13.1.09

Today was a long one as well, but went significantly better than yesterday. I went into German and worked hard to be humble, working within the station where I was placed. As it turns out, a girl who just finished semester 5 (I’d only had 3) of German back in the states is only in intermediate II, so that shows me that the level system differs between here and in the U.S. I got through the 2 ½ hours of German, and ate a quick lunch in the Mensa (Cafeteria), adding quick trips from FU-BEST (where our classes are held) to FU’s main campus to my repertoire. This is useful for lunch, as the Mensa is very cheap for students. They have the closest thing to those government subsidized meals for $1.40 that you can still vaguely remember from 5th grade. “Tray lunch” they used to call it. The difference is that, even with the cultural differences, the food in the Mensa actually resembles food. Not at all like 5th grade, where you weeded through the brown muck slopped onto your tray before deciding only the chilled chocolate milk was salvageable, very much in the same way rescue workers pick through the rubble of a collapsed building before calling off the search. Today we had some sort of friend potato cakes with a side of potatoes, but it wasn’t half bad. For less than 2 Euro, 3 items on a tray is a very good deal. I fought so hard to get into the ‘Berlin: History, Literature, Memory’ course, and now that I am in I am wondering what I am getting myself into. Starting next week, each week a student has to present a 15 minute presentation on that week’s history subject, and it comprises 30% of their final grade. Being that the midterm exam AND the final exam TOGETHER add up only to that same number, I’d say it’s pretty important. I have decided to stick it out and soak up all I can in that class, insane workload or not. Maybe I can take the extra energy I would have spent in intermediate German II and apply it here. I got to talk to a few people on skype today, and that was really nice. I felt out of it though, and I think it is a sort of headtrip to be able to finally talk to and even see (in Dad’s case) loved ones again, yet not be with them. I am better with black and white, and sort of ‘half getting my loved ones back with me’ was difficult. So after evening classes (my Berlin course was in the afternoon ((1:30-4)) but I hung out till evening class got out ((4:30-7)) so that I could use the internet) I took the initiative and formed a potluck dinner at my place. 5 people came and we pooled what food, drinks, and silverware we had. We’ve even made plans to do this multiple nights a week, continuing on tomorrow night at another’s place. I very much appreciate God teaching me how to assertively take/form what I need to take care of myself, and tonight, Death Cab, Helen Keller jokes, and three different types of lukewarm pasta were exactly what I needed.