Sunny Days

Yesterday was the first sunny day in Berlin since I arrived and I couldn't have been happier. Walking down the street in a jersey dress, the wind-blowing in my hair, and NeedtoBreathe rocking on my Ipod, I've never felt better about my life. And as I'm walking past the cute little cafes and everyone's staring I try to convince myself its because I look so good and not because my rainbows, pink Ipod, and bright green dress clearly mark me as an American. But as the sun shines and I walk confidently to the U-bahn station, I find myself taking ownership of this city. No, I have a long way to go before I know all there is to know about this place but I don't get lost anymore and I know where H&M is so I seem to be on the right track.

So as I walk in the finally warm weather (warm being low 70s) I start to think about my life. Full of plans and Momagendas, I always know where I'm going next and what I'm expected to do. And while there's just NO way I could live the rest of my life like that, its nice to have a four month reprieve. What am i doing this afternoon? good question. And what city am I visiting next weekend? something else I haven't figured out. And as time goes on I'm finding that significantly less stressful and unbelievably freeing.

Schokolade ist Fantastich!

You guessed it. Chocolate is fantastic. And I believe the Berliner's would agree.

Yesterday when we took a quick break on our bus tour we stopped at a chocolate store called Fassbender & Rausch. Not only was the chocolate unbelievable but they had sculptures of different famous sites in Berlin (and the Titanic) made completely out of chocolate! It was unbelievable!

The Reichstag

Kaiser-Wilhelm Church

The Brandenburg Gate














The Titanic

I sure hope I don't starve.

So far Berlin has been absolutely wonderful but as time passes on I'm beginning to see some major flaws in my plan. The biggest of them all is the food situation.

I went to the grocery store, Lidl, with Perry the other day and let's just say it was interesting. First of all, the Germans put breaks on their grocery carts so in order to use one you have to put 1 euro into this slit in the basket for the break to release. That doesn't sound hard. right? well, needless to say its not that easy and Perry and I got yelled at by the grocery store employee when we asked for help.

To make matters worse, here we are in the middle of a German grocery store with words we don't know and brnads we've never heard of. So we purchased a few necesitties and got out of their as fast as we could. When I got home I decided to take a look around the kitchen to see where exactly I'll be cooking all of my meals. I see the small oven, the mini-fridge, the toaster, the stove. But where's the microwave? I look and I look and I look. and STILL NO MICROWAVE!! So now I can't even use leftovers as a meal. What am I going to do!?

I'm never leaving. EVER.

Well it's been a crazy couple of days trying to get life set up here in Berlin but I think I'm almost there and would like to catch you up.

Wednesday, we went and bought our German cell phones which was stressful. Cell phone plans stress me out in English, imagine doing it in German. But we went to Alexanderplatz to purchase the phones which gave us the chance to see the world clock and the Fernsehturm. We went back to fill out our visa information which made us all feel pretty important and official. The only down part about it is that we had to give our passports up for 3 weeks which makes us all a little nervous! Kalen, Sarah, and I snuck a quick trip to the Brandenburg gate before we met our mentors.Later that evening we went to an Indian restaurant with the whole program and then to the Prater Bier Garten which is the oldest in Berlin.

Thursday we sat in orientation sessions for much of the day learning all about safety in Berlin. We took a lunch break to this cute little restaurant down the street (with blankets on the couches outside) but later found out that it was super tourist when I waiter refused to speak to us in German and reminded us that we should tip him (which is not hte way German restaurants work!) After a miserable trip to the grocery store, Perry, Dan, and I wen to the Nationalgalerie Museum because all the museums on Museum Island are free on Thursday nights! The collection was wonderful and we even got to some Monet and Renoir! We met up with some other people to grab a drink before we called it a night right down the street from my apartment!

We started Friday with our German placement test which decides which section of the intensive German class we'll be in for the next 3 weeks. I'm a little bit nervous about it but am hoping that I did OK. We headed to "!2 Apostel," a restaurant right by Museum Island, for lunch and then went on a Stadtrundfahrt (bus tour) of Berlin. We saw nearly everything there is to see in the city and also got a feel for the lay of the land. After coming back home I met up with a couple people for a stroll through the Turkische Markt in my neighborhood which was unbelievable. Don't worry I'll be headed back there when it opens again on Tuesday. To finish of the night we did a Kneipentour (pub crawl) with our Humboldt University student mentors which was a lot of fun and a great way to get to know some people better.

