Just a few notes, observations and FYIs

1. This is random but it's kind of cool, even though it's difficult to see in this picture. When people would spray paint the windows, it would peel off so now people scratch the windows to do graffiti on them. I'm sure it's not just in Germany where people do that but I wanted to applaud them for their creativity.


2. If you say hello to random people on the street they will think you are crazy, with the exception of old women. Not because they are rude but because people don't do that here.

3. Chocolate is amazing here and I can have as much of it as I want for the next few months...mmmm

4. Also, Germans love JFK. When he was president, he went to Berlin and said "Ich bin ein Berliner" (translation for all you non-Deutsch speakers: "I am a Berliner"). Below is a pic of me in one of those face cut-outs of JFK. Since I have been here, I have heard that story so many times. I have been walking around Berlin saying that to all the random people I strike up a conversation with and I have yet to reach the fame that JFK did. I want to do something, not illegal, that people in Berlin remember me by. Any ideas?


5. I am amazing at directions. Berlin is a huge city but since I have been here I have yet to get lost. It's even more impressive because I don't take special care to know exactly where I am going. Today I wasn't sure which which direction train to take but the train was there so I randomly guessed and I ended up where I was planning to go. Maybe that's a lesson for life. Wander around in life with no clear goal and maybe by chance you will end up where you want to go. That was really deep. If anyone quotes me on that I expect my name to be included. Maybe that's how I will become famous.

6. The German language is really difficult to learn. But there are a lot of words that are almost the same just different pronunciations.

7. The Christopher Street festival is a gay pride parade...not a parade to honor Christopher Columbus. It was a lot of fun and every float had really good music and everyone was dancing. I take any excuse to be able to dance in public without people thinking I'm crazy. Two things I didn't really like was all the cigarette smoke (I'm pretty sure every other person smoked) and the fact that clothing was optional. There were drag queens all over the parade I loved it but I was a little bitter that they were walking so well in the highest stilettos I had ever seen. This was my favorite drag queen. He was dressed up as a flight attendant and he did their safety demonstration. It was hilarious.


8. Traveling by bus/train is really cheap within Europe, therefore I will go to quite a few countries while I am here.

9. An adapter (used for recharging things) is different than a transformer (used for things like a straightener) and you can blow out the socket if you use an adapter when you should use a transformer. Needless to say I will not have straight hair for the next few months. Good thing it is the fashion in Berlin to let your hair go crazy. Also be very careful when you are walking down stairs because most of them are very steep. On Sunday I was walking down the stairs in my heels and I tripped and fell down the stairs. Luckily I only got a few scratches and bruises but the girl in front of me turned around and said, "Don't be embarrassed, my brother fell down those and broke his arm." So really I blame the stairs.

10. Lastly, moving to a new country where you don't speak the language and don't know anyone is extremely scary but it is such an amazing experience. Berlin is wonderful. I love wandering around the city looking at monuments and statues and stuff because they are everywhere.