Cold Weather, but not here

I received rather surprising news today, it is colder in Berkeley than in Berlin. According to some sources- Berkeley has even seen snow! SNOW, in Berkeley! That's like the time it snowed in Fresno when I was eight. The above picture is the snow in Berkeley- we really haven't even had snow here in Berlin, my, my- what is the world coming to. Berlin is in the high 30s and Berkeley is seeing snow. I think I need to lie down now.

National Yiddish Book Center News

As many of you may know- this summer I worked as an intern at the National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, MA. Much of the amazing experience that I had was because of some of the amazing people there this summer, one such was Mandy Cohen- an advisor and friend in Yiddish and life. She has made me aware of many disturbing happenings at the Book Center- and in this blog I have chosen to reprint her open letter to the Book Center, if you have any friends of Yiddish, please pass it on as well.

To the executives of the NYBC and staff of the summer internship program,

Hopefully you will all remember me. I was a summer intern at the NYBC
in 2006, and following that I worked part time as an assistant to Jane
Gronau in the visitor's center, as well as to Aaron Rubinstein and
Catherine Madsen in the books department, and Robby Peckerar in the
last few months that he was employed there. Last summer I was the
assistant for the internship program and had planned to return this
summer for the same position. It is interesting for me to think that I
have worked for the book center, on and off, longer now than many of
its current staff members. And if I were to return this summer, I
would be outlasting at least two more of the your staff, Aaron and
Jane.

I must inform you that I will not be returning to the book center this
summer and perhaps you will do me the courtesy of reading this email
through, so that I might explain why. I am extremely disturbed by the
poor treatment of the book center's staff that I have observed in my
time there. In fact, I have now watched almost every single staff
member who I respected lose their job in one way or another. This
included Robby Peckerar, Adam Siegel, Janet Kannel, and now Aaron
Rubinstein and Jane Gronau. I've also seen an alarmingly quick turn
over of the staff who were brought in to fill these and other
positions. This seems also to have created a change in staffing ratio
so that there is almost no one now working at the book center who
actually works in any way with the Yiddish language, literature or
history. Rather you have a staff of fundraisers and marketers. I'm
well aware that the book center executives would easily explain away
each of these examples as individual occurrences, or based on recent
financial troubles, but I don't think that can erase the very blatant
pattern that has been established.

The book center has played an incredibly important role in my life.
The summer internship which introduced me to Yiddish was a turning
point for me academically and personally, giving me a connection to my
Jewish history and defining the course of my academic studies. I am
now a graduate student at UC Berkeley in comparative literature, where
I study German and Yiddish. I truly believe it was the internship at
the NYBC that set me on this path, and I honestly cannot imagine what
my life would be like or where I might have ended up without Yiddish.
I love the stacks of the NYBC, and the warehouse, there are few other
places on earth where a person can find so much of the history of
Yiddish assembled. And I loved being a part of the internship last
summer, getting to facilitate that first encounter with Yiddish for 18
amazing students. And yet I've had to watch two very disturbing trends
develop in the organization to which I owe so much: first, I saw the
person who ran that first life changing internship lose his job and
since then I've watched the same thing happen to several other
employees, and second I've had to watch as the attention of the
organization moves further and further from any actual concern with
the Yiddish books which should be the primary focus of its existence.

I think these things are related. I think both are examples of the
willingness of the executives of the book center to use and manipulate
not only the cause the organization was created to serve, but also the
people who work there and by extension the members who support it. Let
me emphasize, I believe that the work of collecting, saving and
redistributing Yiddish books that the NYBC has accomplished over the
last 30 years is invaluable, miraculous, but at some point the
original spirit of the work was completely lost and since then the
NYBC seems only to serve the egotistical and self-promoting business
model of its executives. It is becoming a place devoid of content,
that puts up a front of supporting Yiddish only in order to raise
money for who knows what purpose.

It makes me wonder when the last time was that Mr. Lansky opened any
of the Yiddish books on the now badly disorganized and ill-stocked
repository floor (seeing as there is no full time staff actually
maintaining this collection) in order to think about the values
inherent in that literature. I direct this at Mr. Lansky personally as
I know none of the other executives read Yiddish in the first place.
The story of Yiddish literature, politics and history contained in
those books is one where the interests of the individual are put
behind the interests of working people, behind the interests of the
Jewish people, behind especially the preservation of the history and
literature itself. That was certainly the spirit in which the NYBC was
founded. The organization has accomplished such amazing work. If, in
fact, the executives have grown so tired of that work, as it seems
from the disconnected directions the book center now moves in, one
wishes they might have passed the organization on to people who do
still care about the books on the shelves, and the thousands of books
in storage that have never been properly sorted, cataloged or cared
for because the NYBC never employed the staff to do such work. They
were more interested in funding a new building (before having the
programming or a collection to fill that building) than finishing the
work of physically preserving the books.

I wish I were not so angry about this. I wish I could have returned
this summer in order to do some of the very needed work described
above. But the internship has ceased to be the kind of program that
could use the honest energy and passion of the interns to work with
the books in a meaningful way. The most obvious sign of this is the
center's inability to maintain any continuity in the direction or
support staff running the internship. Those students would be better
served if the Steiner endowment were used to send them to Yiddish
programs that actually offer support to the study of Yiddish, which
the book center cannot do, with it's unmaintained collection and
inaccessible warehouse, without Aaron Rubinstein or any educational
director who qualitatively fills the space that was left vacant by
Robby Peckerar. Unfortunately, I am so angry that instead of
continuing, as I have done for the past two years, to do my part
toward making the book center a place that does support Yiddish, I am
unhappily walking away from it. I do plan to continue expressing these
views with the hope, the very genuine hope, that perhaps your
organization will reflect upon itself and return to its so valid and
essential original work.