Bipolar Berlin

August 26, 2008

Oh Berlin. How you have overwhelmed me. This is the first thing i saw when I came out of the train station. Not exactly what I was expecting to see. But truly beautiful in its own way.

Today was a mixture of excitement and nerves that had me both laughing and crying. And instead of trying to explain it all I'll tell you this. Today was an unbelievably stressful day trying to get to Berlin, to the center, and then marching around Berlin trying to get this form and that form taken care of. By the end of it all I just wanted to get to my family because the people I was with at the center were not my favorite. But when it came time for families to arrive I was informed that someone elses host parent was going to take me to my apartment because my host mom was still on vacation.

After being greeted by mom host sister (who doesn't live with us) I went down for dinner with Diana and her host mom who is "exchange-student-sitting" me while my host mom is away.

My fake exchange mom took me and Diana on a walk around Kreuzberg where we met up with Hilly for a beer. We sat on this incredibly historic bridge no more than a mile from the wall and took in the expereince. A street band and a bridge full of relaxed people help take the edge off of a stressful day and gave me some perspective. I am no here to run around Berlin checking off my list of things to do. I'm here to do life and to do it just like the Germans.

Which leads me to the wonderful old man who i met on this bridge who took an hour out of his evening to sit with me and tell me all about the history of the bridge, life with the wall, and the current social problems that have yet to be restored. For example, every synagogue has major security because they fear the neo-nazis and the constant struggle of the Turkish people to immigrate with the Berliners. I'll spare you all the details but just know that my heart was starting to race as he explained the incredibly rich history that was underneath my feet. And to think, it was only a handful of years ago.

Athens Airport

Tuesday August 26, 2008

My nerves have subsided (kinda) and I’m sitting at the Athens airport waiting for my flight to Berlin! Just wanted to check in quickly and let you know that there is the most adorable little German girl running around the gate speaking…you guessed it….GERMAN!! Should I be concerned that her grammar is better than mine??

The whole world in His hands

Athens
Monday August 25

What an EARLY morning of traveling! Waking up at 5:15 felt almost as wonderful as going to bed at 6:00 am but we have arrived in Athens where we are currently sitting in our dorm sized room with 5 beds and no air conditioning. Needless to say I’m sweating like you wouldn’t believe it.

When we were driving in from the Athens airport we passed through a section of the city that made me weary of our visit but once we made it to Plaka, the section of Athens we stayed in, things tuned up. With narrow streets and vendors galore we had a wonderful day just wandering around (and shopping, duh). We even found a Starbucks!!

The Acropolis was absolutely amazing and the view of Athens from the top of the hill was unbelievable. We took a dorky tri-delt picture which I thought you might enjoy!

After the Acropolis we went to the Areopagus which is the rock from which Paul spoke in Acts 17:16-34. It was INCREDIBLE to stand there and imagine Paul preaching to the people of Athens about their unknown gods. And as I looked around I could see some of the remaining temples of their gods which made his words even that much stronger. And then he proclaims to the Athenians, “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and of earth, and does not live in temples built by human hands, nor is he served by human hands as if he needed anything, since he himself gave all men life, breathe, and everything else. And he made from one man every nation of men so that they might inhabit the entire earth, having determined allotted periods and boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one us, for in him we live and move and have our being.” This verse has always been a powerful description of the might of the Lord and his incredible love for us but it truly came to life as I stood around looking at the temples and the Agora marketplace.

And beyond being a once in a life time chance to stand at the Areopagus, it was excellent reminder of the power and love of Christ as I begin to freak out about Berlin. God made the world and everything in it and he made from one man every nation of men so that they might inhabit the whole earth. The people of Berlin, although vastly different from the people of Houston or Winston-Salem, are God’s people. And in the end, He has the whole world in his hands.

Goodbye from Santorini.

Final Thoughts on Santorini
Santorini was absolutely gorgeous! If you ever visit RENT A 4-WHEELER! Walking is borderline miserable and the buses just make you nauseas. But other than that the trip was fabulous. In retrospect, I’m not sure I would have gotten on the plane last Tuesday if I hadn't been coming here first to meet my friends. It gave me something to be excited about to take away all of the anxiety that I was (and am) feeling about Berlin.

We’ve also had a lot of trouble with English. And while I wish I was referring to finding people who speak English, I am actually referring to our ability to speak with proper grammar. After constantly trying to converse with people from all over the world (literally) I find myself leaving out words and phrases so that I can get straight to the point. For example: What is the name of this song? to How you call (point to speakers)?

