by stinaberlin
Monday, October 30, 2006
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Photos updated
Hello friends,
just thought I'd let you know I updated my photo album on Webshots of my apartment. It now shows my kitchen and more pics of my room, plus I added captions. :)
http://community.webshots.com/user/stinaberlin?vhost=community
just thought I'd let you know I updated my photo album on Webshots of my apartment. It now shows my kitchen and more pics of my room, plus I added captions. :)
http://community.webshots.com/user/stinaberlin?vhost=community
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Attack of the Pink Fuzz
Yes, I did pick that title just because I thought it would be a funny title. But I didn't just make it up out of nowhere. I really am being attacked by pink fuzz. Magenta, to be precise.
What is the source of this fuzz? Well, I'm not exactly sure, but there are several suspects. At the top of the list is the magenta chenille blanket I bought at Ikea. Chenille is somewhat infamous for spreading fuzz. I also have a magenta sweatshirt-jacket that could be contributing to the problem, as well as some pinkish purple towels. For the record, I washed all of these, but yet the fuzz remains. The room I'm living in right now has a hardwood floor (and is tiny, remember), and when I set my bag down on the floor and then pick it up, there's pink fuzz all over it. Once I move out (in a week, I hope!) I will vacuum it, but right now it's just too tight in there with my stuff.
Anyways... let's discuss some real news. Namely, the weekend. I had to finish a paper for the language practicum, so that came first. But I also went to a little "housewarming" party at my friend Matt's apartment--the whole BCGS clan has discussed having housewarming parties in all of our new apartments, and Matt was the first to make it happen. At the party we played German Taboo (spelled Tabu) which was hilarious, but of course we had to pass on like half of the cards either because of language or cultural differences that left us totally stumped. The "keine Ahnung" ("no clue") stack got pretty big! It was still fun though. This weekend is a Halloween party at Molly and Andrew's, and I already what I'm going as... but I want it to be a surprise. You'll have to wait for the pictures.
Sunday was pretty awesome, as usual. Great service, then spent the day at the Heimlichs (pastor's house) so I could use the internet with the convenience of wonderful company. :) I worked on my Full Measure arrangement ("Someday" by Nichole Nordeman) and also put some finishing touches on my paper. Tobi came over after awhile and graciously helped me with some grammatical corrections. We also had a hilarious conversation about Berliner dialect and Bavarian dialect. After that Tobi and I went back to the church for a prayer meeting, after which we ate dinner at the super yummy Chinese restaurant underneath our church (we're on the second floor). After that we worked on planning the music for the service for this coming Sunday because the Heimlichs are out of town. By the time we were done with that it was so late I had to ride the "Night-Bus" home. What other people do that late on a Sunday night, I really don't know!
It was no problem though because I don't have class on Mondays. :) So I slept in, printed my paper and turned it in, ran some other errands, and then ended up eating dinner at the nice Italian restaurant nextdoor to my apartment. Jeannie and her mom know the people that work there really well, and actually right now they are doing us a big favor--we only have one key between the two of us for the front door to the apartment, so whoever leaves the apartment last drops off the key there so that whoever comes home first can pick it up there. The people there are super friendly and I actually ended up chatting for awhile with them on Monday, after which they offered me a cup of coffee "on the house". After finishing my coffee I realized how late it was, so I just ate dinner there too. They have really good minestrone soup. :)
After that was music practice at church. It went okay. It's just hard because I just really don't have nearly enough piano or guitar experience to lead worship, but there's no one else to do it! Another women plays about as much guitar and piano as I do, so it works out between the two of us but it's a little shaky. I just don't want to distract people from worshiping. Please pray for me if you think of it!
Not too much else "special" to report on... visited another history class today that I really liked--problem is, I don't need another history class, I need a literature class! But I also visited a lit class today that is a possibility. I went to the Bibel Kreis yesterday too. There was actually a guy there who couldn't speak much German, so the girl from Vanderbilt was translating the whole time. She did an amazing job, but there was one hilarious moment when she got almost all the way through a sentence and then suddenly said, "Wait, what was my verb?" Classic.
That's all for now I believe... post comments! They make me smile. :)
What is the source of this fuzz? Well, I'm not exactly sure, but there are several suspects. At the top of the list is the magenta chenille blanket I bought at Ikea. Chenille is somewhat infamous for spreading fuzz. I also have a magenta sweatshirt-jacket that could be contributing to the problem, as well as some pinkish purple towels. For the record, I washed all of these, but yet the fuzz remains. The room I'm living in right now has a hardwood floor (and is tiny, remember), and when I set my bag down on the floor and then pick it up, there's pink fuzz all over it. Once I move out (in a week, I hope!) I will vacuum it, but right now it's just too tight in there with my stuff.