Sincerely,

Mandy Cohen

Sugar Coma and Christmas Markets

This is me, in my lazy day glory, eating a Zebra Küssen at the Weihnachtsmarkt in Alexanderplatz. A delicious chocolate covered sweet that allowed me to feel sweet sugar coursing through my veins for another 30 minutes at least. Oh Christmas candy, you are a joy in my life. I was goaded into eating said sweet by friend Marie- she is unfortunately sweet-less and enjoys living vicariously through my consumption of sweets. As you would expect, this is a pleasant arrangement for me. I ventured into the crazy holiday cheer that is a Weihnachtsmarkt with Marie yesterday to finish up some Christmas shopping- it was quite exciting; carolers, warm drinks, sugary temptations, and holiday crafts delivered a multi-sensory holiday experience. Coupled with the cold air and sun setting at five to four, it was quite a winter cliche.

At home, my windows are covered with snowflakes, my knitting needles are regularly clicking and clanging, and a variety of holiday music stations are being enjoyed. A newly discovered Christmas carol- from the 80's Rapper Dana Dane of Cinderfella fame, Dana Dane is Comin to Town, has become a favorite- I highly recommend listening to it- or playing it for any "sucka MCs" that need to watch out.

Grey

Berlin is one grey mess. For the last few weeks the weather in Berlin may best be described as grey. It rains, it slushes (when it is almost cold enough to snow, but not quite- so we get big blobs of slush falling down our necks instead of rain drops), and the city is wrapped up in a high lying fog. I was listening to a German radio station the other day, they compared Berlin to London- that we were living in a soup of fog, clouds, and rain. When it isn't raining or slushing, the heavy fog makes everything slick and shiny- coming out of classes it is often hard to know if it had rained or if the soaked surfaces are merely a consequence of the fog enveloping the city.


I do love fog. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of waking up, looking out the window, and not even being able to see the house across the street, the fog was so thick. Or watching the morning news- hoping for a foggy day schedule. On the playground, pretending I was ice skating across the frozen dew covered grass, getting lost in the fog. Christmas eve will always mean driving home from my Aunt's house, at 10mph through patchy fog and orange groves. The first time I ever drove alone was the day after Christmas, through the fog, windows rolled down and radio turned off, headed to a friend's house.

I write poems about getting lost in the fog, driving in the fog, living in the fog. To me, winter could never mean snow- it shall be inexorably tied to tule fog blanketing the valley in a coat of dangerous silence and seductive beauty.


But the fog of Berlin is not the fog of my childhood, not the fog that I fell in love with long ago. It is high and not nearly as dense. It obscures buildings, but ones a mile or more away, it could never be powerful enough to erase the building across the street. It is quite impossible to get lost in Berlin fog.

A Thanksgiving Feast

Many of the reasons which make Easter my favorite holiday- namely an importance of gathering with friends and family and sharing a sumptuous meal and the lack of presents- also make Thanksgiving one of my favorite holidays. This year, in Berlin and far away from my family, I decided to have a Thanksgiving gathering at my house. And gather we did! About 12 people came over to share in my very traditional Thanksgiving fare, conversation, fun, and games- it was a hit.

The planning for the festivities began last week when I realized that although I would be attending Thanksgiving dinners on Wednesday and Saturday, I actually had no plans for the Thursday. This made me profoundly sad- what would I do? Make an extra pumpkin pie and eat it alone, most likely. I decided this type of gluttony and isolation was not to be borne and that I should instead throw a Thanksgiving dinner of my own. So, heady with plans and nightly dreams of Thanksgiving treats dancing in my head, I set out to celebrate a very American holiday in Berlin. After the week of planning, days of cooking, and multiple trips to the grocery store- my friends and I enjoyed the most traditional of Thanksgiving dishes:

• Turkey (the first I have ever made and it was very moist and tender, all were impressed and doubted my novice claims)
• Mashed Potatoes (delish and very silky smooth, the lack of potato masher obliged me to use my sieve once more!)
• Green Bean Casserole (with no french onions to be had, I made my own croutons and topped it with them- a very nice twist)
• Candied Yams (lacking marshmallows- I couldn't find them and my attempt to make them didn't entirely pan out- I need to further develop my confectionery skills!)
• Stuffing
• Gravy
• My Grandma Sharon's Dinner Rolls (oh so good!)
• Cranberry Sauce (making your own is surprisingly easy and quite delicious)
• Lentil Nut Roast (my friend Lydia made it and it was quite a hit- very yummy)
• Salads (Marie brought salads which were a perfect accent to all the warm food!)
• Pumpkin pie (you've heard the story already)
• Snickerdoodles (quite a surprise hit, everyone wants the recipe)
  

And it seems everyone who came brought the standard bottle of wine- it was quite a nice evening, more then enough wine, the perfect amount of food and marvelous conversation throughout the evening- it sure beat eating a pie by myself!

And now that Thanksgiving is gone, I am at liberty to begin the Christmas season- it is 24/7 Christmas tunes for me and the snowflakes have gone into full production.

Thanksgiving

This is my Thanksgiving bounty from a small-ish Thanksgiving gathering I had last night. I'd expect a full story later- for now, enjoy the sight of the delicious food!

Pumpkin

There is a very good reason for the existence of canned pumpkin. I lived this reason today, when I spent the better part of the day preparing pumpkin puree for the rapidly approaching Thanksgiving holiday. I am attending two Thanksgiving dinners and hosting another small one- for all of these events I shall be making pumpkin pie, however, canned pumpkin is not something to be easily had in Berlin. I am sure I could have found it in an American store or at KaDeWe and have paid a ridiculous amount for simple Libby's canned pumpkin, but I thought, why not use fresh pumpkin? And hence two hours spent filtering mashed pumpkin through a sieve.

