Turned 21 in Paris and opened wine with a boot instead of a corkscrew along the Seine to celebrate!
It's been a busy week and a half since my last post, but like in an awesome way so it's cool. Sorry for the delayed blogging though! Catching up starting now:
Last Thursday (the 12th) was big bro Davey's birthday and he's 24 and that's weird. Mom gave birth to David when she was 24. Like whaAaAat ya know?! So yeah bday shoutout to David Lawrence xoxo 4everyoung.
We didn't have class until 2pm on Thursday so Hannah and I tried to meet some of the other girls in the morning at a cafe by where they live, but got lost and ended up shopping/grabbing breakfast wherever it was that we landed. I got some sweet fleece lined patterned leggings and some colored thread for Hannah to do a hair wrap on me. Then we got on the train to go to the NGO where our lecture was for that day, unfortunately the BVG u-bahn police were biting that day and stopping EVERYone and asking to see their tickets. I lost my month-long pass pretty early on in the Berlin stay (salty about that, I never lose that kind of stuff) so I got busted and got a 40 euro fine!! Woooo! But don't worry I made it to the lecture on time.
The lecture was at a place called Ban Ying, which is an NGO based in Berlin. Ban Ying is Thai for "House of Women;" the place acts as a coordination/counseling center but also as a shelter for trafficked women. The lecture was on trafficking in Europe with a special emphasis on Germany and it was very interesting. Apparently a big problem area in trafficking in Germany with diplomats, because they are basically immune to the legal system, so if a diplomat is exploiting a woman for her labor (all the way from unpaid domestic chores to sexual exploitation), it is verrrry difficult to report. I think a big focus of Ban Ying right now is finding ways to help women being trafficked by diplomats by inviting the embassy/media to the conversation in order to create pressure expose the diplomats. One way they try to bring awareness is through advertisements like this postcard they gave us:
Last Thursday (the 12th) was big bro Davey's birthday and he's 24 and that's weird. Mom gave birth to David when she was 24. Like whaAaAat ya know?! So yeah bday shoutout to David Lawrence xoxo 4everyoung.
We didn't have class until 2pm on Thursday so Hannah and I tried to meet some of the other girls in the morning at a cafe by where they live, but got lost and ended up shopping/grabbing breakfast wherever it was that we landed. I got some sweet fleece lined patterned leggings and some colored thread for Hannah to do a hair wrap on me. Then we got on the train to go to the NGO where our lecture was for that day, unfortunately the BVG u-bahn police were biting that day and stopping EVERYone and asking to see their tickets. I lost my month-long pass pretty early on in the Berlin stay (salty about that, I never lose that kind of stuff) so I got busted and got a 40 euro fine!! Woooo! But don't worry I made it to the lecture on time.
The lecture was at a place called Ban Ying, which is an NGO based in Berlin. Ban Ying is Thai for "House of Women;" the place acts as a coordination/counseling center but also as a shelter for trafficked women. The lecture was on trafficking in Europe with a special emphasis on Germany and it was very interesting. Apparently a big problem area in trafficking in Germany with diplomats, because they are basically immune to the legal system, so if a diplomat is exploiting a woman for her labor (all the way from unpaid domestic chores to sexual exploitation), it is verrrry difficult to report. I think a big focus of Ban Ying right now is finding ways to help women being trafficked by diplomats by inviting the embassy/media to the conversation in order to create pressure expose the diplomats. One way they try to bring awareness is through advertisements like this postcard they gave us:
Cheery!! Haven't decided who the special someone is going to be who gets to receive that postcard. Might be me because I like it. After the lecture a few of us went to a second hand store which was awesome and I got a sweater and a hat. That evening I wanted to go to live band karaoke in Goerlitzer Park but it ended up getting too late and apparently that's a sketchy area at night. So I stayed in and read for class the next day.