Anyways... let's discuss some real news. Namely, the weekend. I had to finish a paper for the language practicum, so that came first. But I also went to a little "housewarming" party at my friend Matt's apartment--the whole BCGS clan has discussed having housewarming parties in all of our new apartments, and Matt was the first to make it happen. At the party we played German Taboo (spelled Tabu) which was hilarious, but of course we had to pass on like half of the cards either because of language or cultural differences that left us totally stumped. The "keine Ahnung" ("no clue") stack got pretty big! It was still fun though. This weekend is a Halloween party at Molly and Andrew's, and I already what I'm going as... but I want it to be a surprise. You'll have to wait for the pictures.
Sunday was pretty awesome, as usual. Great service, then spent the day at the Heimlichs (pastor's house) so I could use the internet with the convenience of wonderful company. :) I worked on my Full Measure arrangement ("Someday" by Nichole Nordeman) and also put some finishing touches on my paper. Tobi came over after awhile and graciously helped me with some grammatical corrections. We also had a hilarious conversation about Berliner dialect and Bavarian dialect. After that Tobi and I went back to the church for a prayer meeting, after which we ate dinner at the super yummy Chinese restaurant underneath our church (we're on the second floor). After that we worked on planning the music for the service for this coming Sunday because the Heimlichs are out of town. By the time we were done with that it was so late I had to ride the "Night-Bus" home. What other people do that late on a Sunday night, I really don't know!
It was no problem though because I don't have class on Mondays. :) So I slept in, printed my paper and turned it in, ran some other errands, and then ended up eating dinner at the nice Italian restaurant nextdoor to my apartment. Jeannie and her mom know the people that work there really well, and actually right now they are doing us a big favor--we only have one key between the two of us for the front door to the apartment, so whoever leaves the apartment last drops off the key there so that whoever comes home first can pick it up there. The people there are super friendly and I actually ended up chatting for awhile with them on Monday, after which they offered me a cup of coffee "on the house". After finishing my coffee I realized how late it was, so I just ate dinner there too. They have really good minestrone soup. :)
After that was music practice at church. It went okay. It's just hard because I just really don't have nearly enough piano or guitar experience to lead worship, but there's no one else to do it! Another women plays about as much guitar and piano as I do, so it works out between the two of us but it's a little shaky. I just don't want to distract people from worshiping. Please pray for me if you think of it!
Not too much else "special" to report on... visited another history class today that I really liked--problem is, I don't need another history class, I need a literature class! But I also visited a lit class today that is a possibility. I went to the Bibel Kreis yesterday too. There was actually a guy there who couldn't speak much German, so the girl from Vanderbilt was translating the whole time. She did an amazing job, but there was one hilarious moment when she got almost all the way through a sentence and then suddenly said, "Wait, what was my verb?" Classic.
That's all for now I believe... post comments! They make me smile. :)
Saturday, October 21, 2006
So, I made it through the first week of classes. It doesn't really feel like I went through a normal first week of class because I'm still in the process of visiting classes and trying to decide which ones to take--it's a much harder decision than at Penn. Nonetheless it was a pretty tiring week, especially since I also had to write a 5-page paper this week as my last assignment for the language practicum. I thought I'd have plenty of free time to take my time with it, but my free time likes to pull a disappearing act on me. But I really can't complain--I guess I should've just expected for things to be crazier than normal, you know, being in a foreign country and all...heh...
Here's what I've experienced so far:
A boring, hard to understand, and "Whoa, I know absolutely nothing about German literature" lecture (not going to take this one!)
A really fun history seminar called Television and History--cool prof, met some nice people, only bad thing about it is it's at 8 am!!! In Berlin, in the WINTER!!!!! It is a long, cold, dark trek to class Tuesday mornings... but I think I still want to take the class.
Great Turkish class. It's actually Turkish 2, and I already took Turkish 1 and 2 at Penn, but I forgot a lot and it's a little bit different taking it in German, so I definitely think this is the right level for me right now. I'd rather go back and repeat a few things so that I really learn it well than try to just dive in over my head. Teacher and classmates are really nice, and I actually really like learning Turkish in German, at least so far. I'm actually probably more excited about Turkish right now than anything else!
The course offered through BCGS, which is about the relationship between Germany and the Middle East. I think it'll be interesting and we already know the prof really well, and he's fun.
I also went to a seminar on Kleist (a German author) but I didn't really get too much of a feel for the class because all the prof did was introduce himself, discuss a few logistical things, and said, "Okay, see ya next week!" So I still don't know about that one. Nice thing is, a girl from BCGS who knows a lot more about German lit than I do is taking the course.
In addition to that, I auditioned (and got into) a big choir for students from the FU and the technical university, and that was pretty cool. Very similar to the Choral Society at Penn, which I actually dropped out of after the first few weeks. The thing that's tough about it is that I love singing and I miss choir a lot, but it's just not the same when there's not a whole lot of meaning behind it. With music I always have to ask myself why I'm doing it, and if it's just for the sake of performance, it's not really worth it to me. So, these thoughts are definitely coming up again about this choir here, but I do feel a little more inclined to stick with it this time because it is a cultural experience as well. And I just don't know how much I will have to take voice lessons, especially this semester, and in a choir I can at least keep my voice in shape. We'll see.