After baking the halved and cleaned pumpkins in the oven for an hour and a quarter and then letting them cool sufficiently, I undertook the messy job of scooping the pumpkins' insides out and then mashing together the bits not as soft (my oven runs hot and has a hot back right corner). This was nothing, however, in comparison to the joy of pushing the mashed pumpkin through a very fine strainer. Because, you see, in order to have silky smooth pumpkin pie- as any custard pie should be- you ought to make sure all the stringy bits are gone- so the sieve comes in handy. It is hard work and hopefully not thankless. If these pies are not among some of the best pumpkin pies ever created, I just might cry. Or be really sad. Either way, they better be amazing!

So now that my day has been spent among the pumpkins- with no great pumpkin to be had- I am going to veg.

Fudge, Bond, Friends, and Shabbat

Friday was a most excellent day. I began the day with my friend Lydia. We made most delicious walnut-raisin fudge together. Oooooo...fudge, it is beginning to feel even more like the holidays. I have never made fudge before, and while my confectionery skills are not as highly developed as my other kitchen related ones- I was quite pleased with the outcome. Delicious fudge, luckily it is very rich- and thus challenging to eat too much at once. Unfortunately, I like challenges!

After making Fudge, the fun continued. My friend and I went to see the new Bond, our fudge in tow. While enjoyable and Bond, the film was a depressing Bond. Not once did an echo of warmth break through the cold exterior of the film. I laughed occasionally- but it had more to do with the ridiculousness of action scenes or something equally laughable- not true humor. Once, there was a glimmer of Bond wordplay, but it was quickly over and I wasn't sure if it had really happened afterward! I was reading the NYTimes review of the film, and they asked the question I was asking throughout- when did Bond become a tragic hero? Maybe he'll grow out of it. That all said, it was great and I would recommend it.

After the movie, I traveled West to attend the Shabbat dinner to which I had so kindly been invited. I came an hour early, to speak Yiddish, and had a great time. I found out that my friend was a fighter in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and continued with the Resistance throughout the war. He showed me pictures of his family, friends, and talked to me about his life in Yiddish. His Polish dialect was occasionally difficult to understand- but fortunately as a more common Yiddish dialect- I have some experience with it. It was a marvelous evening, so much food, so many Yiddish songs, so many compliments (I've never been complimented on my beauty so much) and so much friendship. Two friends of his came to dinner too, two women he knew from a now defunct Jewish organization in Berlin. They were adorable and spent an half hour arguing over the safety of my taking the metro home at 12.30 when our evening came to end. Eventually, it was decided I'd be okay- but I'd have to call when I got in. As it was close to 1.30am when I did get home, I thought it best to call when I woke up the next day. Well, at 9.30am I was awoken by a call from my Yiddish friend to make sure I had arrived safely. It was adorable, and I think I have made some new friends.

Yiddish! in Berlin

Well, it has finally begun- my Yiddish language circle. This past Monday I met with a professor, a very nice native Yiddish speaker, two middle aged women, and a girl a bit older than me to speak Yiddish. Besides myself and the native Yiddish speaker, all were German. The evening was very nice- we read some Peretz and spoke for a bit. There was however quite a bit of code switching going on- I was never quite sure when I should have been speaking in German or in Yiddish. This may have something to do with the fact that all the members of the group were German speakers and their Yiddish was fairly influenced by German- but it was nevertheless confusing. I spent most of the summer attempting (with varying degrees of success) to break myself of my "daytshmerish" Yiddish habits, that is my overuse of Germanisms. Now I find myself flung into a world were either they are switching languages willy-nilly, or their Yiddish is so inflected by German that I cannot tell what they are speaking!

Now some may say, hey Jenna, wait a sec, aren't Yiddish and German really similar?? Well, yes and no. There are very different vowel sounds, constructions of the past tense, and basic rules of word order in Yiddish. Often, these giveaways seemed to be missing, and I wasn't sure what we were speaking- but I guess I'll figure it out. Previously it is always been very clear for me when someone is speaking German and Yiddish. Hopefully we'll figure this odd group of people together.

Beyond the confusing code switching taking place, the evening was a success. I was able to speak some Yiddish and was invited to Shabbat at the very nice Yiddish man's house this Friday night. He is a Holocaust survivor, and as I mentioned, a native Yiddish Speaker. At language circle, he kept asking me what songs I knew in Yiddish and seemed to like me, so I think it'll be good. I am to come a bit early, so we can speak Yiddish together. I have the feeling that I may be invited every Friday night, which means...Yiddish every Friday night! Way to go!

Visitors from France and Other Exciting Happenings

This past week, an old French friend of Melanie's and her friend came to visit Berlin. They are musicians and we had the most marvelous time together. I think I shall miss those funny Cabaret singing women now that they have returned to France. Night before last, they performed part of their act at a local French bar. The bar was great, apparently a little piece of Paris in Berlin (and only a 25 minute walk or so from my apartment). I drank an exciting wine, listening to their music, and had fun switching between German and English, explaining repeatedly that I did not, unfortunately, speak French. I think it will be next on the list.



The weekend just kept getting better too. Last night I went to Yorckschlößchen, this Jazz/Blues club to check out the music and the possibility of going there with Melissa and the Grandparents for New Year's eve. The club was awesome, the band this time was a Jazz Hip Hop group from Switzerland. Their Swiss German was funny and incomprehensible, but they would switch to Hoch Deutsch when speaking to the audience, thankfully! The club was quite cozy with good wine (though not as good as the French place) and awesome music. I'm going to call this week and make reservations for New Year's. I found this picture of the bar in winter, ah...I wonder if it'll look like this???



