Getting My Bearings

(If you didn't know, Berlin is obsessed with bears so the above is kind of a pun. Just thought you should appreciate all I have to offer...)

Slowly but surely I'm starting to feel more at home here. If we're being honest, it was a little harder than I thought it would be, which culminated in me having a pretty massive pity party for myself complete with tears and chocolate pudding on Tuesday night.

But since then I've felt better. Day by day, with each new street I recognize or routine I start to make, it gets easier. I'm a creature of habit, and until I have a sweet clue about how my life is going to be like here, it'll be a bit of a struggle.

In the mean time, while I acclimate, I've noticed some similarities and differences from my life in New York, that I feel compelled to share:

The same:

• Walking is a great way to get around.
• My sense of direction still sucks.
• I like looking at buildings.
• The majority of people speak English.
• There are all types of food. Tons of Asian and Falafel places. Italian. Even TEX MEX!!! Fine by me. (To be perfectly honest, besides for pretzels, I am not a huge fan of traditional German fare. And have yet to eat any of it.)
• I'm still not that into Euro guys. They're just so...Euro...
• I can eat a wedge of brie by myself in two seconds for no reason.
• I'm still cooking tons of mushrooms. (That update is specifically for The BFF.)
• No matter how certain I am that when I walk into a drug store I will totally know exactly what I need and I definitely don't need to write down a list, I will certainly forget the most important item. Seriously, nail polish remover, why couldn't you just have jumped off the shelf and into my cart!
• While wearing a wrap dress, I will accidentally flash a minimum of two people every day.
• Hanging up my clothes after work is the hardest thing ever. Letting a weeks' worth pile up in a chair is not.
• I still send "hilarious" emails to my work colleagues to do things like ship me Chipotle burritos by "cob" (close of business). 

Different:

• There is sky! I can see the sky! 
• I am not that into the parks here. They're sort of overgrown. New York spoiled me. The city might be so poor that Mayor Bloomberg is just shelling out his own money for stuff now, but dayum, the parks. The glorious, perfectly manicured and planted parks. Sigh.
• There is no Chipotle. Dear sweet beautiful burritos, how I miss you. According to Uli, there is one in LONDON. And once she went there to get it. I am not even joking. (And I thought I was really making a great effort schlepping all the way down 14th to Union Square to pick it up since it doesn't deliver. If I ever get on a flight someone intervene, please.)
• People dress so casual here. Maybe it's just the season, but I am by far the most dressed up person I see. I probably look like such a tool. Sorry that I'm a consultant and I'm trying, gosh! 
• I only like the expensive clothes here. Everything else would have been considered ugly in 1994. Yeah, it's that bad. Forever 21 where are you??

Okay, that's all for now. I'm sure I'll have some more really great insights later, but now it's time for me to figure out a way to watch free American TV on my computer because Hulu doesn't work here. Oh the humanity.