Speaking of not having much time this semester, I do have some exciting news--I got than internship! The people I will work with are really nice, and I'm excited about the opportunity. I'll have three main jobs--writing short articles in English for American students preparing to study at the FU, translating articles for a monthly newsletter/magazine that they want to be able to offer in German and in English, and researching various topics that would be relevant for exchange students at the FU. What's nice about it is that it'll only be 5-10 hours a week, flexible scheduling, and it's only for 6 weeks--after 6 weeks I can keep working there if everything is going well, but if it's too much, I'm not obligated. I think that's pretty cool. And, it pays 10€ an hour... with no taxes!!!
Probably my last piece of news is that I am going to become a member of my church here. My pastor asked me about it, and I couldn't really think of a reason not to, so I'm going to do it. I'm really super excited about being part of a church family here--it still amazes me constantly.
Well, I'm hungry, so I think I'll be signing off for now... oh yeah, I have uploaded pictures!!! I have pictures of my apartment (unfortunately right now they're just of my little tiny room where I'm living until November), pictures from Stettin/Sczcecin, and from kite-flying. Here are the links:
http://travel.webshots.com/album/554842136YKXoiY (Just realized this one is incomplete... the photo of my kitchen is missing, and also the photos that show how my bed comes out of the wall...)
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/554846580nbmFeY
http://travel.webshots.com/album/554992735bzyTYO
Much love to everyone!!!
Here's what I've experienced so far:
A boring, hard to understand, and "Whoa, I know absolutely nothing about German literature" lecture (not going to take this one!)
A really fun history seminar called Television and History--cool prof, met some nice people, only bad thing about it is it's at 8 am!!! In Berlin, in the WINTER!!!!! It is a long, cold, dark trek to class Tuesday mornings... but I think I still want to take the class.
Great Turkish class. It's actually Turkish 2, and I already took Turkish 1 and 2 at Penn, but I forgot a lot and it's a little bit different taking it in German, so I definitely think this is the right level for me right now. I'd rather go back and repeat a few things so that I really learn it well than try to just dive in over my head. Teacher and classmates are really nice, and I actually really like learning Turkish in German, at least so far. I'm actually probably more excited about Turkish right now than anything else!
The course offered through BCGS, which is about the relationship between Germany and the Middle East. I think it'll be interesting and we already know the prof really well, and he's fun.
I also went to a seminar on Kleist (a German author) but I didn't really get too much of a feel for the class because all the prof did was introduce himself, discuss a few logistical things, and said, "Okay, see ya next week!" So I still don't know about that one. Nice thing is, a girl from BCGS who knows a lot more about German lit than I do is taking the course.
In addition to that, I auditioned (and got into) a big choir for students from the FU and the technical university, and that was pretty cool. Very similar to the Choral Society at Penn, which I actually dropped out of after the first few weeks. The thing that's tough about it is that I love singing and I miss choir a lot, but it's just not the same when there's not a whole lot of meaning behind it. With music I always have to ask myself why I'm doing it, and if it's just for the sake of performance, it's not really worth it to me. So, these thoughts are definitely coming up again about this choir here, but I do feel a little more inclined to stick with it this time because it is a cultural experience as well. And I just don't know how much I will have to take voice lessons, especially this semester, and in a choir I can at least keep my voice in shape. We'll see.
Speaking of not having much time this semester, I do have some exciting news--I got than internship! The people I will work with are really nice, and I'm excited about the opportunity. I'll have three main jobs--writing short articles in English for American students preparing to study at the FU, translating articles for a monthly newsletter/magazine that they want to be able to offer in German and in English, and researching various topics that would be relevant for exchange students at the FU. What's nice about it is that it'll only be 5-10 hours a week, flexible scheduling, and it's only for 6 weeks--after 6 weeks I can keep working there if everything is going well, but if it's too much, I'm not obligated. I think that's pretty cool. And, it pays 10€ an hour... with no taxes!!!
Probably my last piece of news is that I am going to become a member of my church here. My pastor asked me about it, and I couldn't really think of a reason not to, so I'm going to do it. I'm really super excited about being part of a church family here--it still amazes me constantly.
Well, I'm hungry, so I think I'll be signing off for now... oh yeah, I have uploaded pictures!!! I have pictures of my apartment (unfortunately right now they're just of my little tiny room where I'm living until November), pictures from Stettin/Sczcecin, and from kite-flying. Here are the links:
http://travel.webshots.com/album/554842136YKXoiY (Just realized this one is incomplete... the photo of my kitchen is missing, and also the photos that show how my bed comes out of the wall...)