On another note: People in this part of the world are SO nice. I know we feel like they have some major flaws, aka no deodorant, but they are so friendly and so generous. Take for example the guys that helped us when we stepped on the ahenus. Not only did they help us out with our feet and throughout the rest of our trip, we are meeting up with them in Athens for a tour of the Acropolis. Its wonderful stories like that and spur of the moment, genuine conversations with English lads that make you wonder if the Americans have been the rude ones all along.

The Hot(t) Beaches

Santorini Day 5
Sunday August 24

We spent the afternoon at Perivolas (I’m totally making up the spelling) on the black sand beaches. It was absolutely gorgeous! The sand was burning hot but then again what do you expect from small black pebbles that sit in the sun! Here’s the only picture I got at the beach. Why didn’t you take more pictures at such a beautiful beach? Excellent question. Answer: This was the ONLY shot I could get without someone topless or a couple making out. So enjoy!

We headed back to Fira for an early dinner of chicken souvlaki in pita at this little hole in the wall restaurant which was absolutely delicious!! And what topped it off was a glorious medley of American pop music form the 80’s and 90’s. So not only did we get a fabulous meal we got a sing-a-long too!

On our way to Perivolas this morning we met three guys from England who were here on holiday who we met up with later to discuss the many stereotypes of our two countries. After a MUCH earlier night we are back at our villa and going to steal a couple of precious hours of sleep before we leave at 5:45 for Athens.

Goodbye from Santorini.

My date with the donkey

Saturday August 23, 2008
Santorini Day 4

After a fun night out, we took the morning off and slept in. Once we got out act together we headed to Santos Winery right outside of Fira where we weren’t able to tour the winery in English but settled for a glass of semi sweet rosa wine which was delicious.

We spent the afternoon wandering around Fira which included a text message to our new Greek friends, a chat with Zacho and some wonderful shopping. But when we got bored with walking around, McKin and I decided to take a load off by taking a cable car down to the Fira port where we promptly took a donkey back up the 500ish steps. Laughing all the way and trying to keep the donkeys from tearing up our legs on the rocks, it was by far the best hour and 5 Euro I’ve spent on this trip.

We poked our heads into the Catholic Church of Santorini before meeting the rest of the girls at “the usual spot” (aka, the place where we watch the sunset every night. After a wonderful 2 hours of conversation and accosting a handful of UNC students we headed back for showers, dinner, and our nightly nap. Ellen cooked another fabulous meal which we ate on the patio of the villa with two Italian men from Naples who are also staying the villa. The conversation was absolutely fantastic despite the fact that Leno and Geraldo’s English was not much better than my Italian.

We headed back to Fira about 1 am which is when the town actually comes alive and did some shopping and dancing. We went straight to Mamounia where our Greek friends gave us our club for the night (aka a card with their name on it and a note telling the bouncer we were their friends and needed to get in free!)

And here I am again at 5 am typing this with the hopes of posting it some time on Sunday. Don’t worry, I won’t be going asleep for another hour because Spiros is taking McKinley to the airport for her flight to Venice!

So, good night to you since you’ll probably make it there before I do.

Kalinihta. (Good Night).

Santorini Day 3...well I guess it didn't start until day 4

We went out last night (well actually it was the morning) to Fira which was so much fun…the problem is nothing opens until way past our American bed times. But you know the rules: when in Greece do as the Grecians do. So we took a shower and a nap from 10 to 12 pm and then left shortly there after! We went and same some of our friends at Memunia and then went to Town Club without paying a cent. It was a wonderful night of complete sobriety and Tri-Delt rush songs. That's right. We started singing rush songs on the way to Fira, sang them in the club when they came on, and then all the way home! The best part about it all: with a 7 hour time difference we probably went to sleep at the same time!!!

My big fat Grecian villa

That’s right. As marvelous as the youth hostel was the lack of air conditioning, lock on our door, water pressure, and a few other things led us to set out to find a new dwelling for the next several days. And that's exactly what we did.

The last 2 days we’ve been bumming around Oia which is this gorgeous small town on the northern part of the island. We did and saw all their was to do and see (within our price range at least) and spent a lot of time and money (which we have little of) going back and forth on buses to the biggest town on the Island, Fira. So we decided yesterday while picking sea urchin spines out of our feet that it was time to move on.

