I've always been proud of my ability to remember details from ages ago or lists of things that I needed to get done. Apparently, Germany has taken that away. And so when I don't get around to writing a blog for more than a week, I can't remember anything I did. Luckily, I have a super awesome Google calendar and my Facebook profile where I can go back and look for hints. Also luckily, not much happened last week. I really started getting into what is going to be my routine. Take the kids, work at the Kita, pick up the kids, cook dinner, sleep. And somewhere in there I also try to find time to workout. Speaking of which, I ran a 12:30 minute mile on the treadmill the other day! I know that really is a horrible time, but for having not ran in well over a year, I was amazed I could even still run for a mile, lol.
So the first interesting day I had last week was on Friday. I decided to go out on my own and do some sightseeing/picture taking. I already posted the pictures on Facebook, but I'll link them here too so that anyone who isn't a Facebook friend can check them out. I went to Ku'damm to sightsee because that is where I went with my group the first time I was here. It was extremely surprising to me the details that I remembered as soon as I saw the places where I'd been with all my friends. One of the places that we visited was the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirchen. It is a huge church that was severely damaged in the war, so a large part of the steeple is missing. If you know what it is, it is unmistakable. Well I spent an hour walking around where I remembered that it was. I was so confused because I knew I was in the right place. I finally walked up to this new looking building and inside an alcove was a sign saying that the "new building" was actually scaffolding that had been built around the church so that they can repair it over the next six months. So pretty much they hid the building from me and I felt dumb. But I was still able to go inside both the new church and the old. And it was really nice to just sit by myself and listen to the organ and feel that history all around me. That is one of the best things about sightseeing alone. You can spend as much time as you want wherever you want. After the church I went to H&M and bought a new hat and a new scarf for super cheap. Because even in Berlin, I am the queen of deals :) I've also become really good at watching everyone around me so that when I'm confused about what to do I can just copy them instead of sticking out of the crowd. Then I took the U-Bahn back and met up with my family, who took me to a great little Greek restaurant for dinner. We finished dinner with a shot each of ouzo, which is this clear alcohol that tastes like black licorice. It's the drink of Greece, if I understand correctly, but it definitely not my favorite.
Saturday I went out again with Martina and some other people. We had dinner at a pizza place and then went to a couple of bars. Apparently we are still searching for a new bar to hang out at regularly because the bar they all used to hang at was this American sports bar and some of the group didn't understand why they would hang out in an American bar when you're surrounded by a thousand German bars. One of the places we went to was super tiny and they had a projector showing 8mm films on the wall. Understandably, the bar was called 8mm, lol. I ended up not getting home until 5:00am that night, so Sunday was a day of catching up on rest :)
Tuesday my contact from the au pair agency visited to check up on me. We had a really good talk for about two hours and it's nice to know that if I ever needed it I would have someone to turn to. Wednesday was a rough day for me, probably just because I didn't sleep well and was feeling a little under the weather. I was feeling pretty short tempered already and then J and I had a bit of a problem with each other (though I think the whole thing was an accident). I ended up going to take a nap before dinner in my apartment and when I came back up he had drawn me a very nice picture of the two of us. It felt really special to me because I think it means that we are starting to figure each other out. It's hard to have to replace their previous au pair because she was here for a whole year and the kids were really attached to her. They don't always understand that I am not her and I can't do everything the way she did. But I have a little more hope now that with some time we will get to that same place, eventually. And I have a new drawing to hang on my wall :)
The only other notable thing that has happened since then is that I started my language classes on Monday. I now go to class Mondays and Thursdays for two hours and am working at the Kita on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for five and a half hours. Getting into a German course has been a bit of a problem for me, because of my prior knowledge level and my schedule. I know too much to start at the beginning level (A1). I think I would have liked to be in A2, but those classes don't start for a month and there's no guarantee that there would be room for me. So instead I'm starting at B1 with a class in Kleinmachnow (which is just outside the Berlin city limits). It's a good class really, because there are only six students and the teacher is really helpful, but I'll admit that I'm struggling. It feels a lot like drowning. I mean, I know that people say the best way to learn is immersion, but it's not easy. I've always been good at school and I'm not used to being the person who has to constantly ask for help. And I get frustrated when I don't understand. Something I've had to overcome is the desire to give up and run when I can't understand someone or get them to understand me. I have to actually stop, take a deep breath, and force my brain to think of different way to get my meaning across. Weirdly, I often seem to understand less of what she is teaching than I do of just regular conversations. I can listen to my family or to others talk and understand at least the gist of what they are saying, unless they are talking about a specialized field/vocabulary. But today was my second day and it already felt a little less overwhelming. When I quit worrying about how bad I was doing, I noticed that everyone else is making mistakes too. And I just really need to keep reminding myself of that. They are learning too. Though there is one girl in my class who I'm super envious of because she already seems pretty fluent to me and it all comes so easily for her, not to mention she speaks great English too. AM said it's likely because she's from Denmark and their language isn't that different than German. Hopefully I will be able to get ahold of a grammar book soon and start refreshing my poor memory. Then maybe it won't be so scary. And being fluent is something I want so badly that it keeps me pretty well motivated.
Right now I'm just really looking forward to the week after next, because my family will be gone and I should be able to work out and catch up on rest and spend some more time exploring. I also can't wait for the weather to start cheering up. This rain is almost more depressing than snow. Tonight though I am going with AM's father to see an orchestra. I can't remember which one right now, but I think they are pretty famous. I'm very excited and I'll try to take some pictures :) Also, I leave for Dresden in a week, so I have that to look forward to as well!
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