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/554846580nbmFeY
http://travel.webshots.com/album/554992735bzyTYO
Much love to everyone!!!
Friday, October 13, 2006
Abendmahl, Kite-flying, Hoopla!, Cosi fan tutte, Heimweh, Paid internship?!?!, Bibel Kreis
Yikes, much to update on... I think I will organize it into chapters. :)
Abendmahl.
I had Communion for the first time here on Sunday. It was pretty cool. Communioon for me is always a reminder of two major things: first of all, Christ's sacrifice on the cross for our sins, and second of all, that we are all one body in Christ. Sharing in Communion at a church in Germany was just awesome... it reminded me how cool it is that Jesus paid the price for the sins of all men all over the world, and all over the world we have brothers and sisters in Christ.
Kite-flying.
After church on Sunday, a really nice family invited me over for the afternoon to eat lunch with them, fly kites in the park, and then have Abendbrot as well. It was so much fun!!! I don't think I've ever realy flown a kite in the US, but it was so much fun and it was the perfect day for it. It was really windy, and we went to this park that has this big open hillside. I seriously think everyone in Berlin was there flying kites that day! I'd never seen so many. Also, the kids in the family (age 7 and 9) were super sweet. I had tons of fun. I am so thankful for all these nice families here!
Hoopla!
This is my new favorite German word. Gmail says it whenever something goes wrong, like if you try to send an email but youÄve lost your connection or something. But I never heard a real person say it until Sunday in the park. Whenever the kite would come crashing down to the ground, they'd say, "Hoopla!"
Cosi fan tutte.
On Monday night, we went to the opera! It was totally awesome. We saw Cosi fan tutte (Mozart) at the Komische Oper (Comic Opera? Comedic Opera? Don't know what it is in English) and it was hilarious. They did a German translation and then through in some modern twists. We had a great time. The soprano was also totally amazing and made me realy want to get back to voice lessons!
Heimweh.
The German word for Hmesickness. I had a little bit of it this week, but I think it really had more to do with the fact that I was super tired. What's really interesting though is that I actually had a couple dreams this week in which for some reason I went home early, and in my dreams I was totally bummed not to be in Germany anymore and speaking German. I guess it was a reminder to be thankful for my opportunities here. I really love Berlin, I mainly just wish that everyone I love back home was here too! Such is life... :)
Paid internship?!?!
One little thing that helped cheer me up this week: My teacher for the language practicum told me this week that a woman from Distributed Campus--a web service for international students at the FU--is looking to hire a student to conduct interviews with international students and write and translate texts relevant to international students at the FU. He told me he recommended me to her and gave me her contact information so I could write to her. I did of course, and I sent her my German resume!, and she wrote me back saying she thought I sounded like a great candidate and she wanted to schedule a time next week to meet with me. How cool is that? I never expected anything like that and I was flattered that my teacher thought of me for the position.
Bibel Kreis.
Today I went to a Bible study (or Bibel Kreis, literally "Bible circle") at the FU. It's a smal group of students but it was a great time of worship and Bible study. I really enjoyed spending time with some German Christians my age, and I also met an American grad student from Vanderbilt who happens to know my German tutor from high school! We enjoyed the time and are going to try to coordinate our schedules so we can find a good time for Bible study during the semester.
Other stuff.
Classes start next week, and I'm kinda nervous. I really don't know what I want to take. Fortunatey I have awhile to "shop around" before I have to officially decide, but it's still kinda stressful and scary. However, the language practicum is over, and though I enjoyed it, it feels good to have completed it. Things are about to start picking up here. Real classes for one thing, but also extracurricular stuff... I plan to audition for a choir next week, and I might also look into taking voice lessons. We'll see how everything goes. Pictures are still on the way--I need to find an internet cafe where I can use my laptop and have faster internet. I miss you all and I hope to hear from everyone soon--don't forget that you don't have to have a Blgger account to post a comment here on my blog. Much love to everyone!!
Abendmahl.
I had Communion for the first time here on Sunday. It was pretty cool. Communioon for me is always a reminder of two major things: first of all, Christ's sacrifice on the cross for our sins, and second of all, that we are all one body in Christ. Sharing in Communion at a church in Germany was just awesome... it reminded me how cool it is that Jesus paid the price for the sins of all men all over the world, and all over the world we have brothers and sisters in Christ.
Kite-flying.
After church on Sunday, a really nice family invited me over for the afternoon to eat lunch with them, fly kites in the park, and then have Abendbrot as well. It was so much fun!!! I don't think I've ever realy flown a kite in the US, but it was so much fun and it was the perfect day for it. It was really windy, and we went to this park that has this big open hillside. I seriously think everyone in Berlin was there flying kites that day! I'd never seen so many. Also, the kids in the family (age 7 and 9) were super sweet. I had tons of fun. I am so thankful for all these nice families here!
Hoopla!