Friday morning I got up super early to go to the BVG place to pay my ticket but I was there too early and had to go to class by the time they opened so that was the pits. Friday's lecture was facilitated by Iveta (I love her lectures because she explains things in such an accessible way and doesn't try to complicate things by using giant words or anything AND she speaks slowly enough/pauses so that I can take adequate notes and I just really love her) and it was about the readings we had about psychoanalysis and feminism by Rowley/Grosz, Freud, and Lacan. It was a lot to read and take in, but I really enjoyed reading it all so it wasn't bad. Just took a while. Also, Iveta's lecture really clarified everything for me and I now think I more fully understand how messed up Freud's theories were. Really messed up. But really interesting and I have like 6 pages of notes from that day if anyone wants more in-depth info about it. Friday afternoon we had a workshop at Humboldt University given by Urmila Goel on experiences of racism, focusing on white privilege. If anyone hasn't attended a workshop like this, I highly suggest it. I hadn't ever done anything like it before and it really made me think about my privilege and situate myself in terms of my race both here in Europe but also back in the U.S. A lot of people on the program didn't think they got much out of the workshop, but I think that might be because they had attended things of that nature before, or had taken class on race and/or cultural studies, so they thought about privilege already and didn't think the workshop was necessary. I personally liked it because, while it made me step out of my comfort zone and become more aware of my whiteness and of race in general, I think everyone needs to do that because it's so easy to ignore that it's an issue if you're not directly affected by it. After the workshop I went back to the BVG to try to pay again and they were closed. Again. It's as if they really didn't want me to succumb to the system #anarchy.
Friday night Hannah, Michelle, and I went to a DJ event down the street from where Hannah and I live, where Ipek (our Berlin homestay coordinator/princess of the Berlin lesbian DJ scene) was DJ-ing that night. Danced a LOT. Like so much. and we found a side room where not many people were, but we could still see Ipek doing her thang, so we danced in there the whole night and since it was less crowded it meant that I got to do my flailing thing and jumpy thing and kind-of-dancey thing. My bangs were dripping sweat by like 3 songs in so that's a nice picture for you all xoxo.
Saturday was our travel day for PARISSSSSSS! Our flight didn't leave til like 2pm so that was nice. Got to Paris by about 4, checked into our hostel in Montmartre, and walked up a bunch of stairs to the Sacre Coeur area and ate dinner.
Friday morning I got up super early to go to the BVG place to pay my ticket but I was there too early and had to go to class by the time they opened so that was the pits. Friday's lecture was facilitated by Iveta (I love her lectures because she explains things in such an accessible way and doesn't try to complicate things by using giant words or anything AND she speaks slowly enough/pauses so that I can take adequate notes and I just really love her) and it was about the readings we had about psychoanalysis and feminism by Rowley/Grosz, Freud, and Lacan. It was a lot to read and take in, but I really enjoyed reading it all so it wasn't bad. Just took a while. Also, Iveta's lecture really clarified everything for me and I now think I more fully understand how messed up Freud's theories were. Really messed up. But really interesting and I have like 6 pages of notes from that day if anyone wants more in-depth info about it. Friday afternoon we had a workshop at Humboldt University given by Urmila Goel on experiences of racism, focusing on white privilege. If anyone hasn't attended a workshop like this, I highly suggest it. I hadn't ever done anything like it before and it really made me think about my privilege and situate myself in terms of my race both here in Europe but also back in the U.S. A lot of people on the program didn't think they got much out of the workshop, but I think that might be because they had attended things of that nature before, or had taken class on race and/or cultural studies, so they thought about privilege already and didn't think the workshop was necessary. I personally liked it because, while it made me step out of my comfort zone and become more aware of my whiteness and of race in general, I think everyone needs to do that because it's so easy to ignore that it's an issue if you're not directly affected by it. After the workshop I went back to the BVG to try to pay again and they were closed. Again. It's as if they really didn't want me to succumb to the system #anarchy.
Friday night Hannah, Michelle, and I went to a DJ event down the street from where Hannah and I live, where Ipek (our Berlin homestay coordinator/princess of the Berlin lesbian DJ scene) was DJ-ing that night. Danced a LOT. Like so much. and we found a side room where not many people were, but we could still see Ipek doing her thang, so we danced in there the whole night and since it was less crowded it meant that I got to do my flailing thing and jumpy thing and kind-of-dancey thing. My bangs were dripping sweat by like 3 songs in so that's a nice picture for you all xoxo.
Saturday was our travel day for PARISSSSSSS! Our flight didn't leave til like 2pm so that was nice. Got to Paris by about 4, checked into our hostel in Montmartre, and walked up a bunch of stairs to the Sacre Coeur area and ate dinner.
Allie, Hannah, Ezra, me, and Michelle pre French feast by the Sacre Coeur. Kate and Kris also came to Paris with us but they went elsewhere for din.
