Day 5: 11, Dahlmann Strasse, Charlottenburg

It’s 22:38 by the clock here and I have finally found the time and the strength to sit down with my laptop. It’s strange, there was a time when I’d travel to a Lonavala on a weekend and jot down all my experiences in detail. And now, it’s been 5 days in Berlin and am yet to start writing! Not liking this, writer’s block or whatever it’s called.

So, I’ll give the credit of my sudden inspiration to the tomatoes, broccoli, banana and strawberries that I’ve had today. In Berlin, fruit-sellers on the street are a common sight and the locals buy their daily fruits and vegetables from them.
It’s been 5 days in Berlin and I can hardly believe it. I’ll go about telling you stuff at random as I recall, and will fill in the gaps as and when :D

Today, I decided to dump the U-BAHN, S-BAHN and walk to class. I of course woke up pretty late and had to dump my grandiose plans of making myself an omlette as well. I had a mug of milk and started off on, what I’d like to call ‘Anya’s quest for the shortest route to class’. Class, by the way, happens at the VOLKSHOCHSHULE (Public high school; VOLKS: people, as in VOLKSWAGEN). Today, I walk to the S-BAHN station, take a right from there to the U-BAHN (U-7: WILHELMDORFER STRASSE) and then follow my semi-developed sense of direction to LEPATOZE STRASSE and Voila, there is the sign-board guiding me to the VOLKSHOCHSHULE. Of course, it’s a different story that I reached 12 minutes late and that too for German class! Das geht’s nicht, oder?
I also happen to be one of the few students to complete my HAUSAUFGABE (homework) daily and answer most questions in class, or at least pay attention and sit in class like a student, so that goes down rather well with our teacher Frau Sylvia Maetzing. My class, by the way, is one great soap-opera; Ill come to the details in a little while.
The actors:
Ludamira, a.k.a Luda: Russian: teaches English in St. Petersburg
Genaro: Venezuela: teaches English part-time and otherwise works in the family business of uniform-manufacturing for the military. Studies philosophy.
Fabian: Swiss: sports-journalist part-time, pretty good at German, is from the French part of Die Schweiz, hence needs to better his German. I thought, all Swiss speak German, well, you live and you learn.
Julia: Spanish
Efrahim: Israel: philosphy student, part-time german teacher
Dmitzy
Molly: Phd student from the US, very bright
Alina: Student from the US.

