a total Protestant-style sanctuary. VERY different from France. That's just how it is here though. The priest was great and really engaging. He spoke very knowledgeably from the heart and noted that we can have fancy chalices and gold and all but only after we make sure the people outside are fed. It was just a very real statement that could not be made in France without being hypocritical. It was a small room/church, but the "choir" sang loud so I could sing as loud as I wanted so that was fun. We all gathered around the altar for communion, and drank the Blood of Christ out of what seemed to be a ceramic coffee tumbler. Real different. But honest. 
Afterwards I hung around for coffee, doing the usual first-time awkward thing of hanging around until I find someone approachable. I found the person I was sitting next to in Mass (she seemed to be about my age) and waved to her and walked over. Her name was Jen, and she's from Canada so she was of course so so nice. She asked me all about my transition and plans and job and life and everything. She had to head out (her friend was visiting) but she gave me her number so we could grab coffee sometime. She was very understanding of the importance of finding Catholic friends in a very secular community. It was a bummer that she left so early, so I reverted back to my crowd-scanning skills till I found this guy Robert. He was very interesting and introduced me to the other young people who were still around - two Poles. They were super funny and another older lady came over and we all had a great time. We had been talking for so long that the other Mass was getting out so we decided to go for coffee. I checked my phone and realized it was 1pm and was supposed to have gone back home and hopped on the U-Bahn to meet Carmen at the lake already. I said bye (and see you next week) to my new friends and hurried onto the train. Feeling bad, I decided to just go straight from church to the lake - maybe not the world's smartest plan seeing as I had no swimsuit, towel, food, or anything, but I felt bad I left Carmen with no messages (love not having a cell phone!!). I got to the end of the line where the lake was and walked 20 min to the beach where she was at. It was SO nice to get out of the city - I didn't realize how much I needed nature until I took that walk. The area was so peaceful and wooded and calm. I found Carmen and we relaxed by the water and she took a swim and then we ate some super yummy salad she made. We walked around to a neighboring lake and walked along that for a long time - we realized it was too big, even for us, to walk around. We turned back and ate at a waterside restaurant. My first bratwurst! Only six days in...
Overall, great weekend. By the time I had gotten back to the U-Bahn station, I had a missed message from a church friend asking to hang out that evening. I needed a shower so bad and had to study (which I didn't) that I had to turn him down. I couldn't believe that I had felt so lonely the day before and now there were too many plans that I had to turn some down. Crazy.
I'm super pumped for my first real day of work tomorrow - I know it'll be super slow (especially with my boss gone for the week) but I'm excited nonetheless. I also start a German course tomorrow so I'm super pumped for that and I think it'll be a great way to make another circle of friends. It's also in a totally different part of town so it'll be good to have a reason to go there and really know another neighborhood. Plus hopefully people will want to grab beers after...? Who knows. I'm pumped!!
I have a midterm this week that I haven't started studying for but yolo right?!?! Also it's only passing grade so... :)))) jk mom I'll study I promise!

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