Greetings from Berlin...it is really great so far. My family friends picked me up from the airport last Thursday and it already feels so far away! I am living with a family in a fairly central part of Berlin called Schoneberg, which my dad says we once owned half of, but he says we own every other thing in Germany and I'm starting to doubt him. Haha. Anyway, my host parents are really nice to me and speak good enough English for me to not be completely lost. They have two kids that are 6 and 9...the kids don't understand my bad German, so I watch German Disney with them. It's weird because the speaking is dubbed, but the songs are in English. They really like Hannah Montana...go figure. My room is huge after living in dorm rooms for 2 years. I have a great view of a courtyard, really high ceilings, and a futon for out of town guests--come visit!
We haven't done anything super touristy yet, except on Saturday we all went to Alexanderplatz, which was the old center of East Berlin. There were a ton of protesters there saying that they don't want to bleed because of the American economic crisis--your basic death to capitalism stuff. I also went to an opera last night called Andreas Chenier. It was about the French Revolution and people booed the conductor for playing too loud in the beginning. I didn't know it was ok to boo at the opera. Tomorrow I'm going to the Berlin Wall and doing a bit of sightseeing so hopefully I'll have something more interesting to say about Berlin's history next time.
Going out in Berlin is a blast. I haven't hardly explored the night scene, but I've had a great time. On Friday I went to a bar called Cafe Havana. Che was everywhere. And also Kanye music. Kanye=revolution? I had some 'baby cocktail' called a snowball and I felt like such a girl. Oh well. On Saturday night I went with friends to an 'alternative' gay club, which basically means no guys in speedos. I did some major wingmanning and got my friend a date for the night and potentially other nights. I also befriended two Brits that love America. Early on in the night I went up and asked if they could play ACDC and they laughed at me. As the night went on I went and asked if they had Rolling Stones, to which they responded, "wir haben kein Rock," which means, we don't have any rock. She (she being the drag queen) then said that I could request Britney Spears or Justin Timberlake. I might have to find a new place...kein rock? It was great dancing regardless.
Hope all is well and I'll write soon!
Tschuss!
Ellen