Really beautiful view of the city from up there. That night (turned 21 at midnight (!)) Kate, Kris, Michelle and I went to a bar down the street from our hostel and they bought me my first alcoholic drink ever omg so gross. Actually it was a mint mojito so it was delicious. Nice people my friends are. We met a woman named Fanny who totally used us to practice her English. She was nice though and she had a funny name so we liked her.
Sunday was the 21st anniversary of my day of birth WHOA so old. I think it might have been one of my fave birthdays ever (tied with my surprise 20th last year - I have really good friends). Started the morning off with a two hour walking tour of Paris (beginning RIGHT in the middle of the square where Marie Antoinette was beheaded - so cool) and ending at the Eiffel tower. The day was beautiful too, it was pretty much totally sunny and cloudless the entire day. After the tour, we went to a flea market that stretched along an entire street and was sooooo big and cool and vintage and inexpensive (I even haggled a dress down from 4 euros to 3 so if I didn't have street cred before, well..). I was swept off my feet. I could have spent 3 days going through every item of clothing, trinket, poster, jewelry, etc at that place. AHHH so much love for French flea. After we finished rummaging, we climbed a hill in the park to come to this awesome open area right under the Sacre Coeur with a fountain, stairs, grass, cement platforms with a cute string band jamming, and another beeeeaaauutiful view of the city.
Sunday was the 21st anniversary of my day of birth WHOA so old. I think it might have been one of my fave birthdays ever (tied with my surprise 20th last year - I have really good friends). Started the morning off with a two hour walking tour of Paris (beginning RIGHT in the middle of the square where Marie Antoinette was beheaded - so cool) and ending at the Eiffel tower. The day was beautiful too, it was pretty much totally sunny and cloudless the entire day. After the tour, we went to a flea market that stretched along an entire street and was sooooo big and cool and vintage and inexpensive (I even haggled a dress down from 4 euros to 3 so if I didn't have street cred before, well..). I was swept off my feet. I could have spent 3 days going through every item of clothing, trinket, poster, jewelry, etc at that place. AHHH so much love for French flea. After we finished rummaging, we climbed a hill in the park to come to this awesome open area right under the Sacre Coeur with a fountain, stairs, grass, cement platforms with a cute string band jamming, and another beeeeaaauutiful view of the city.
Even more beautiful view of the trash cans. Kate and I picnicked on the grass with apples, cheese, nuts, raisins, and wine. Then just chilled out for a while before we headed out. We passed the Sacre Coeur as we left and there was a big crowd sitting on the front steps and a mime was performing in front of all of them. A mime. In Paris. Actually miming. In Paris. He was really funny, too like I was actually laughing out loud. At one point he came over to Kate and did the whole cheek kiss kiss thing but repeated it like 17 times. It was adorable. Then Kate and I walked through the flea market again as it was closing and Kate bought me a kickbutt sweatshirt that has "Natasha" airbrushed on the front and "DC or bust" on the back. It was for some high school's history club and it is hilarious and awesome and I love it. Then we went back to the hostel, I chatted with my mom for a bit, got dinner (escargot - delicious), drank more wine that Hannah bought for me with the pals in the hostel, ate crispy m&m's given to me by Michelle (I've been really good about expressing my love for those because they're super delicious AND because of the nostalgia they present from my childhood because for some reason they were banned in the US when I was like 7 - stupid - so I was really excited to find them here), and went to bed. Literally think it was my ideal day and it happened to be my birthday so that was cool too.
Monday we went to the Louvre! Got some tea from Mariage Freres which was absolutely splendid and made me feel pretty bougie. The museum was incredible. Literally got lost. But it was so cool and I loved every minute of it (minus the swarm of other tourists that were constantly surrounding me). Saw the Mona Lisa and the Mary Magdalene statue and the works. COol stuff.
After the Louvre, we got some crepes (tuna and cheese in a crepe. WHAT so good) and did some thrift store window shopping and went home. All of us hung out in our hostel room for a long time and chatted and giggled and drank more wine and figured out which Harry Potter character each person on the Program was (I was a mix between Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood) and then went to get some appetizers and drinks at a restaurant down the street. We just sat there forever and played cards and had a grand time. It was wonderful.
Tuesday was Versailles dayyyyyy so incredible. Incredible in a way where it was like so beautiful and fancy and HUGE but also incredibly sickening because all of that beauty and massive excessive grandeur was at the stake of the poor starving French citizens. Weird/kinda eerie feeling but also really really cool and fun to pretend like I was a princess or something walking through the hall of mirrors and stuff. We had a picnic in the garden at Versailles too (French chevre included). SO dope.