The icing on the cake, however, was the amazing and surprising news that Cordelia is coming to Germany during her Spring break! I was teasing her and said she should fly here tomorrow, she looked at fares and found a great deal in March, during her spring break. SO she's coming! I feel like dancing on air, I am so excited. I think we may go to Poland together, because what could be better than going to Poland with Cordelia?

Rings

Oh no! I've discovered something quite shocking. It seems, in Germany, wedding rings are worn on the right ring finger! Now, as you know, wedding rings are worn in the US and many other lands on the left ring finger according to a belief that a vein led from that finger directly to your heart, the vena amoris or vein of love. Apparently the Germans went with the Medieval idea that Right was good and Left was according to the Latin- sinister.


Except all this does not hold entirely true for the society- in Berlin, a land of multiculturalism and heavily influenced by American pop culture, you will see couples sporting rings both ways. Older German couples tend to opt for the Right hand, while youngsters go in for the Left. This, it seems to me, would lead to quite a bit of confusion. I am personally not sure what I should do. I generally wear one ring at a time, on my right ring finger. I suppose I could switch to wearing rings on the left, but that a) feels weird and b) all my rings are sized to my right ring finger and like most people my right and left ringer fingers are different sizes. In the meantime I have given up wearing rings entirely, which makes me quite sad- I like wearing rings.

Either way, I've come up with a new game while riding my morning train- spot the wedding rings. I think I might start to keep track of the right and left hand frequency.

Temperature Varience

We are getting cold. Not snowing cold yet- but nearly. That is not, however, what worries me. I can do cold, I do Idaho winters on a regular basis. What does worry me, is the lack of variance in high and low temperatures. Berlin has a startlingly small variance in these key numbers. Tomorrow has a high of 40° forecast, the low? 33°. Today was very similar, and while next week promises a slight increase in the temperature- the 7° to 10° difference promises to hold true. What does this mean for the cold, hard winter before me? If the low and high temperatures are so close- I am fearful of the future. And I don't scare easy.


I have a very nice pair of radiators- but I live by a simple winter motto- Suck it up, put on another sweater! I am saving the environment, one pullover at a time!

Beyond the apartment- German buildings and public transportation are like most public spaces- amazingly overheated. I don't quite understand how Germans manage to stay bundled up inside and while riding the subway (they rarely loosen even a scarf), but they do and I can only imagine it has to do with the dreaded European fear of a sudden change of body temperature. This is the reasoning for avoiding drafts like the plague and always wearing a scarf wrapped around the throat. Tomorrow is a snow/rain mixture, ugh!

Christmastime? Already?

I know, it's October, right? Well, I mean the end of October-ish, but it is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. This feeling began about two weeks ago- I was meeting a friend at Alexanderplatz, when I walked out the U-Bahn station and into the square- I was struck with the beginning preparations for a Christmas market! This morning, I ran out to buy some eggs and orange juice, at the checkout counter- Advent Calendars. Now while I was pleased to see the variety of Advent Calendars, I was a bit amazed at their appearance so early.


The weather is beginning to even feel California Christmasy- the nights are looking to get around freezing next week, and the days are chill with weak sunlight streaming through the half barren trees. With my surroundings beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, I have had Christmas tunes running through my head. I spent yesterday listening to A Charlie Brown Christmas and this morning sang The Holly and the Ivy, among other tunes while I prepared my delicious spinach garlic scrambled eggs. I've already begun my knitting for Christmas gifts and my thought process for others. Christmas cards are beginning to be thought of, and I won't lie, this morning I was tempted to make a Christmas chain. Yesterday I caught myself looking for suitable paper in my room to make a snowflake out of. Once the snowflakes come out- I'm done for.

To top it off, last night I went to an art show my friend was having at this, well I guess you could call it a club (in the most laid back sense of that word) called O Tannenbaum. Their decor is, as you may have guessed, of a Christmas Tree theme. In my red coat and with thoughts of sugar plums already dancing through my head, it was quite fitting.

My only wish, at this early holiday stage, is to be able to maintain the Holiday feeling for another two months. There are only so many times I can listen to A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Frozen Spinach

I have crossed over to the dark side- I am using frozen spinach on a regular basis- and loving it. I've never used frozen spinach before- fresh spinach is incredibly hard to come by here- and I've decided I am not eating enough vegetables- so frozen spinach- here I am! I would love recipes. I have fortunately found frozen spinach of the non-single-block variety, so I do have some control on how much I use.

Classes are going well, it is very clear that my favorite class will be Jewish Theology, but I am beginning to make friends in my other classes as well- which is quite exciting.


Time is beginning to fly and fall is very, very much upon us. I don't think we should be above 50 the next couple of days- which isn't too cold- but not very pleasant either. My theology professor was very intrigued by my learning Yiddish and recommended I go to Trier or Dusseldorf to chat with the Yiddishists there- we'll see if it is in the cards or not. Speaking of cards- I have lately received a few notes from friends and family at home- they made my day. I couldn't stop smiling for some time after opening the mail box. So, should you like to make me smile through the fall chill, here's my address in Berlin:

Jenna Ingalls
Schreinerstr. 24
10247 Berlin
Germany

I am a very good correspondent. I am also in love with The Frames right now- should you need inspiration for letter writing, check out this tune. At least the beginning, anyway.

Resolutions

I have never been one for News Year's Resolutions, I usually have one- to start flossing everyday. This year it lasted a bit longer than most. Lately, I've been reconsidering the whole resolution thing. Why wait for New Years? I am advocating seasonal resolutions. If each season, I resolve to floss everyday, there is a much higher chance for me to begin flossing my teeth on a seemingly regular basis. So this autumn, I resolve to floss my teeth, we'll see how long it lasts.

Jetzt Geht Los!