This morning we had a tearful good-bye with our ever so animated and helpful hostel manager Manolis (who, as a side note, wants to plan our weddings at his hostel) and set off with all 3,000 pounds of luggage (OK, exaggeration) to Fira. After a miserably hot bus ride and pulling our bags on the cobblestone we made it to Villa Margarita, our gorgeous new villa. That's right. V. I. L. L. A.

The oh-so-typical old Greek man Spiros feed us grapes from his vineyard and I promise it was the closest thing to wine that wasn’t wine I’ve ever tasted. They were dripping with sweet, sweet juice. It was fantastic. So we spent the rest of the day lying around our private pool and every now and then Spiros pops in and checks on our feet or asks how “his girls” are doing. Later we cooked a fabulous meal of orzo with feta, fresh grape tomatoes, and olive oil. Today has been a very relaxing and much needed day of rest and limited walking.

(These are pictures from the villa!)

Some other thoughts from my time here so far:

1. I am so not high maintenance. Yes, I have my moments but except for a few hours the other day I’ve had on the same white V-neck that I left the house in on Tuesday. Sick? No. low maintenance. And yes, I lugged my suitcase around without crying (which we can’t say about everyone in the group).

2. I have a much higher pain tolerance than I ever imagined. I wish I hadn’t found that out but hey, I guess its valuable information.

3. Modesty does not exist in this part of the world. At all. Last night while we were hanging out in Fira we people watched for a little bit and all I can say is….????.....!!!!.....

And now a quick update on my foot:

I have officially cleared the time range for poisonous sea urchins. I have not showed any of the symptoms of sea urchin poisoning (and neither have the other girls) so we are in the clear. We are continuing to soak our feet in olive oil and a combination of vinegar and scalding hot water which is doing strange things to our skin. The spines are still definitely in my foot but walking is becoming increasingly easier.

I Doctor. No worry.

Santorini Thursday, August 22

Today was one of those days where just about everything I did started with the phrase “my mother would kill me.” This morning the rest of the girls went to Fira to get their bags while Kendra and I wandered around Oia. It was absolutely beautiful! We took tons of cute pictures and found funs of cute shops and restaurants. That’s when we found the cute Chris Brown boy. And somehow I thought that would be the highlight of my day.

We met back up with the girls right before lunch (who finally got their bags) and went to the cutest crepe cafe for lunch over-looking the Ammouni port. After dining next to two obnoxious American tourists we walked down the 235 donkey pooped stairs to the port. Feeling a little adventurous we wandered around the rocks to find a secluded part of the beach to jump into the water (aka, moving past all of the naked people). And that's where the day got interesting.

When I jumped into the water I landed on a sea urchin (known in these parts as an ahenus) who promptly stuck approximately 40 spines in my foot. As the Germans would say: wunderbar.

Freaking out as I’m looking at inch long spikes coming out of the bottom of my foot I signal a boat and swim over to it. It turns out that this boat is full of Athenians who were vacationing at their home here in Santorini. And the even better part…they speak English. So not being able to climb into the boat two of the boys pulled me in while McKin swam over. Trying to be as kind and as urgent as possible I sat back in the seat and shoved my foot in Storisis’ face (affectionately called unibrow by Ellen) who promptly starts to kiss my foot. When I asked him what exactly he was going to do to help me he reassured me with, “I doctor. No worry.” Pardon me, but I’m freaking out. In case you haven’t noticed there are venomous sea urchin spines sticking out of my foot and TOTALLY know you’re NOT a DOCTOR!!!

So after complimenting my soft skin he calls his friend Apostolis over to take me and Elisabeth (who also has sea urchin in her foot) to the harbor on his jet ski. Fabulous. So, no life vests and several HUGE waves later we arrive at the port where Apostolis carries me to sit on the dock. He returned with Storisis who took me and Elisabeth back to our hostel on his scooter through the windy roads of Oia. Our conversation went something like this:

“Storisis, slow down!”

“Ah yes. No worry. You are weaker sex, I protect you.”

“Not funny. My mother would kill you!”

“She would kick me?”

“No, kill. But because you’re being nice maybe she wouldn’t”

“OK, well. Don’t tell mama.”

So once we arrived back at the hostel the wonderful hostel manager attempted to get out the spines and told us “Ah you be OK. Rub with olive oil and it get good again.” And I’m thinking, “just because you have an excess of olive oil on this island doesn’t mean its medicinal!” So when the rest of the girls arrived back at the hostel McKin spent four hours with my right foot in her face trying to pull the ahenus out of my foot. Super.

