And that's what I did last weekend. I overcame my genetic predisposition toward laziness, and when presented with an invitation to do something, I made myself say YES.
This went into effect on Friday when I made an effort to join a few work acquaintances and their friends to go out for Carnival. Not only that, I invited this group of relative strangers over to my flat ahead of time. Partially because I had far too many bottles of Prosecco (or Sekt as they call it) in my fridge, but mostly as a reason to stop living like a slovenly homeless person. When you have no roommate to yell at you about unpacking, a suitcase can stay in the middle of your hall for a really long time, so I've learned. (In general, I only clean for company, a life long lesson attributed to my mother. But that's better than never, right?)
The night turned out to be really fun with six of us sitting around my 90s mod East German living room. Although we spent plenty of timing researching Carnival parties around Berlin, it soon became clear that the thought of bracing the cold to pay money at a club was not particularly desirable. Fine by me - the 3am commute to your bed from the living room is far superior to any other option.
Although it was fun to do something other than wallow in my own self pity, the big takeaway from the night is how a lot of my life in Germany is sort of like watching a US movie set in a foreign country. The actors have Euro accents, but they're speaking English. It's not natural. You know that if the purpose wasn't for you to understand then they would be speaking in their mother tongue. So in situations such as that evening, those talking to me would speak English, but others having a separate conversation would revert back to German. Just because they know English doesn't mean they prefer to speak it. I get it.
The other big language lesson I learned was on Saturday night. My friend Ulli, the one who I have known since working with her in New York, invited me to go to her parents' house in Jena (south west of Berlin). A chance to see a new German city? The opportunity to meet her family? An excuse for a train ride? Check, check, check. No brainer.
It was great, although an entirely new level of language barrier to face. Even though her family members have a good understanding of English, they don't really speak it. So we tried some to communicate, with Ulli as our translator, but to be honest, I enjoyed my role as a silent observer.
Since her parents had agreed to make a favorite family meal of homemade pelmeni (Russian dumplings aka the world is global), her brothers and sisters and their significant others all joined in too. Seated around a large table, all I could think about was how I felt like I was part of a table read with German actors. There was something about the flow of conversation, the interjections, the pauses and the laughter that were too well-timed for it to be real life. Maybe the fact that I only got about 30% of what they were saying helped make these other aspects more heightened in my mind. Either way, it was an experience.
They next day I saw the sites of Jena, which is the birthplace of the shot glass. Unfortunately it was Sunday therefore the shot glass MUSEUM was closed, but I was just happy to know it exists somewhere in the world.
As we walked through town I kept making Ulli stop when I saw something "German" enough to warrant a photo. Here are a few pictures.
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