For you unfortunate souls that do not speak German, that means "Here we go!" Classes have finally started. Here's a brief rundown of what I'm taking (with their corresponding English titles):

Jüdische Theologie im Spiegel des jüdischen Gottesdienstes - Jewish Theology as Seen Through the Mirror of the Jewish Worship Service

Mütterlichkeit- Motherliness (about constructions of motherhood in literature)

Mordsfrauen- Death's Women (about women as murderers in literature/film)

Frühhöfische Epik und Spielmannsepik- Early Courtly and Minstrel Epic

Bilder der Apokalypse in Mittelalter- Images of the Apocalypse in the Middle Ages

I have visited all the courses so far, with the exclusion of the exciting Middle High German class which does not start for two more weeks. I think my favorites will be the theology course and the middle high class, which has not yet started- but I guess we'll see. The theology building is in a beautiful location- behind Hackisher Markt, next to the Spree and close to the Berliner Dom. There is a little green spot next to the Spree and it is very picturesque.


It was a very charmed first class to go to. Now, because I need a grade for any classes I take, or Berkeley thinks I just played in Berlin, I have to go up to every professor after class and introduce myself and say hey- want to give me a grade? It is a bit nerve racking, but I seem to be doing fine. The classes meet about half as often as classes at Berkeley (2 hours once a week), so that will take some adjusting, but so far I am just excited to be in classes again.

Outside of school, it is very much fall. Leaves are falling everywhere and it smells like autumn- that slightly molting scent that fills your lungs as you walk down the street. A few days have been sunny, but for the most part we are looking at clouds and more clouds. I am not too cold yet, but I have taken to using my heater! It works pretty well, and when I have laundry drying in my room it dries much faster. That and my warmth seem to outweigh the dryness my mouth experiences each morning from the lack of moisture.

Watching the Collapse- From Afar

It is an odd experience- watching the global financial crisis (but oh so more acutely the US financial crisis) from afar. I think the acuity of oddness is magnified by my lack of television and hence lack of television news. The news I read online, etc. is rather easy to filter and read that which one wishes. The one place I do not filter news is through my Polish kitchen radio. On this foreign contraption I listen to 104.1 FM Berlin, NPR Worldwide. The station is as close as I come to catching American news like I would get at home. These days, NPR is almost entirely dominated by talk of the economic meltdown, political discussions revolve around the economy, real and pop economists are their most common guests, and the few listener call-in centered programs are purely focused on the listener's personal economic questions. The media barrage when tuned into my snazzy Polish radio is overwhelming.

Perhaps, were I in Berkeley, I would feel this overwhelming economic focus as well. I think the main difference is my isolation here. The contrast between my normal hours, riding the subway, walking the leaf strewn streets, and more recently lying in bed and doing nothing, and those moments when I tune into my American programming to catch a bit of news not in print is astonishing. I feel so far removed, yet I am not- the majority of family, friends, and acquaintances are in America, not to mention the fact that I live in a Global economy. I am, thank God, not living in Iceland.

At least it isn't natural disasters anymore.

My Bed is Very, Very, Comfy

I am sick. I haven't left my bed for much for the last three days. That said, beyond being sick, it is nice to take a break. My mystery German meds work rather well, and I am living pain free, just also energy and motivation free as well. My classes start Monday- so I feel little motivation to do anything until then, I'd like to be better when classes begin.

Outside is cool and rainy, so I don't feel like I am missing much, but it would be nice to venture a bit further than the mailbox everyday. Okay, that sounds like I am feeling very sorry for myself- but it is totally not the case. I am working on my scarf with the Alpaca wool Lindsey brought me back from Peru, and listening to lots of N.W.A. Is there a better album that Straight Outta Compton when you are sick? Well, when you are me and love Gangsta Rap, no.



It is funny, I've been more and more drawn to the early 90's California hip-hop scene than ever before. I told my mom I'd love Dr. Dre's classic The Chronic for Christmas, but I think she was unwilling to purchase such an album for me.


Bummer! I'll just have to get it for myself. How can I resist? Dr. Dre and early Snoop- working together and laying down the tightest beats in G-Funk. I mean, it is the creation of G-Funk. Maybe she'd be down with People Under the Stairs. I don't have "O.S.T.", and I'd like that album.

Hmmm...they are less violent and more underground. Which means harder to find, scratch that. I guess I'll just be surprised.

I went to Italy, and all I got was this stupid cold

That is not even remotely true. Well, except for the part where I went to Italy and I caught a cold. I spent the past extended weekend in Italy with my Uncle Mike, Aunt Sam, and cousins Noah and Abe. It was beautiful- beautiful weather, beautiful cities, and beautiful time had by all. For the crowd not in the know- the fam' lives in Vicenza, Italy, a city very close to Venice and with charms all its own. In one amazing weekend, I was able to see Venice, Vicenza and my family. On Saturday we went into Venice and had fun getting lost. Well- Mike, Sam, and I had fun getting lost- the boys not so much. We wandered the old and windy Venetian streets- basking in the sun and the 70's.



Oh my, so warm after so much cold! We walked in the old Jewish Ghetto and I had some fun reading the local Chabad chapter's banner in Yiddish. It being Saturday, however, I didn't find anyone to practice my Yiddish with. It would have been interesting speaking Yiddish with them, I wonder what they would have thought?

On Sunday I was able to go to Noah's school- Catholic- for a special mass to welcome the first grade class. It wasn't quite- I learned that Italians don't do quiet. Germans do. The Italians I met were amazingly warm and all wanted to cook for me- very nice and cute. I guess I'll just have to go back, oh wait, I am going back, at Christmas.


I did, however, get a cold. I am lying in bed and trusting whatever German medications the pharmacist recommended (even for over-the-counter medication you have to talk to a pharmacist here), but she gave me tea because I was so pitiful looking.


