Anybody need some spinach?

Gossip Girl was not as good as I'd hoped...of course we had a good time watching it though! We enjoyed our usual treats and comments directed at fictional characters.
Wednesday...German class...I can't remember doing anything other than going to that and doing homework...
Thursday for our Lit class we were supposed to meet at 9:30 at a cafe about 45 minutes from our apartment. Holly, Chris, and I all traveled together, actually arriving about 15 minutes early. I got a chai and they got tea and an egg, respectively, and we waited for our professor. For 45 minutes. Apparently class didn't start till 10 that day...a fact of which she forgot to inform us since it said 9:30 on the syllabus. Great start, eh? We then went on another walking mini-tour in the rain, culminating in visiting an elderly lady who lived in England during WWII as a Jewish refugee from Berlin. It was amazing to hear her story and that of her parents (who were sent to a concentration camp and only lived for a few weeks after arrival) and some of her friends (one of whom survived by hiding and presenting false identities throughout the Holocaust). She was a very nice, sweet, and stylish woman-despite being almost 90 and having lived through all this, she was completely put together, down to her makeup and jewelry. She even served us tea and cake! The only downside of this was that I was about 15 minutes late for German and H had missed her entire class. Sometimes our professor doesn't exactly understand we have anything in our lives other than her class...like when she handed us a book she wrote and told us to read it-then sent us an email today telling us we owe her 23 euros each. A bit inconsiderate, especially as I'm sure I could find it cheaper elsewhere.
Then last night H and I went to Bierhimmel. I swear, soon they're going to start recognizing me. But on a cold evening, their drinks and atmosphere are so much better than beer in a hot, smoky bar.
Today I did laundry in the bathtub (my usual method here, as the machines are crazy expensive and my sleep/class schedule does not agree with the Hausmeister's and the machines are in a different building). It's actually quite effective and I don't have to worry about the machines messing up or shrinking my clothes. The only hassle is drying...at least there's a drying rack built into the shower. It'll be nice to have my washer and dryer back in A2...
Then Chelsea and I went to the Turkish Market. Soooo good. All the produce there is super cheap and fresh-I got a ridiculous amount of fresh spinach for a little more than a euro, and 7 apples for 70 cents and 6 clementines for about a euro. I actually wont be able to eat all the spinach before it goes bad. So if any of my NYU in Berlin peeps want some...let me know. I also bought some overpriced chai but it'll be totally worth it for those days that I'm not feeling the coffee and I need something hot/with caffeine. Ahhh I love chai. On the way back we stopped at Yellow Sunshine, a vegetarian burger "fast food" place. Not that fast, actually. I just got a chai (ha) but I tried C's french fries that she got along with her burger...they were delish. Legit fries that you could tell actually came from a potato.
Tonight we're supposed to be going out with a bunch of people-H has some friends visiting, and I think they'll be fun...we're all ready for a good time.
xoxoxo

Procrastination station

...we have arrived!
Thursday was fairly unexciting-I had German and Lit classes. It was pouring down rain in the morning, so naturally that was when my Lit professor decided we should walk all over to try to see the Giants (Riesen) and get our press passes. Yup. Press passes-apparently now this blog qualifies me? Oh, Esther. I think it was that evening that I finally got to talk to my dad, which was great :) I love that it doesn't use up my minutes to receive phone calls or texts-those international calls are expensive and I can go through a 25 Euro phone card in just over 10 minutes.
Friday I got to meet up with Max! He worked at the tennis program area at my camp in 2008 so we got to be pretty close that summer. However, he's from Germany, so I hadn't seen him for over a year! He just got back to Berlin from a trip to NYC, actually, so we met up for coffee and a mini-walking tour. I had a chai (love that stuff) and we caught up for a while, discussing camp, etc. Then his girlfriend, Natalya (I have no idea if I spelled her name right, she's Russian) met up with us as well and we walked around west Berlin for a while. Of course we had to visit the Ka-De-We (one of the largest departments store in Europe) and go up to the food floor. OMG I could happily spend days and millions of dollars there. Sooo much deliciousness. We got some marinated olives and mozzarella and marinated feta and broetchen. Delish. The funniest part of it was the American imported food section-the prices were ridiculous! A 4-pack of Oreos: 8 Euros. A box of Pop-Tarts: 9 Euros. Eeek! Good thing I don't particularly like those things...We then just wandered around some more, eventually ending up near a ticket kiosk where I was able to buy tickets for the Joshua Radin concert! Yay! They ended up being 18 Euros each...not too bad. I would have paid a lot more, so I'm glad I didn't have to...and hey, that's just 2 boxes of Pop-Tarts :) Can't wait for the 17th!
That evening I went out with a whole bunch of people. We hung out in the apartments for a bit, then went to some club that was playing hip-hop spanning about the last 10 years. I couldn't bring myself to stay for too long, because I had some serious reporting to do in the morning! But it was fun, and let me tell you, I felt like a great dancer next to a lot of the people there! A very rare feeling for me, as most of you probably know...
Saturday-die Riesen kommen! To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Wall coming down, these giant puppets were in the city. It was the story of an uncle and niece being reunited. The uncle, or Big Giant, actually emerged from the Humboldtbecken. We got to see him just after he left the water and he walked right by us on his way to the Brandenburger Tor (gate). We saw the niece, or Little Giantess, on her way as well. We decided not to brave the insane crowds to see the actual reunification, but there are photos and videos all over the place. Definitely check them out-they are sooo cool.

