It’s been a minute! Since we last talked, I got my German visa (an artist visa), good for 2 years! And I started taking German lessons. The teacher doesn’t speak English, which is typical in a German class, that is, to only speak in the language you’re learning. However, she also doesn’t really know English, and is limited in her ability to explain things, often reverting to French. Between a Swedish guy and an American who’s been in Berlin for 2 years, the important stuff ends up roughly translated to the rest of us, but not without profound confusion.
I think I’m the oldest of the 8 students and least naturally adept at absorbing languages. Or maybe it’s just been awhile since I was on the student side of a lectern. It’s a frustrating blast though. I love walking home afterward, reading the building signs, sounding out words. I was complimented on my pronunciation and told it holds a lot of potential.
The teacher said we should practice everyday, then one morning we’ll wake up and it will all be there.
That is perfect advice, I realized, for enduring any transformation. You practice, you try, you mess up, you do it again. It’s always a little painful. Or unbearably painful. Then one day it’s not. Then you’re on the other side in the new morning and on to the next transformation.
Alles gut.
In domestic news: Jasmine and I went to Bauhaus yesterday, which sounds cool, but Bauhaus is the German Home Depot, so it was just orange and overwhelming and we walked away wondering if we bought the right grit sizes of sandpaper. We also bought black paint for a long awaited home improvement project. We’re going to black out one of the of bedrooms and turn it into a low key, techno sex club to earn some extra cash, or “dosh” as they call it here. No lines. Totally discrete.
Just kidding. We’re painting a table.
I’ve heard birds singing in the morning. I opened the window to hear them better and smell the morning air, then I noticed all the little buds on the branches. Spring is coming. Nature is waking up.
I held my friend’s baby yesterday. The sun came through their window and shined on my hair and he tried to grab the sun and laughed and laughed.
30 Days to Berlin 