And a note to the wise- Germans don't have smoke detectors in their houses, I guess personal safety just hasn't caught on that much here. But smoke detectors do have their uses- like when you are sick and disoriented and accidentally turn on a stove burner that has an empty pot on top of it, and then an hour and a half later you go into the hall and smell smoke. Hey, nice knowing you plastic handle on the lid! Yeah, smoke detectors are handy.

I Voted, How 'bout YOU?

That's right, through the wonders of absentee voting, I have already cast my ballot in this November's election. As this is my first presidential election, I was quite excited to cast my vote. It was, however, a bit anticlimactic casting over a month in advance and missing out on the exciting sticker, but I have done my civic duty.

I was watching last night's debate today, and two things struck me:

1) The debate was really boring. Beyond John McCain's often funny pronunciation of words (Taliban was the best) and Jim Lehr's continued attempts to have the candidates acknowledge the fact that they were in the same room and actually debating one another in real time, it was pretty tame. In case you missed it, or just want to relive the excitement, I would recommend watching the debate on the NYTimes website. They run a transcript of the text parallel to the video and have a check point, where any sketchy statements are fact checked. It is interesting to note that nearly all of the sketchy statements are McCain's.

2) Through absentee voting, I voted before the first debate occurred. Good thing I follow politics, I guess.

Following politics here has been interesting. I can catch NPR World Service on the Polish radio in my kitchen, and I read a collection of US newspapers online everyday (NYTimes and Slate everyday; The San Francisco Chronicle occasionally), as well as the German Süddeutsche Zeitung. This combination keeps me fairly up on any important happenings.


Despite my wide range of news sources, there is a pleasing distance which I have from the campaigns. Presidential less so, there is an intensive fascination with American Politics here, they are reported on more than German or European politics, the conventions received amazing coverage. The distance of which I am speaking, was especially felt when voting on California's myriad propositions. I had only heard of a few of them and had no attack ads running through my head! One of the main reasons I stay registered in Fresno County, is to vote against my Congressman, George Radonovich. I was rather disappointed to see he is running unopposed. Hopefully someday!

Sprachkurs

As I was posting my last entry, I realized I had yet to mention the "Sprachkurs" (Language course) I have been taking the last two weeks. Oh, where to begin? It is a class 5 hours a day, 5 days a week. We review German grammar and are there to better our German. My class is primarily comprised of Europeans. There are three French students, and then one from each of the following countries: Hungary, Czech Republic, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, and Switzerland (French speaking). I am joined by two other Americans, one who just finished up at Redlands and surprisingly, a guy from Berkeley. I even took a poetry class with him last semester- talk about a strange stroke of fate. The class is held in Mitte, which is kind of like the Financial District in San Francisco, not so great to grab a bite to eat.

The instructor is a young woman in her late 20's. She has two kids and is a "Waschechte Berliner," a phrase similar in meaning to true blue Berliner. A typical day includes Grammar, Grammar, and more Grammar. I am occasionally a fan of Grammar. In particular, I am fond of crazy grammar forms- like extended adjective modifying phrases in German, and "psychoadverbial phrases" in Yiddish. But reviewing Konjontive II, Passiv, and Prepositions is not exactly my idea of fun. I don't take German because I am in love with Grammar. But Grammar review never hurts, right? WRONG!

I would like to say wrong, but I am actually not sure- so on it goes for two more weeks.


If I had a goal for this course, it would be to begin using adjective endings. I use them, I just don't pay attention to them, who does? Well some people do, I suppose. I'm just not disciplined enough. Give me another couple of years maybe. And if I had another goal, it would be to slow down. I used to speak really quickly in English, it seems I've taken on that trait in German now. Bummer.

Indian Food, Turkish Food, and Poland

As appealing as sausage and more sausage is- the best food Berlin has to offer is usually of the "ethnic" variety. Indian and Turkish food in particular are delicious. My neighborhood (my "Kietz") has fine establishments of both varieties. As per my usual, I am making friends with the owners of these restaurants and reaping the benefits!


My friend at the Turkish place brings me tea when I arrive and knows what I order, although I occasionally mix it up and change my order. I do not know his name, that would ruin the mystery. I think in another month or two we may be able to "Dutzen" and greet each other informally. I am not sure, however, who should initiate the informality. He is older, but I am the customer. It is unclear, I will let nature decide. My friend at the Indian restaurant admires my penchant for spicy food. He makes my food as spicy as possible and smiles admiringly when I finish it all without water after every bite (I usually opt for a mango lassi or glass of wine). An interesting custom in Indian restaurants here, after your meal, when they bring the bill, they give you a shot of homemade mango alcohol, you are expected to drink it. My friend busts out the special stuff for me, to applaud my love of spice.

Much of my relationships with these restaurant owners is based on my regular patronage. It is not, however, that alone. We commiserate over the sudden cold and the relative difficulty in finding spicy food in Germany. It is a solid bond.

For all of you fashion mavens out there- here comes Poland! I am on the hunt for a winter jacket, but have been unsuccessful in finding one I like well enough to buy here. I was asking my roommate for suggestions, and she suggested Poland. It seems Germany has no fashion and if one wishes to be stylishly attired- get thee hence to Poland!

Fall IS Here

It is officially Autumn. Or so I think. This weekend, the temperature dropped about 15 degrees and the sun began to seriously win its game of hide and seek with the clouds gathered over Berlin. Bummer man. Last week was glorious and sunny- but as I scan the forecast for next week, I see that the sun is not coming out to play anytime soon.

To augment the cooler weather, I went to buy some more tights. It was there that I decided, Germany is the country for me. I went to a large department store and found thousands of tights- in hundreds of styles and colors- enough to keep my legs warm during the coming cold and keep me in style! Up to the next floor- hats and scarves galore. The item which sealed the deal, however, were the gloves. Of all colors, materials, and lengths. I was tempted to buy at least three pair right then and there. I did, however, restrain myself. I'd like any gloves to coordinate with the yet-to-be purchased winter coat. In keeping with the cooler mood, I did manage to find, on my neighborhood ramblings, a produce stand with rather delicious clementines. I am not sure what their providence is, but they are delicious none the less.