This is my new favorite German word. Gmail says it whenever something goes wrong, like if you try to send an email but youÄve lost your connection or something. But I never heard a real person say it until Sunday in the park. Whenever the kite would come crashing down to the ground, they'd say, "Hoopla!"
Cosi fan tutte.
On Monday night, we went to the opera! It was totally awesome. We saw Cosi fan tutte (Mozart) at the Komische Oper (Comic Opera? Comedic Opera? Don't know what it is in English) and it was hilarious. They did a German translation and then through in some modern twists. We had a great time. The soprano was also totally amazing and made me realy want to get back to voice lessons!
Heimweh.
The German word for Hmesickness. I had a little bit of it this week, but I think it really had more to do with the fact that I was super tired. What's really interesting though is that I actually had a couple dreams this week in which for some reason I went home early, and in my dreams I was totally bummed not to be in Germany anymore and speaking German. I guess it was a reminder to be thankful for my opportunities here. I really love Berlin, I mainly just wish that everyone I love back home was here too! Such is life... :)
Paid internship?!?!
One little thing that helped cheer me up this week: My teacher for the language practicum told me this week that a woman from Distributed Campus--a web service for international students at the FU--is looking to hire a student to conduct interviews with international students and write and translate texts relevant to international students at the FU. He told me he recommended me to her and gave me her contact information so I could write to her. I did of course, and I sent her my German resume!, and she wrote me back saying she thought I sounded like a great candidate and she wanted to schedule a time next week to meet with me. How cool is that? I never expected anything like that and I was flattered that my teacher thought of me for the position.
Bibel Kreis.
Today I went to a Bible study (or Bibel Kreis, literally "Bible circle") at the FU. It's a smal group of students but it was a great time of worship and Bible study. I really enjoyed spending time with some German Christians my age, and I also met an American grad student from Vanderbilt who happens to know my German tutor from high school! We enjoyed the time and are going to try to coordinate our schedules so we can find a good time for Bible study during the semester.
Other stuff.
Classes start next week, and I'm kinda nervous. I really don't know what I want to take. Fortunatey I have awhile to "shop around" before I have to officially decide, but it's still kinda stressful and scary. However, the language practicum is over, and though I enjoyed it, it feels good to have completed it. Things are about to start picking up here. Real classes for one thing, but also extracurricular stuff... I plan to audition for a choir next week, and I might also look into taking voice lessons. We'll see how everything goes. Pictures are still on the way--I need to find an internet cafe where I can use my laptop and have faster internet. I miss you all and I hope to hear from everyone soon--don't forget that you don't have to have a Blgger account to post a comment here on my blog. Much love to everyone!!
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Day of German One-ness, Poland, and a German lesson from a 3-year-old
I.E., my week. :) It's been a rather exciting week, so there's much to update on...
Monday was my last day with my host family. Oddly enough, they weren't home for dinner, so I got to go out with some friends to celebrate the Day of German Unity ("Tag der deutschen Einheit"--"Einheit" actually means one-ness) in front of the Brandenburg Gate. The actual holiday was Tuesday, but Germans know how to party, so they made it a four-day weekend event. :) It was actually WAY cool. Especially to be celebrating that in Berlin. In front of the Brandenburg Gate there were all these tents set up for beer, sweets, souvenirs, etc., and there was also a big stage for a band and even a ferris wheel! We had a lot of fun an dI bught a cool t-shirt with the Berlin "Ampelmann" (stoplight-man) on it. That's the little green guy above my picture on the right. The "walk" and "don't walk" lights in East Berlin were different from those in West Berlin, and it just so happens that the East German ones were super cute. Instead of a lame little stick-figure, he's a plump little guy who looks rather jolly, wearing his little hat and crossing the street. His red counterpart is also cute - the shirt has the green guy on the front and the red on the back. Anyways, sorry for the tangent, but today the East-Berlin Ampelmann is just a symbol for Berlin as a whole - there are even some East-Berlin stoplights now in west Berlin! - and a rather trendy one at that. I think it's cute. :) I should also mention there was a whole tent devoted to Haribo candies. They had everything! Oh yeah, and you know those German roasted nuts you can buy sometimes at the mall? They actually are German! They had them at the celebration and they were soooooo good.
Tuesday we didn't have class because of the holiday, so most of us used the day to move into our new apartments. That went really well. My roommate, Jeannie, is so nice!!! Her parents live only 5 minutes away, so her mom was actually there too to write up the rent contract and stuff. She was super nice too. She treated us to lunch at the little Italian/pizza place just down the street from us. They know all the people that work there practically like family and they were all super nice and interested in where I came from and all that. It was really fun.