Then we went back to the hostel and hung out at a cafe/crepe place right down the street and had some hot cocoa, crepes, and wifi. Did some web surfing and some reading and went back and went to bed.
Wednesday we started our day super early so we could get in line for the CATACOMBS before it got too long. We got there at like 9:30 and still had to wait for about a half hour. Reeeeally cool down there though. As we were walking down and it was really spooky, I taught Michelle, Ezra, and Kate the "Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose, will I ever see thee wed? I will marry at thy will, sire. At thy will, sire" song so we could all sing it in rounds and be really creepy walking in the dark skull-laden halls of the Paris underground. It was indeed really creepy. And awesome.
After the combs, we decided to mosey on over to the Notre Dame and have another picnic-like thing along the Seine. We sat there for quite a while. A bunch of tourist boats kept passing so we would wave and usually they would wave back. Then we came up with the idea of making up a synchronized leg-crossing-and-uncrossing dance for every time a boat came by. Got mostly positive feedback. Look out for us in #NotreDame or #Seine tagged instagrams? We're probably famous by now.
Then we headed into the Notre Dame. So beautiful and very overwhelming. When we first walked in, I was overcome with a weird like nostalgic kind of sensation, I think due to the incense-y smell and just the church atmosphere in general. It's comforting and I haven't been in such an ambiance in a while. I also think it was kind of like reminding me of home which I miss a bit here and there. At one point I got a little emotional when I saw people waiting to go to confession because it brought back a slew of memories and I sort of had this inner tousle with myself because I'm not sure what my relationship with religion is and stuff and I just had a mini personal quandary about it I think. Like I was finding such comfort in this institution which I've for a while now been thinking is so deeply, intrinsically rooted in such problematic organization and practice. It was confusing. Really cool windows though, stained glass is beautiful. And I got to give a little fist-chest-tap-kiss-my-two-fingers-and-throw-up-a-peace-sign motion to the Saint Louis statue. Didn't end up climbing the church because the line was kind of long and it was rainy and stuff. Still sweet to be inside where Quasimodo lurked.
After the Dame, we stepped in Shakespeare and Company for a bit. That was so cool and cute and nice and fun and satisfying. I leafed through a few of the shelves for a bit, took a book up to the upper level to flip through it a bit while a dad guy played Happiness is a Warm Gun on the piano. Then I played the one song I remember from piano lessons and we left. Love that place.
Our next stop was the Arc de Triomphe. We climbed all the way to the top and saw SUCH beautiful view of the city. It was pretty rainy, but unbelievably gorgeous nonetheless. Spent a while up there. Had some good I'll-take-your-picture-if-you-take-ours interactions. Then started the descent down.
After the triumphant arc, we walked across the river to the Eiffel Towerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! First we had a little coffee/feet resting break in a cafe. Then we started the climb by Miley Cyrus to the top of le tour. The stairs were actually closed by the time we got there so we had to take the elevator. I thought the view from the arc was beautiful, but the Eiffel is incomparable. SO IMMENSELY MARVELOUS. We got to see the city as the sun went down, from like 300 meters above it. Unreal.
Monday we went to the Louvre! Got some tea from Mariage Freres which was absolutely splendid and made me feel pretty bougie. The museum was incredible. Literally got lost. But it was so cool and I loved every minute of it (minus the swarm of other tourists that were constantly surrounding me). Saw the Mona Lisa and the Mary Magdalene statue and the works. COol stuff.
After the Louvre, we got some crepes (tuna and cheese in a crepe. WHAT so good) and did some thrift store window shopping and went home. All of us hung out in our hostel room for a long time and chatted and giggled and drank more wine and figured out which Harry Potter character each person on the Program was (I was a mix between Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood) and then went to get some appetizers and drinks at a restaurant down the street. We just sat there forever and played cards and had a grand time. It was wonderful.
Tuesday was Versailles dayyyyyy so incredible. Incredible in a way where it was like so beautiful and fancy and HUGE but also incredibly sickening because all of that beauty and massive excessive grandeur was at the stake of the poor starving French citizens. Weird/kinda eerie feeling but also really really cool and fun to pretend like I was a princess or something walking through the hall of mirrors and stuff. We had a picnic in the garden at Versailles too (French chevre included). SO dope.