The weather does not seem to be curtailing the normal German activities, except sadly the tables and benches are beginning to leave side walk cafes. I spent Saturday morning at Treptower park and then moved to my favorite cafe in Kreuzberg when the weather grew too cold. There were a few brave souls outdoors, but inside was far fuller than I had seen it before. And to think, it is only September! Good thing my local coffee place has coffee for 1€.

I went to the evening mass at my local church tonight, it was not heated. I doubt it will be heated as the weather grows colder- but I guess I'll have to wait to see.

White After Labor Day

So I know this rule is fading, and surely has been for a while in California. But, anytime between Labor Day and Easter I cannot help but think twice before putting on white shoes, pants, dresses, or even skirts. Labor Day rolled our way a bit ago- this caused me to begin contemplating the existence of such a "rule" in German culture. My first stop was Melanie, the ever useful roommate.

To make a long conversation short, she had never heard of such a thing. She also thought it was kind of crazy. Later that week, we were walking through Berlin and I saw some Cowboy boots in a shop window. I told her about my Pink Ropers as a girl, how I wore them with everything (especially dresses and skirts as I was never fond of pants) and hardly ever wore socks. This caused me to recall the Stride Rite incident. For the uninformed out there, the Stride Rite incident refers to a shoe shopping incident with my grandmother during the Pink Ropers period.

It was approaching Easter and my grandma was taking me to buy a new pair of white shoes for Easter. As a small child, a measurement of my feet was required. The friendly shoe salesman took my amazingly pink boots off, and with my foot, out came sand, dirt, and other bits of things that do not belong in shoes. And naturally, I wasn't wearing socks. My grandmother was so embarrassed! She did, however, buy me the shoes and a nice pair of white socks with lace around the edges. I still remember them. As much as I remember the story, it is the combination of my hazy patch of memories and my grandmother's almost yearly retelling on my birthday.

Melanie thinks that new Easter dresses and white shoes is an adorable tradition. I can't help but think it colors my impression of childhood. But it seems I can wear white year round without fear of censure here. Good to know.

As an added note- Melanie's birthday is Easter this year. I am so jealous.

2051, here I come!

Mexican Food in Berlin

A friend mentioned tortilla chips and salsa to me yesterday. This set off a major Mexican food craving. So I set out to see what Berlin had to offer. I had been mildly wary. I mean, I wouldn't eat Mexican food in Massachusetts, but I was going to eat it in Berlin?? But hey, I'm going to be here for a year, I thought I might as well see what Berlin has to offer.

I had passed multiple Mexican establishments in my general area (alright, two)- so I decided to try one. They had a nice lunch time special- some of their entrees were half off. Including enchiladas! This was looking alright. I thought, why not go for it? I even had a margarita with lunch, only 3€! Things were looking up.

I was eagerly anticipating my margarita. And it came. It was white. I have never seen a white margarita before. Did they forget the Rose's Lime Juice? I checked back to the menu, it seems their margaritas are made with white tequila, as opposed to our more common gold tequila. And as far as margarita mix goes, it seems some kind of "sour" additive was added, but it just wasn't the same. It was also very strong. And not green. Kind of disappointing.

But to the food! I ordered chicken enchiladas. They came with rice, a salad, and a bit of guacamole on a leaf of red cabbage. Interesting. The enchiladas were not drenched in sauce, kind of a disappointment, and seemed to have been baked- the cheese on them had that appearance. It wasn't that bad, the meat had been marinated. There were no beans. They were missed. The food didn't make me want to cry, unlike a chile relleno I once had in Coeur d'Alene (oh, how could they ever call THAT a chile relleno!!). There wasn't any salsa- but had I been motivated to spend an extra 3€, I could have procured some. My experience with salsa in Germany, and spicy food in general, has however not been inspiring. I bought some salsa at a grocery store, labeled hot- it was somewhere between mild and medium. I asked for spicy sauce on my Döner, it was no where near. I have found Sriracha- and it is amazing. However, I don't think I can carry Sriracha around with me everywhere.

Lunch was okay. Not inspiring. When I came home I did some research, and discovered a Latino grocery store. I plan to travel there this weekend and see if I can procure tortillas! Then maybe I can do some home Mexican cooking to satisfy. A funny side note- Germans pronounce the ll's in tortilla like l's, it seems they missed the part where ll's are y's in Spanish. Or maybe they got their cues from Napoleon Dynamite.

Back to Volkspark Friedrichshain

This early afternoon was quite nice- sunny and warm. So, I went to my favorite Berlin Park, Volkspark Friedrichshain. The contrast between Berlin's pasts is sometimes startling. On my first trip to the park, I was enraptured by the Märchenbrunnen- the beautiful fairy tale fountain of the early 20th century, a great work of the German Cultural Empire. This time, I took a slightly different route in getting there and was treated to one of many Soviet Style Monuments. Monuments to those who died in the war, those who died for Socialism, or the ever popular People's Hero- fighting with his simple weapons. The monument at Volkspark Friedrichshain is quite in keeping with this vein.



The cast iron is in start contrast to the decadent marble of the Märchenbrunnen. And while the Märchenbrunnen are imposing and grand- they are far more friendly than this lonely giant fighting an invisible enemy.

This monument, however, has nothing on the one at Treptower Park, another favorite spot of mine. Talk about imposing.



Berlin is a city full of contrasts, as I write this now, a summer thunderstorm rages outside my windows. And to think, it was so sunny just a short while ago!