My apartment is also pretty cool. Right now I am actually not living in my room. The guy who has been living there found out he had to stay an extra month right after Jeannie said I could have the room, so for October I pay only half rent and I'm living in the spare third room, which is too tiny to live in for a year but no big deal for a month. During the year we'll use it for eating meals and for extra closet space, but right now it's my room. My bed comes out of the wall. It's so cool. It's kind of annoying that I have to put my bed away before I can access the clothes in my closet (photos coming soon!), but it's also a good thing for me because it means that once I get up and get dressed, I can't lay back down in my bed and fall asleep again! (Mom, you should've thought of that years ago!!) Jeannie also brought me an extra TV they had at their house, so I have my own TV for the first time ever. Only problem is, TV is way more tempting here because I can convince myself it's "homework". :) Other than moving in I didn't really do much. I thought we might go back to Brandenburg Gate but everyone else was also busy moving in and getting settled. Late that night I heard people setting off fireworks. I think that's so cool.
The rest of the week was pretty normal. Then on Friday, we of course had an "excursion," this time to Poland! We went to Stettin, which is the German spelling for Sczcecin, pronounced something like "shchehcheen". Yes, that's correct... a "sh" and a "ch" put together. The weather was terrible but we still had a good time. The city is really pretty and has a cool history - it's really close to the German border and located on the Ostsee (the Baltic Sea?). In olden days it was part of the German state of Pommerania, then of course later it was conquered by Hitler and then ruled by Communism under the control of the USSR. History has made it's mark on Stettin - we saw super-old churches and a palace (one church was built in the 12th century!) but also tons of buildings that serve as evidence of WWII and Communism... buidings that were used for Communist headquarters, buildings that just barely survived WWII and haven't been renovated... pretty amazing. After a tour of the city and a boat ride around the harbor (which were unfortunately cold and rainy), we ate at an awesome Russian restaurant. Then we had about an hour and a half of free time, so we went to the mall because stuff in Poland is cheap. :) Fortunately one of the girls in BCGS is Polish, so she was our translator for the day and got us around where we needed to go. We were all very thankful for her! Don't worry, photos from the trip are on the way.
Today I went over to the church to practice the music for tomorrow morning, and that was fun. I've gotten to learn a bunch of cool German worship songs. :) Afterward Manu invited me over for lunch, and I actually ended up spending the whole afternoon there. Lunch was nice, and I also got to play with their little ones, particularly Robert, their 3-year-old. We put together puzzles, which was cool because this one puzzle was of Noah's ark with all the animals, and Robert got to teach me the names of all the animals I didn't know. So I had a German lesson from a 3-year-old. :) Manu and I also had some great conversations, which was really nice. Then Tobi dropped by and offered to take me with him to Ikea, since both of us had stuff we needed to buy there. That was a fun trip. Ikea is nuts.
And now, here I am, back at my apartment. Doing laundry... yippee. :) Special shout-out to Alan, it's his birthday today!!! Much love to everyone... I've got some postcards I want to send, hopefully one of these days I'll quit being lazy and actually send them. :)
Monday was my last day with my host family. Oddly enough, they weren't home for dinner, so I got to go out with some friends to celebrate the Day of German Unity ("Tag der deutschen Einheit"--"Einheit" actually means one-ness) in front of the Brandenburg Gate. The actual holiday was Tuesday, but Germans know how to party, so they made it a four-day weekend event. :) It was actually WAY cool. Especially to be celebrating that in Berlin. In front of the Brandenburg Gate there were all these tents set up for beer, sweets, souvenirs, etc., and there was also a big stage for a band and even a ferris wheel! We had a lot of fun an dI bught a cool t-shirt with the Berlin "Ampelmann" (stoplight-man) on it. That's the little green guy above my picture on the right. The "walk" and "don't walk" lights in East Berlin were different from those in West Berlin, and it just so happens that the East German ones were super cute. Instead of a lame little stick-figure, he's a plump little guy who looks rather jolly, wearing his little hat and crossing the street. His red counterpart is also cute - the shirt has the green guy on the front and the red on the back. Anyways, sorry for the tangent, but today the East-Berlin Ampelmann is just a symbol for Berlin as a whole - there are even some East-Berlin stoplights now in west Berlin! - and a rather trendy one at that. I think it's cute. :) I should also mention there was a whole tent devoted to Haribo candies. They had everything! Oh yeah, and you know those German roasted nuts you can buy sometimes at the mall? They actually are German! They had them at the celebration and they were soooooo good.
Tuesday we didn't have class because of the holiday, so most of us used the day to move into our new apartments. That went really well. My roommate, Jeannie, is so nice!!! Her parents live only 5 minutes away, so her mom was actually there too to write up the rent contract and stuff. She was super nice too. She treated us to lunch at the little Italian/pizza place just down the street from us. They know all the people that work there practically like family and they were all super nice and interested in where I came from and all that. It was really fun.
