While I have been here, TWO of my dearest and long-time friends have gotten engaged!! It was hard to miss Anna and Morgan's engagements, but I am SO very happy for both of them and it was so sweet to hear from Anna on the phone the hour before I had to turn off my service, and to wake up to a cute video message of Morgan and Taylor telling their story! I'm so grateful for Jase and Taylor in the lives of Anna Larkin and Morgie. I love yall!
*My roommate Krissy and I went to dinner tonight to an American steakhouse. One week, and we were already craving a burger and fries, because "normal" meat is hard to come by around here. We celebrated our one week anniversary and decided we feel like we've been here for months, but in a good way! The best way I can think to describe the lessons I've learned about life in general and life in Berlin over the last 7 days is to make a list. So here it goes!
Things I've learned:
1. The Euro. I gave the man at the shop 10. He gave me back 4 coins. I began to panic thinking oh no, he's trying to rip me off... after a few seconds of my blank stare, he politely showed me that a coin = 2 Euro. Who knew?
2. The Grocery store. I figured this would be pretty easy. I was very wrong. Turns out, 95% of the groceries are written in only German. Thank goodness I know what the Frosted Flakes box looks like by heart. Even though here it goes by "Frosties".
3. No Grocery bags. You have to buy your grocery bags, they don't come free with a bag boy at the end. You have to buy bags and bag your own while everyone in line waits on you. It's the worst pressure I've ever felt!
3. The bike path. In Berlin, everyone uses public transportation, walks or rides a bike. The bike path is a deadly area to walk in. It took us a few bell rings and raised voices before we realized that the brick is actually for the bikes and not the walkers. They are very serious about this.
4. The Bus. Krissy and I have a love/hate relationship with the bus. It is efficient, when you know how to ride it and know the name of your stop (which is in German and longer than the word Onomatopoeia, with letter symbols that I've never seen before), but if you don't then your doomed. Which we were when late one evening our 4 minute bus ride home ended up a two hour trip through neighboring cities. We were laughing on the bus, missed our stop and ended up riding the bus around until the driver turned the lights off and told us we had to get off :/ No worries though! We played charades to communicate with a UBahn train driver who helped get us talking to an English operator who gave us a new bus to take to get home. Well, we got back to our bus, missed the stop again because the night busses take different routes than the day busses.. and one again rode the bus til' the light went off. This time we refused to get off of the bus and sat with the driver until he turned the lights back on and drove us back to our stop and told us to walk home. So we did. We made it safely. We now know from experience all there is to know about the bus system of Berlin. (Sorry dad)
5. The Market. There are fresh fruits and veggies right down the street from our school! All of the produce is so cheap here! There are also BEAUTIFUL flower shops with bundles of flowers for only about $5 in the U.S. the worst flowers at Kroger are at least $12.
6. The meat. I don't even know what to say. There are butcher's shops everywhere.. I don't know what one thing is in the entire store. Therefore, I have not eaten or bought any meat thus far. It's a scary place in there.
7. School lunch. The school has a cafe. It is wonderful. Fresh coffee in the morning for just one euro! Diet coke, I can't even believe it. A salad bar, and really good sandwiches. It is common here to have butter, cheese, lettuce and tomato sandwiches on a baguette. Strange, and not very good for you, but it is yummy.
8. Cafes, Chocolate shops & Bakeries. You don't go five feet without passing one of these. German Hot Chocolate with fresh whipped cream is one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted! The coffee is great, and just like the meat stores, I never knew that that many types of bread existed! They all look so good!
9. The people. Everyone here is so nice. Sometimes I feel ignorant being in their country and not being able to speak their language. Although it is hard to communicate, everyone always tries their best English to help us out and if not, they'll help you through an intense game of charades. For example: Communicating seems to be the funniest. Krissy and I went to an Italian restaurant a few nights ago and our waiter spoke German and Italian but very little English. We ordered by pointing and right after he brought out our food he turned to us and said what I thought was "Papier" I thought he was asking if we needed another paper napkin, so I waved mine at him and said oh no no! Thank you but we've already got napkins. He just looked at us, laughed and walked back a minute later with the "pepper"... oops.
10. The dress. Morgan May and Barrett Trotter would win the award for best dressed in Berlin! Everyone dresses like them.
11. The accent. I fear that I'm losing what little southern accent that I have day by day. I can't say y'all , because no one knows what it means. I've had to resort to "you guys" or "you all" and it's very hard.
12. The church. I went to an International Baptist church in my neighborhood on Sunday. It small and intimate, and lasted two hours with a reception of coffee and cakes afterwards. It was a full day's event, and it was neet the sense of community and fellowship they shared without feeling rushed out the door. The Lord really works out the details. We found the church online, and decided we'd just try it. When we got their I recognized the little boy in front of me and realized he was in my class at school. His mother introduced herself afterwards and it turns out her and her husband are working for Campus Crusade at a University in Berlin. How cool?
13. The city! Berlin is BEAUTIFUL! So rich in history. Modern buildings right next to buildings that have been here for hundreds of years. I got to see the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag Building this weekend! Pictures to come!
I can't believe I will be here for four months. It's still unreal to me that I will live here for awhile and that I'm not just on vacation. Prayers for stamina would be greatly appreciated! I'm already feeling a little run down from teaching & trying to see and get acquainted with the city, and already we are traveling to Copenhagen, Denmark this weekend!
Choos!
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