Holly and I also had a delicious lunch-a treat, to be sure, but worth scrimping a bit this week. We went to this cool Italian place-kind of a 20s, Art Deco feel, where we both had the minestrone soup and different kinds of gnocchi. Mine was pretty basic, with an herbed butter and parmesan, while hers had pumpkin, almonds, and mascarpone. All of it was soooo good. Ahh I love food!
Yesterday I also got to talk to my mom via Skype. Not the best sound quality, but it was so good to hear-and see-her! Also good that it's free. Yay free. We got to talk for about half an hour and I even got to see Lucas (brother), Caspian (dog), and Mariel (cat). Apparantly Rhubarb (cat) was not up for the webcam. Haha-thanks Lucas.
Today H and I went to church again at the American Church of Berlin. Again, the service wasn't the most thought-provoking, although it was pretty good. The best part was that I was able to join in the choir rehearsal afterwards! The music so far is pretty easy (especially since I'm a soprano, ha!) and I was complimented on my sight-reading skills. One of the things from high school that has stuck with me (thanks, Mr. Westerman). It's not my favorite music, but I'm just so happy to be singing again. :)

Museums and bars and churches oh my!

It's been a while since I updated, I know. I've been having difficulties with my internet connection-and then when I finally sat down to write here, I received some upsetting news. One of the ministers from All Souls, who had been the senior minister for years and then was the minister for public theology, Rev. Dr. Forrest Church, had passed away (Thursday evening). It's a bit difficult to be here and not in NYC. He had fought cancer for several years, so it wasn't exactly a surprise, but still is hard to handle. I am there in spirit with all those who cared for him, and at the memorial service.
Anyway, more cheerful stuff...
So on Tuesday we went to the Gemaeldegalerie in my "Museumsinsel" class. It was begun basically as West Berlin's answer to the Museuminsel, which was in East Berlin and housed most of the great works. We looked at several paintings in detail, so I didn't get to see much, but I learned more about how to look at works of art.
Wednesday was unexciting-just class, etc. although Chelsea and I did go back to the delish Thai place in Kreuzberg. I had the exact same thing as last time-couldn't resist.
Thursday-basically just class and homework, although C and I hung out and enjoyed some wine :) possibly my last Riesling for the year-it just feels silly to drink it once it's long-sleeve weather. Paul came up and hung out for a bit as well...he had locked himself out, silly boy. I love having chill evenings at home like that.
Friday my Museumsinsel class went to the Museum der Dinge, or Museum of Things. It literally was a bunch of...stuff...displayed in a somewhat jumbled manner. It was interesting, although I would have liked a bit more explanation as to why some things were in there and why they were displayed in the manner that they were. It certainly inspired some discussion as to the agenda of the curator and what makes a museum. Weird stuff. Afterwards, C and I went to a super-cheap Vietnamese place around the corner, Green Rice. Not my favorite. The food was pretty good (I had a red curry), and you know how much I love cheap, but the proprieter was so rude. I actually couldn't believe it. I was trying to tell him that I wanted tofu and no chicken but he just refused to make eye contact and kept mumbling! Honestly, no matter what language you speak, I'm not going to understand you if you mumble. I've never understood why people in service industries think it's a good idea to mumble.
I spent the rest of the day just chillin'. I spent a lot of time reflecting on Forrest's influence on my life and related topics. I really will miss his voice (written and spoken). May he always be remembered and finally be at peace.
Saturday was another relaxed day, doing homework and watching movies/Gossip Girl (too much). C and I did discover our new favorite place-Bierhimmel. It means "Beer Heaven" and it truly is divine. We split a piece of chocolate torte with slivered almonds and she had a hot chocolate (Kakao) and I had a steamed milk with Bailey's. OMG soooo good. And soooo reasonably priced. If any of you reading are coming to visit (and I hope someone is!), we will be going there. I've decided it's "my place". :)
Today, Holly and I went to the American Church in Berlin. Much better. Still not quite my cup of tea-I'm really not as Christian as any of the churches here are-but definitely the best fit. The sermon actually required a little thought, which was nice. It's a much bigger congregation, and they are very welcoming. I talked to the greeter while I was waiting for H, and he asked us about our studies, etc. Apparently he told the choir directors there that I'm studying music, because before the service, two of them came up to us (at different times) to try to get me involved. I think I'm going to do it-I do really miss singing, even if it's a different style than I am used to. It'll also be a great way to get to know some people outside the NYU in Berlin group. I think that I'll go to the rehearsal for the Chamber Choir on Tuesday as well as the one next Sunday for the Contemporary Choir and see if either/both is a good fit. I hope so!
xoxoxo

Mmm...I love Thai

That was definitely the highlight of the day. Holly and I went on a quest for some delish Thai food-and we found it. It's a little place in Kreuzberg, south of us, in a great neighborhood for restaurants. I had a green curry with tofu, and it had quite a few veggies too. Yum yum yum. She had spring rolls and pad thai and said that it was good too, although quite greasy. We both had some good juices too-I had the mango-passionfruit and H had the mango. The sweetness went really well with the spiciness of the dish. I know that this will definitely be a go-to restaurant-my food and drink only came to 8,10. Not bad for a full dinner!
We also walked past not one, but two places that serve Tibetan food! I was so excited-it's one of my faves and have so far only found it in 3 cities. These two places are literally a block apart and just about 5 subway stops away (2 trains though). I am so ready to go back and have some momos :)
Other than that, today was the usual German class, long break, then Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud. In between I went and bought a planner-I was hoping not to have to spend money on one of the really overpriced ones (because that was all I could find) but I was so afraid I would schedule things when I already had plans that I had to give in. Grrr. I hate spending money on necessary items and not fun ones! Oh well, at least now I can feel very expensively organized.
I don't have any homework to do for tomorrow, so I am going to take an easy night and watch Casablanca in my bed :)
xoxoxo