My apartment is also pretty cool. Right now I am actually not living in my room. The guy who has been living there found out he had to stay an extra month right after Jeannie said I could have the room, so for October I pay only half rent and I'm living in the spare third room, which is too tiny to live in for a year but no big deal for a month. During the year we'll use it for eating meals and for extra closet space, but right now it's my room. My bed comes out of the wall. It's so cool. It's kind of annoying that I have to put my bed away before I can access the clothes in my closet (photos coming soon!), but it's also a good thing for me because it means that once I get up and get dressed, I can't lay back down in my bed and fall asleep again! (Mom, you should've thought of that years ago!!) Jeannie also brought me an extra TV they had at their house, so I have my own TV for the first time ever. Only problem is, TV is way more tempting here because I can convince myself it's "homework". :) Other than moving in I didn't really do much. I thought we might go back to Brandenburg Gate but everyone else was also busy moving in and getting settled. Late that night I heard people setting off fireworks. I think that's so cool.
The rest of the week was pretty normal. Then on Friday, we of course had an "excursion," this time to Poland! We went to Stettin, which is the German spelling for Sczcecin, pronounced something like "shchehcheen". Yes, that's correct... a "sh" and a "ch" put together. The weather was terrible but we still had a good time. The city is really pretty and has a cool history - it's really close to the German border and located on the Ostsee (the Baltic Sea?). In olden days it was part of the German state of Pommerania, then of course later it was conquered by Hitler and then ruled by Communism under the control of the USSR. History has made it's mark on Stettin - we saw super-old churches and a palace (one church was built in the 12th century!) but also tons of buildings that serve as evidence of WWII and Communism... buidings that were used for Communist headquarters, buildings that just barely survived WWII and haven't been renovated... pretty amazing. After a tour of the city and a boat ride around the harbor (which were unfortunately cold and rainy), we ate at an awesome Russian restaurant. Then we had about an hour and a half of free time, so we went to the mall because stuff in Poland is cheap. :) Fortunately one of the girls in BCGS is Polish, so she was our translator for the day and got us around where we needed to go. We were all very thankful for her! Don't worry, photos from the trip are on the way.
Today I went over to the church to practice the music for tomorrow morning, and that was fun. I've gotten to learn a bunch of cool German worship songs. :) Afterward Manu invited me over for lunch, and I actually ended up spending the whole afternoon there. Lunch was nice, and I also got to play with their little ones, particularly Robert, their 3-year-old. We put together puzzles, which was cool because this one puzzle was of Noah's ark with all the animals, and Robert got to teach me the names of all the animals I didn't know. So I had a German lesson from a 3-year-old. :) Manu and I also had some great conversations, which was really nice. Then Tobi dropped by and offered to take me with him to Ikea, since both of us had stuff we needed to buy there. That was a fun trip. Ikea is nuts.
And now, here I am, back at my apartment. Doing laundry... yippee. :) Special shout-out to Alan, it's his birthday today!!! Much love to everyone... I've got some postcards I want to send, hopefully one of these days I'll quit being lazy and actually send them. :)
Monday, October 02, 2006
My awesome-est day in Berlin thus far
Yesterday was so awesome!
We had our normal worship service in Pankow in the morning, and it was really nice. I got to sing and "play" a tiny bit of piano, which is always fun, but the sermon also really spoke to me. The kids did this really cool thing in the service with us. We went through the Scriptures of the first 7 days when God created the earth, and the kids got to set up different things that He made - the sun, moon, stars, animals, etc. For the animals they all brought in some of their favorite stuffed animals, it was so sweet. The sermon then was about why God created us - not because He was lonely, not because He was bored, but because it brought Him joy, and everything He created could honor Him. The point that really hit home for me: All the other things God created glorify and honor Him just by their existence. The beauty and complexity of the heavens and the earth and everything in them reveal the glory of the Lord just in their existence. But we humans are different. We honor God when we come to Him to fulfill our deepest longings--when we recognize that He alone can do that and we put our trust in Him. It's like a child who comes to his father when he needs something to drink--he recognizes that Dad can provide that, and he can't just do it himself. It's so amazing when you think of it... we glorify God by coming to Him with open hands. Wow.
This weekend I had my first little pangs of homesickness--nothing really bad, just that strange feeling you get when you've spent more time alone than you usually do, and you're not in contact with many people, and you don't have anything special to do. That feeling when you just sigh and wonder what the people you love are doing, and then of course you start to wish you were there too. It's a very natural thing. I went to church yesterday with that feeling, but during the service it somehow started to melt away when I realized that only God can fulfill that longing in me. That sounds really strange--that only God can fulfill your longing for something or someone else. But it's true. And it's really quite comforting, since people and things can't be in all places at all times, but God can!
So, that was my awesome morning. After church was a nice lunch--someone always cooks lunch at the church and then we all eat together, it's really cool. Afterward I stayed there for the afternoon and studied a little for a test I had today, since I didn't want to ride the subway all the way back to Schöneberg, just to turn around an hour or so later and ride all the way back to Pankow. And I had to do that because...
