Everyone starts somewhere

So I started in October.  I´d like to think I moved to Berlin permanently on the perfect day, Unity Day, October 3, 2010.  I took a walk from my new neighborhood along where the wall once stood, and in some parts still does, covered in modern graffiti that some people call art, and some modern art that people call graffiti, that ended at the Brandenburg Gate and its surroundings.  There was a festival, which involved a lot of beer, giant pretzels and doughnuts, and every type of sausage under the sun.  And, when the evening was setting in, politicians gave speeches, men jumped from airplanes wearing German flags, a light show was displayed on the parliament building, someone important said, "After all these years I can finally say I am proud of my country", and former Chancellor Helmut Kohl cried.  It was twenty years since the country of Germany was reunited.  It seems to me that a lot of Germans I meet are sort of over it all, or know the deeper issues that I am still learning, about invisible walls than no one can tear down, or maybe things that were easier when there was a wall, but for me, as an American, and a sort of sappy one at that, I was pretty moved.


On an interesting note, Unity Day 2010 had another, less openly discussed significance.  It was the day that Germany officially finished paying back the debts from World War I, dating back to the Treaty of Versailles.  Obviously, not a coincidence that this day was selected, but a hefty thing to consider in any case.


As I have been learning in this part of the world history is something that even non historians meet on a daily basis.  I was reminded of this just days later when my new coworker was late to work because a WW2 bomb was discovered near the train station in his city.  It turns out there are tons of bombs from WW2 all over the city.  They were dropped by the allies, never detonated, and now are occasionally happened upon, and though they rarely do any harm, have to, of course, be disposed of as safely as possible.


Well, I suppose that is a round about way of saying, I have started work at the Centrum Judaicum.  There will of course be many posts explaining my new job, my research, my coworkers, etc, but for now I will just give you a taste.  Most importantly, I love where I work (the Centrum Judaicum just might be the most beautiful building in Berlin), my coworkers and bosses are great, and although it is taking some time, I think I am actually figuring out how to do my project.  There are a lot of challenges.  I am truly conducting my days in German, as I am the only non German employee, and sometimes I honestly have no idea what people are talking about.  Mostly the result is just hilarity...
Example:  Boss says to Rachel: "Would you like some _________ (indecipherable word)?"  Rachel confusedly asks boss to repeat.  Word remains indecipherable.  Rachel tried to save herself by claiming she does not know what indecipherable word means.  Boss looks at Rachel like she is from distant planet and waves her into the next room where there is a plate of cake.  Boss proceeds to explain to Rachel, V E R Y 
 S L O W L Y what CAKE is. 


And, since my German is clearly already perfect...I decided to start learning Russian.  So, twice a week I attend an intro to Russian class at the Technical University.  Despite the fact that the language of instruction for the class is, of course, German, I think it is going pretty well.  More on that later of course.

And, of course there is the task of figuring out how to be a normal person here.  A list of things normal people have:
1. Bedding - check
2. Food and cooking supplies - check
3. Solid understanding of how to use the washing machine and other household appliances - check
4. capability of getting around city without constant use of a giant fold out map (which has now ripped precisely along a street that I travel often) - work in progress (note: people who use smart phones are cheaters)
5. seasonally appropriate clothing - took some doing, but I now own a winter coat... (and socks)
6. friendships- also a work in progress, but going surprisingly well, thanks to the high concentration of BUKAs in Berlin, and a willingness to talk to strangers in whatever language it takes.  I now have two tandem partners (stop giggling, it only sounds dirty but is actually totally cool).  Tandem is a program where people hang out with people who speak a language they are learning and exchange language skills.  I meet with Germans who want to learn English, and we split our time between speaking English for them and German for me, so that both of us improve our language skills in a non classroom setting.  I did the program in Vienna as well, and found it extremely rewarding.
Well, October started and ended with holidays.  Halloween, not exactly widely celebrated in Germany, but becoming more and more popular each year.  I celebrated Halloween with two friends and their young children at the Zoo in Berlin.  

Here is a little photo series I like to call "Baby BUKAs do not see fence as barrier to entry at petting zoo"

Picture 1: Petting the animals

Picture 2:  It is increasingly hard to reach these animals to pet them.

Picture 3:  Children dive head first into petting zoo.