The ever so adventurous day continued as the three of the crippled girls (also known as criplets) hobble around Oia for a nice dinner and then eventually a trip to Fira. The boys had mentioned earlier to meet them at Memouna, their place of employment. So we chatted it up for a bit before heading to Murphey’s where we got in for free by dropping our new Greek friend’s names. And here I am at 2:30 in the morning typing this so that I don’t forget a bit of it. More adventures to follow tomorrow, I just hope it doesn’t involve more ahenus.

A gift from my country to yours

Santorini Thursday, August 22

I walked into a market today to find an 11 year old boy watching Chris Brown’s Kiss Kiss video on YouTube. Seems like a fair trade to me. You give me beautiful Grecian islands, I give you Chris Brown.

we are NOT united states...

We have officially arrived and I can hardly believe it! Wednesday was quit an adventure starting with the security employee in the Athens airport kindly (cough cough) telling me “we are NOT United States!” well no duh! I figured that out when there was nobody to check my bags as I went through customs nor did they even pretend to look through my bag at security.

The flight to Santorini was gorgeous! When I arrived I was met by McKinley, Elisabeth, and Katie who still hadn't left the airport because there bags hadn’t arrived. And as of Thursday morning they still aren’t here.

Once we decided that the bags weren’t here and that they weren’t coming anytime soon we decided to head to the hostel. Great idea except that all of the taxis were gone because there weren’t anymore flights coming in. great.

So the alternative: a nice man pulled up in a car and I asked him if he was a taxi. When he responded with no i attempted to have a conversation about how to get to Oia by bus but unfortunately his English was no better than my Greek. With a lot of hand gestures we finally gave up until my new friend asked if we could hitch a ride with a man named Andres. Without really knowing what we were doing we hopped in the car and the four of us made it to Oia for 20 euro. Not a bad deal.

Once we got settled in the hostel and united with Kendra and Ellen we set out to explore Oia and have dinner in Fira. (But before I go any further I’d like to dispel the “hostel” myth. Yes, I’ve stayed in better places in my life but the view is gorgeous and the stars are unbelievable!) Anyways, we had a wonderful dinner of Mousaka and Saganaki in Fira and then headed to the West side of the island where we shared a bottle of wine while watching the sun set. Unbelievable. I think so too.

I’m turning into my father…

Because I’ve never met a stranger! After the family (minus mom) dropped me at the gate I met a nice woman from Jersey who talked to me awhile about crying in airports – assuring me that everyone has done it and that nobody cares. At first I didn't think I wanted to talk but it was nice to not let everything fester. Really nice. I answered the usual questions about where’d I be going and what I’d be studying (like I’ll be doing any of that!) and realized…OH MY GOSH…I’m going to do that right now! It’s no longer the future but the present – and I couldn’t be more excited! Once we got on the plane I sat down next to a little Italian woman who was flying back to Naples for 4 days to help her mother-in-law get permanent US residency. Not glamorous but she was wonderful, and she gave me gum when my ears popped.

So, all that to say, if the last 4 hours are at all indicative of the next 4 months I’m going to meet a lot of cool people and end up with a lot of new friends.

And yes mom, this means I’ve made it to Newark.

The Final Countdown

I’ve been sitting in front of this blank screen for long enough. Posting before I get across the pond has proven harder than expected (probably because life right now isn’t very exciting) so forgive me but if I don’t start now, I probably never will.

First and foremost, I need to apologize to almost everyone who stumbles onto my blog. While I'm excited you're here, I can also assure you that you never wanted to know this much detail about my life. I'm writing this first as a journal for myself and second for my mom to know every detail of my life in Europe, so if you get bored with hearing about what I ate for breakfast I totally understand!

All of that to say... I am so STINKING excited about going abroad.

terrified? yes.

freaking out? slightly.

wondering how in the world to pack my life in a suitcase that doesn't weigh more than 44 pounds? you bet ya!

But putting all of those worries aside I'm doing exactly what I've always wanted to do: speak German all day every day and travel like there's no tomorrow! And while I'm sure I'll have my fair share of headaches from not understanding the natives, I'll have plenty of chances to escape when I play with McKins in Milan, Copenhagen, and Vienna. (Just to name a few!)

So, may the countdown begin... See you in 13 days!