Sun! (...and Life Without a Microwave)

Today was a gorgeous day after more than a few with rain. Sunlight streaming through my curtains gently woke me, and motivated my trip to Treptower Park. The S-Bahn was full of people out and about on a Sunday afternoon. It was a special shopping day and the local shopping mall was open from 1pm-6pm and quite a few others throughout the city were as well. (Stores in Germany are rarely open on Sundays) The Sunday shoppers were, however, in the minority when compared to the legions out to catch some sun.

When the S-Bahn arrived at Treptower Park, over two thirds of the very full train exited, many on bikes, a gaggle of small children in strollers, and even a few dogs. Treptower Park is great because it is right on the Spree, Berlin's main river, and is quite a large park. The park was full- full of couples delighting in the sun, old wrinkly men sunbathing, and bicyclists on every possible path. I almost expected some kind of impromptu concert to begin, given the number of people there.


Birds were chirping, the sun warmed skin in lazy afternoon rays, and the water sparkled- it was perfect. I found a spot partly shaded, against a strong oak, and enjoyed my book. I could have spent all day there, but the sun grew cold, as it is wont, and I was obliged to travel back, away from my idyllic setting.

As a side note, I have been in a baking mood as of late, and yesterday I made a quite delicious pizza. This morning, I enjoyed one of my favorite things- leftovers! Leftover pizza in particular makes a delightful breakfast and I usually eat it cold- but this morning I realized that short of heating it in the oven or possibly in a skillet over the stove, that this is how I would be obliged to eat any leftover pizza. I don't have a microwave. At first, I thought, "Hey, I don't use a microwave that often! I'll be fine." But then I thought some more about leftovers, maybe I do. I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Food Cravings!

I love breakfast. Mostly I have yogurt, a banana, and maybe a brötchen with tea. This morning, I woke up around 8.30 and started dreaming about a big American breakfast. Biscuits, an omelet, even bacon was sounding appetizing- my God, what is happening to me? For a few minutes I played around with the idea of French toast, but in the end I knew what I wanted.


Not one to deny Breakfast cravings, and with plenty of time on my hands, I set off around 10am to find the necessary ingredients. I thought to make Angel Biscuits (they require yeast- and I have a lot of yeast from when I made challah- so why not use it?) an omelet and bacon. I already had orange juice, so I was good to go! I did some research, and it seems that there is no difference (that I can find) between baking soda and baking powder in Germany. Anyone who has attempted to make cookies without one of the two, will immediately know this not to be true, but maybe I am not looking hard enough. It also seems that pastry blenders do not exist. Or at least in any of the three stores which I went to and that all sell a wide variety of kitchen items.

But back to breakfast preparations! I found the required ingredients and even managed to find bacon advertised as bacon, it was nice and very, very, very thinly sliced.

Armed with my purchases, I went home and began to make a real American breakfast. Melanie does not work on Fridays, so as I was setting the biscuits to rise, she appeared from her room. I told her I was making a big American Breakfast, so she had to share with me, as that meant a great deal of food! An hour or so later, we feasted on an onion, bell pepper, garlic, and cheese omelet, warm biscuits, and bacon. I had to explain to Melanie that biscuits are something very different in America than the rest of the English speaking world- and were not a sweet twice baked cookie, but rather a delicious bread item.



And the best part about a big American breakfast? It is 5.30pm and I am still full. Plus I have leftover biscuits.

Bring Your Own Missal, really??

On Sunday, I ventured into the local Catholic church for Sunday Mass. I went to the St. Mauritius Kirche, about a 10 minute walk.


I was a bit nervous- having never been to mass in Germany- but thought to myself, "Hey, they'll have a missal or something, then I can follow along with the responses and I'll gradually learn what to say."

I walked up to the brick fortress (as almost all churches in Berlin seem to be), the sound of bells drawing me in on the rainy morning. I entered the church- there appeared to be no bulletin, and the church had no website, but hey I'm just here for church, right? I walked up to a pew in the middle and realized there were no missals, or hymnals. Hmmm...maybe I missed them walking in?? I went back to the foyer, looked around for books and the like, but none were to be found. Hmmm...Then I noticed people already walking in with books. It seems, at least at this church, that we operate under a policy of bring your own missal/hymnal to church!

The mass was very nice, began with the sound of a bell, whereupon everyone stood up and the organ began to play. Then the priest and about 10 Seminarians and 3 alter servers filed in, from the side and rather not down the center aisle. At the end of mass, they once more filed down the side aisle, and after the priest did not guard the door to shake everyone's hands- kind of a disappointment, not going to lie. There was a lot of singing, which was great- but I hadn't brought my own missal/hymnal- so I was out of luck! I was sitting next to two old women, both who didn't have the missal/hymnal, but clearly knew every song already. The general population of the church consists of old woman, a few older couples, a smattering of families, and the rare young and seemingly single person such as me.


As I left, I noticed there was a message board, but it was raining. Provided it does not rain next Sunday, I will have to see what goes on at this church! Wikipedia has told me of the existence of an elementary school connected to the church, and of a Seminary. Clearly the Seminary is to be believed, given the large number of Seminarians.

Today, in search of the mysterious missal/hymnal,I traveled to the one Catholic Book Store I was able to find online in Berlin. It was a charming shop I shall be frequenting again. I was able to find the book- called a Gotteslob, meaning more or less "God's Praise" in English, and had a marvelous conversation with the shopkeeper. In addition to being very helpful, she complimented my German and told me she would have taken me for a true resident of Berlin, had I not told her I was from California! Later, when I got home, I started to go through the book...it has all the songs and a nice collection of prayers for nearly every time of day and event or stage of life- but I have yet to find a complete order of the Mass! I am not even sure what that would be called in German. I have a feeling I will be going back to the shop sooner than anticipated!