Then we went back to the hostel and hung out at a cafe/crepe place right down the street and had some hot cocoa, crepes, and wifi. Did some web surfing and some reading and went back and went to bed.
Wednesday we started our day super early so we could get in line for the CATACOMBS before it got too long. We got there at like 9:30 and still had to wait for about a half hour. Reeeeally cool down there though. As we were walking down and it was really spooky, I taught Michelle, Ezra, and Kate the "Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose, will I ever see thee wed? I will marry at thy will, sire. At thy will, sire" song so we could all sing it in rounds and be really creepy walking in the dark skull-laden halls of the Paris underground. It was indeed really creepy. And awesome.
After the combs, we decided to mosey on over to the Notre Dame and have another picnic-like thing along the Seine. We sat there for quite a while. A bunch of tourist boats kept passing so we would wave and usually they would wave back. Then we came up with the idea of making up a synchronized leg-crossing-and-uncrossing dance for every time a boat came by. Got mostly positive feedback. Look out for us in #NotreDame or #Seine tagged instagrams? We're probably famous by now.
Then we headed into the Notre Dame. So beautiful and very overwhelming. When we first walked in, I was overcome with a weird like nostalgic kind of sensation, I think due to the incense-y smell and just the church atmosphere in general. It's comforting and I haven't been in such an ambiance in a while. I also think it was kind of like reminding me of home which I miss a bit here and there. At one point I got a little emotional when I saw people waiting to go to confession because it brought back a slew of memories and I sort of had this inner tousle with myself because I'm not sure what my relationship with religion is and stuff and I just had a mini personal quandary about it I think. Like I was finding such comfort in this institution which I've for a while now been thinking is so deeply, intrinsically rooted in such problematic organization and practice. It was confusing. Really cool windows though, stained glass is beautiful. And I got to give a little fist-chest-tap-kiss-my-two-fingers-and-throw-up-a-peace-sign motion to the Saint Louis statue. Didn't end up climbing the church because the line was kind of long and it was rainy and stuff. Still sweet to be inside where Quasimodo lurked.
After the Dame, we stepped in Shakespeare and Company for a bit. That was so cool and cute and nice and fun and satisfying. I leafed through a few of the shelves for a bit, took a book up to the upper level to flip through it a bit while a dad guy played Happiness is a Warm Gun on the piano. Then I played the one song I remember from piano lessons and we left. Love that place.
Our next stop was the Arc de Triomphe. We climbed all the way to the top and saw SUCH beautiful view of the city. It was pretty rainy, but unbelievably gorgeous nonetheless. Spent a while up there. Had some good I'll-take-your-picture-if-you-take-ours interactions. Then started the descent down.
After the triumphant arc, we walked across the river to the Eiffel Towerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! First we had a little coffee/feet resting break in a cafe. Then we started the climb by Miley Cyrus to the top of le tour. The stairs were actually closed by the time we got there so we had to take the elevator. I thought the view from the arc was beautiful, but the Eiffel is incomparable. SO IMMENSELY MARVELOUS. We got to see the city as the sun went down, from like 300 meters above it. Unreal.
We stayed up there for as long as we could. So awesome. Met some nice Australians on the way down, who coincidentally are making their next travel stop in Berlin, so I think we might meet up with them if it works out.
After the Eiffel, we went to take the metro home. As we were down on the platform waiting for the train to get there, I decided to try a Kinder Bueno (a candy bar that I see advertised everywhere in Europe, and I'm pretty sure it's made by the Nutella makers, so I was automatically intrigued). I inserted my money into the vending machine and as I was grabbing it, I heard my name being frantically called from behind me. I turned around only to see the door of the metro closing on Michelle's face and wide omg-are-you-really-missing-the-train-for-a-candy-bar-right-now eyes. Oops! Had to navigate my own way home that night (never really did that because everyone else always directed me). Took me a while but at least I had a delicious Kinder Bueno to keep me company. Was it worth it? One might (would) say yes totally most definitely.
Our plane left the next morning at 7am, so we had to leave our hostel by 4. That was miserable. Valentina was supposed to be on the same flight as us but she had been staying with her uncle in Paris, so she wasn't on the same shuttle as us. Her uncle was driving her and they got caught in traffic and she missed the flight by 3 minutes apparently. That poor soul. I slept the entire 2 hour plane ride. It was awesome, but waking up on the plane was for some reason 10x harder than it had been waking up in the hostel earlier that morning. Anyway, we got back to Berlin and I went straight to the BVG and finally got (had?) to pay my ticket!! Raise the roof! Went back home to my homestay in Friedrichschein and passed out for a 5 hour nap. Love those things. Naps really rule. Then I woke up, ate some pasta that Hannah made, read a little for class, and then we went to that Silver Future bar to say hi to everyone who had just gotten back from their trips. Fun shtuffffff.