Enrique: dance therapist from Columbia

In class, today, we had the assignment of ‘DAS INTERVIEW’, an exercise in using the indirect speech. As in, She says, / according to her, Life IS beautiful. Now, of course, in English, ‘Life is beautiful; is in the Present tense, and is also used for the indirect speech. But, German being what it is, there is a different conjugation for the indirect speech called K1, KONJUNKTIV – I.
We were split into groups of 2, and interviewed each other on our likes, dislikes, favorites, motto, aspirations, strengths, weaknesses etc. I interviewed Oriol, Spanish, student of construction-engineering and from Barcelona. Intelligent, sincere and one of the few students who acts like one. We completed the assignment way before the others and Frau Maetzing was happy, I think. She likes me, as far as I can tell, but not sure how long that’ll last, since she is yet to read my conjugations on Accusativ and Dativ cases :D
Today, being a Friday, class got over at 12! Yay, post which, we loitered about for a while, with someone quizzing me on everything that’s Indian. Ketaki thinks he’s flirting with me, I think he thinks it’s his obligation to, with every girl he meets. :D Anyways, a lot of us head out for lunch to this place called Pizza point, just around the corner. It’s one of ‘em hangout places for the high school students and very very cost-effective. I had the Meal option, I.e. a XL pizza (8 inches) Vegetaria; that’s my excuse for the Broccoli that I had today, a salad, a sweet and a drink, I had the mixed salad, the waffles and a 7-UP, all of this for NUR 5.99. Toll!
Since there was no seating-place available, we actually asked for take-always, but then, the seats got empty and we sat down and ate from the boxes direct. Post the lunch, Ketaki had a Tiramisu, which we bought from the cake-shop across the street and went back to class to the internet centre.
The internet centre, by the way, is one of the school’s best-kept secrets, it took me 3 days to find the same, but of course once discovered, forever connected. I sat down, and emailed work on and off, basically, cleaned up all the unread emails and replied to absolute-must-dos; need to remind myself am on a sabbatical, so am going back :D
This took up some 3 hours, by which it was almost 3.30, ,Someone, by the way was very much there too and asks us before we said Goodbye, “How does one say Goodbye in India, by a kiss or a hug?” Good old Ketaki says ‘With a handshake”. She is a very cool, calm kid and I find it hard to believe that she’s only 23. The 3 of us, Ketaki, Kavita and I walk around the streets, which art we’ve mastered by now. We enter this cute shop called ‘1000 DINGE- ALLES MUS GEHEN,” 1000 things, everything must go, we are moving, which has a complete assortment of cute gifts, knick-knacks, stationery, candles, cute-but-useless things, like a sea-anemone stress-buster, etc. etc. we have planned to visit this place later, and generally look around and ooh and aaah over everything.
Post 1000dinge, we complete the SALAT from morning, sitting under a Starbucks umbrella on WILHELMDORFER STRASSE, opposite Starbucks. Our logic being, its 15 degrees, no one’s using the chairs, we might as well use them :D
We also bought fruits, strawberries, cherries and apples. This reminds me of the song ‘Strawberries, cherries and an angel’s kiss in spring. My summer love is made of more than all these things, take off your silver shoes and help me pass the time, and I will give to you, Oh, summer wine, Oh oh summer wine.’
Then we entered Karstadt, this is the department store from the stable of the Metro Group. Another is Galleria Kaufhaus, a bit more trendy and up-market, but am yet to spot one in Berlin. I bought spaghetti, Chinese sauces, Maggi curry-kind powder (LEIDER, KEINE Maggi-Masala) and frozen cut vegetables; carrot, etc. Yes I know that cut vegetables tend to be older ones but priced higher due to the convenience factor, but well, what can I do! We then trooped back to my place, yes, my sense of direction is developed a bit more in the past 12 hours and ‘I’ managed to guide the 2 to my place. Hilda was home and watching television in the hall, I just said a Hi, and that I have some friends over and went to my room.
Here I need to mention that this whole GASTGEBER thing is a bit confusing for me, per se. this is because I need to really talk and communicate, and they are rather private and also busy people. So, but the time I leave for class, she’s left for work. By the time I get back she’s not yet or vice-versa. Anyways, I chose to not overdo the talking bit today, since if she had wanted to chat, she’d have got up, no? to my overtly hyper mind, I felt like I was being rude, but then these girls told me to just chill.
We then settled down in my room (oh, I need to describe my room in detail), and chatted about MMB and Goethe and exams etc. etc. I realized that since all my German courses were on the weekend, I am not so closely tuned-in to the actual goings-on and politics and rules of MMB/Goethe, since all that is easier to understand when you in the weekday class. Anyways, I realized once again that Ketaki is special, she got a 100 on 100 in PwD in SCHRIFTILICHE and a SEHR GUT overall. Fab! So is Kavita, between the 2 of them i have a virtual dictionary and am wondering how much more i need to study before reaching their level.

We then made sandwiches; tomato, shredded expensive rip-off veggies and onions. Another thing that is confusing for me is this whole ‘use my kitchen the way you wish to’ thing, it would be easier for me, if I could speak to her , get to know her better, before jumping in and cutting vegetables on her kitchen-mantle. Anyways, that done, K2 went home, and I made myself a cup of milk and have only just settled in front of the TV, with my laptop in hand.
Right now, the TV’s playing ‘The Nanny’ AUF DEUTSCH. The light in my room is all yellow, I have never gotten used to these yellow lights in foreign lands, good old Surya Tube light is surely much better than these lights! These somehow always feel like the electricity’s been cut off and we are making do with a substitute.
Anyway, I also bought myself an Esprit jacket; it’s getting to be real cold here, 18-20 degrees and very windy. Considering that we are planning a PhD in wandering about the street, I’d better be covered well. The thing is, I had to leave quite a few jackets behind, due to the luggage limit, I also left behind my cute black monkey-cap L anyways, an Esprit is a good spend, I likes. It was also on sale, so you can’t really blame me. Plus it was in a nice-close-to-wine color, so it the decision was completely out of my hands.
Now, am watching television and must say that I can understand most of what’s being said in the background. NICE! It’s now close to 1 in the morning, I.e., 11th July 2009 and I should go to sleep.
Tomorrow is the class AUSFLUG to Potsdam, and I need to reach class by 11 a.m. will also give the breakfast make-and-eat bit another try. I absolutely NEED to put on weight and my motto is going to be:
MILK: 2
FRUITS: Apple, banana, strawberry/ other fruit
EGG: 1 every alternate day
NOODLES/ PASTA/ TORTILLA, sabji/ BREAD, sabji/ TORTILLA, sabji: lunch, dinner
YOGHURT: 1
We’ll see how that goes.
BIS BALD,

Anya