There was a special evening service for the baptism of two men in our church. It was so amazing! Both of these men came to the Lord through the big evangelism event that the church had back in July--some of you have heard me talk about it before. It was so exciting to hear their testimonies and witness their baptism, and it was also exciting for our pastor because it was his first time to baptize people. The service was really cool too. I sang a few songs with a couple other guys, but there was also an Angolian choir that sang in the service. They were awesome! They also sang at the thing back in July and wanted to come back for the baptism. It was exciting.
After the service, some of us went to the Philharmonic and then to dinner afterwards, to celebrate. :) The Berlin Philharmonic is awesome! They performed Brahams' German Requiem, which is pretty cool. My ticket was also only 10€, which is just cool. Cheap but awesome music is always great! Afterward we ate at a little Italian place, where I ordered a glass of ice water!!! It was so excitin!!! I was sort of complaining to my friend in the restaurant about how I can never get ice water, and he was like, "Yeah you can, just ask for it!" That made me feel a little silly. But I did, expecting the waitor to give me a funny look (like most waitors do when I order tap water), but he was super friendly and said, "Of course!" AND, he brought me a big glass--not one of those lame tiny ones they usually give you that's barely bigger than a shot glass. If I'd had my camera with me, I would've taken a picture of it. It was quite exciting.
By then I was exhausted, went home, and crashed. Tomorrow is a holiday, so I hope to do lots of fun things in the next 24 hours. I'll report on anything exciting. :)
Much love,
Christina
We had our normal worship service in Pankow in the morning, and it was really nice. I got to sing and "play" a tiny bit of piano, which is always fun, but the sermon also really spoke to me. The kids did this really cool thing in the service with us. We went through the Scriptures of the first 7 days when God created the earth, and the kids got to set up different things that He made - the sun, moon, stars, animals, etc. For the animals they all brought in some of their favorite stuffed animals, it was so sweet. The sermon then was about why God created us - not because He was lonely, not because He was bored, but because it brought Him joy, and everything He created could honor Him. The point that really hit home for me: All the other things God created glorify and honor Him just by their existence. The beauty and complexity of the heavens and the earth and everything in them reveal the glory of the Lord just in their existence. But we humans are different. We honor God when we come to Him to fulfill our deepest longings--when we recognize that He alone can do that and we put our trust in Him. It's like a child who comes to his father when he needs something to drink--he recognizes that Dad can provide that, and he can't just do it himself. It's so amazing when you think of it... we glorify God by coming to Him with open hands. Wow.
This weekend I had my first little pangs of homesickness--nothing really bad, just that strange feeling you get when you've spent more time alone than you usually do, and you're not in contact with many people, and you don't have anything special to do. That feeling when you just sigh and wonder what the people you love are doing, and then of course you start to wish you were there too. It's a very natural thing. I went to church yesterday with that feeling, but during the service it somehow started to melt away when I realized that only God can fulfill that longing in me. That sounds really strange--that only God can fulfill your longing for something or someone else. But it's true. And it's really quite comforting, since people and things can't be in all places at all times, but God can!
So, that was my awesome morning. After church was a nice lunch--someone always cooks lunch at the church and then we all eat together, it's really cool. Afterward I stayed there for the afternoon and studied a little for a test I had today, since I didn't want to ride the subway all the way back to Schöneberg, just to turn around an hour or so later and ride all the way back to Pankow. And I had to do that because...
There was a special evening service for the baptism of two men in our church. It was so amazing! Both of these men came to the Lord through the big evangelism event that the church had back in July--some of you have heard me talk about it before. It was so exciting to hear their testimonies and witness their baptism, and it was also exciting for our pastor because it was his first time to baptize people. The service was really cool too. I sang a few songs with a couple other guys, but there was also an Angolian choir that sang in the service. They were awesome! They also sang at the thing back in July and wanted to come back for the baptism. It was exciting.
After the service, some of us went to the Philharmonic and then to dinner afterwards, to celebrate. :) The Berlin Philharmonic is awesome! They performed Brahams' German Requiem, which is pretty cool. My ticket was also only 10€, which is just cool. Cheap but awesome music is always great! Afterward we ate at a little Italian place, where I ordered a glass of ice water!!! It was so excitin!!! I was sort of complaining to my friend in the restaurant about how I can never get ice water, and he was like, "Yeah you can, just ask for it!" That made me feel a little silly. But I did, expecting the waitor to give me a funny look (like most waitors do when I order tap water), but he was super friendly and said, "Of course!" AND, he brought me a big glass--not one of those lame tiny ones they usually give you that's barely bigger than a shot glass. If I'd had my camera with me, I would've taken a picture of it. It was quite exciting.
By then I was exhausted, went home, and crashed. Tomorrow is a holiday, so I hope to do lots of fun things in the next 24 hours. I'll report on anything exciting. :)
Much love,
Christina
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