Today we didn't have class, but it was more of a retreat thing at a center just outside of Berlin, a really swanky fancy area called Wansee. They gave us coffee and tea and fruit and lunch and doughnuts it was awesome. AND Lauren's birthday was the 18th, so Iveta had cakes for Lauren's and my birthdays. She's such a sweetheart. The retreat was cool. We all talked about our trips, played a game of mystery dream theorist, had lunch, talked about our individual research projects, made a yarn web of affirmations where everyone said something affirming to someone else in the group and was also given an affirmation by someone else in the group. That was nice. Then we all watched a movie called Lola and Billy the Kid, which is set in Kreutzberg and one of the actors is the husband of one of the hosts in a homestay here. It was a really good movie about queer Berlin and love struggles between Turks and Germans and family struggles with queerness. All that good stuff. It was actually pretty sad/poignant.
Then we came home, and I started this post which has since taken me all night. I took little break to FaceTime with the loves of my life back at the UD stomping grounds, Maddie, Susie, Kathleen, Emily, and Lucia. Got to see a sneak peak of Alpha Phi's POTH dance. It was alright I guess. JK it was absolutely beautiful and I love the music mix. Loved hearing from them and now I'm falling asleep so GUTE NACHT
xx
After the Eiffel, we went to take the metro home. As we were down on the platform waiting for the train to get there, I decided to try a Kinder Bueno (a candy bar that I see advertised everywhere in Europe, and I'm pretty sure it's made by the Nutella makers, so I was automatically intrigued). I inserted my money into the vending machine and as I was grabbing it, I heard my name being frantically called from behind me. I turned around only to see the door of the metro closing on Michelle's face and wide omg-are-you-really-missing-the-train-for-a-candy-bar-right-now eyes. Oops! Had to navigate my own way home that night (never really did that because everyone else always directed me). Took me a while but at least I had a delicious Kinder Bueno to keep me company. Was it worth it? One might (would) say yes totally most definitely.
Our plane left the next morning at 7am, so we had to leave our hostel by 4. That was miserable. Valentina was supposed to be on the same flight as us but she had been staying with her uncle in Paris, so she wasn't on the same shuttle as us. Her uncle was driving her and they got caught in traffic and she missed the flight by 3 minutes apparently. That poor soul. I slept the entire 2 hour plane ride. It was awesome, but waking up on the plane was for some reason 10x harder than it had been waking up in the hostel earlier that morning. Anyway, we got back to Berlin and I went straight to the BVG and finally got (had?) to pay my ticket!! Raise the roof! Went back home to my homestay in Friedrichschein and passed out for a 5 hour nap. Love those things. Naps really rule. Then I woke up, ate some pasta that Hannah made, read a little for class, and then we went to that Silver Future bar to say hi to everyone who had just gotten back from their trips. Fun shtuffffff.
Today we didn't have class, but it was more of a retreat thing at a center just outside of Berlin, a really swanky fancy area called Wansee. They gave us coffee and tea and fruit and lunch and doughnuts it was awesome. AND Lauren's birthday was the 18th, so Iveta had cakes for Lauren's and my birthdays. She's such a sweetheart. The retreat was cool. We all talked about our trips, played a game of mystery dream theorist, had lunch, talked about our individual research projects, made a yarn web of affirmations where everyone said something affirming to someone else in the group and was also given an affirmation by someone else in the group. That was nice. Then we all watched a movie called Lola and Billy the Kid, which is set in Kreutzberg and one of the actors is the husband of one of the hosts in a homestay here. It was a really good movie about queer Berlin and love struggles between Turks and Germans and family struggles with queerness. All that good stuff. It was actually pretty sad/poignant.
Then we came home, and I started this post which has since taken me all night. I took little break to FaceTime with the loves of my life back at the UD stomping grounds, Maddie, Susie, Kathleen, Emily, and Lucia. Got to see a sneak peak of Alpha Phi's POTH dance. It was alright I guess. JK it was absolutely beautiful and I love the music mix. Loved hearing from them and now I'm falling asleep so GUTE NACHT
xx
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