der landstreicher

A Seventh Try at a Second Chance

I have made so many attempts at starting and re-starting this blog that I do not blame anyone who reads this (and if anyone does, I would be amazed!) if they never come back.

But, I think this is as good a time as any to begin again with the blog thing. I have returned to Germany for more classwork and another opportunity to meet new people and have some wonderful experiences. I have been in class at the Goethe-Institut, Berlin since last Tuesday; and my course will end on August 22. So, I have between now and then to learn some more German, make some new friends, and try my best to keep this journal alive.

So, without further ado:

9.07.2008 - Oper und Mehr

Since my classes begin at 8:30 each morning, and I have around a 45 minute commute, my days begin much earlier than perhaps I would have expected my summer days to commence during the weeks immediately following my college graduation. I am living in a flat in the district of Kreuzburg, which is on the south-central part of Berlin. I am actually about a five minute walk from the Templehof Airport, on Dudenstraße--in case anyone wishes to do a little Google Earth stalking. Every morning thus far has included time walking, riding the subway (U-Bahn), riding the elevated train (S-Bahn), and the Tram. My school is located in the district called Prenzlauer Berg, which is just to the northeast of Berlin Mitte. I am hoping to begin a new, all U-Bahn commute tomorrow, on the advice of a friend who lives just north of me, also in the Kreuzburg district. The plan is to shave a few minutes off the trip, so I can enjoy a little more sleep!

My class has 13 students (including myself) from various locales. I hope my memory does not fail me as I try to briefly share them with you:
Antonella (Italy), Paolo (Switzerland), Meral (Turkey), Tugbèrk (Turkey), Anat (Israel), Hana (Czech Rep.), Gabe (USA), Ruì (Japan), Hae Jin (South Korea), Amal (Libya), Mohammed (Libya), and Camila (Brazil).

We spend around 4.5 hours a day with each other in class. Our teacher, Christine, is really pretty great. She is very approachable and has a ton of energy, yet is tough enough to keep us on task. I hope to share more about the classroom experience as different things come up during my weeks here. For now, I will simply say that I have yet to be in a class that has seemed to last longer than 90 minutes!

This evening, Paolo, Antonella, Meral, and I went to the Komische Oper to see "La Bohème." This was a new German translation of Puccini's opera (all the works at the Komische Oper are auf deutsch) which was a trimmed down version of the original. Instead of 4 acts, we had one, without pause, lasting about 115 minutes. It was quick, dirty, and to the point. Perhaps a bit too much for my taste. Nevertheless, the gentleman playing Rodolfo was superb and the lady singing Mimí was equally up to the task. Definitely worth the cost of admission; especially so, considering the discount we got from the Goethe-Institut!

After the opera, the four of us decided to walk down Unter den Linden, which is the main East-West road which connects the Brandenburg Gate with Alexanderplatz. We were looking for dinner, only to find that, while one can buy a Skoda, Bentley, Ferrari, VW, or Seat along Unter den Linden, a modest eating establishment is quite another thing entirely. Eventually we found the Brauhaus Berlin Mitte, which was a stone's throw from the S+U Bhf. Alexanderplatz. We sat and had dinner for about 2 hours, which included lively conversation in mostly German, with some English and a smattering of Italian thrown in.

I've only been here a week and yet I am starting to feel like I belong here. I can take a mistakenly long walk and share a meal all while conversing with people from all around the world who I did not know before last a week ago Monday--in a language that is foreign to us all. How awesome is this!?! I have a feeling this will be yet another once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. I will do my best to share more of it with you.

bis später, J.

posted by John D. Nevergall @ 17:50