09/02/08

A little update.
i've been in germany for almost three weeks. so far: i've started to familiarize myself with the berlin public transportation system (though the buses are still giving me a hard time), have visited a good number of museums and galleries, walked all over the city, eaten bad fish twice (and thrown up bad fish twice), met up with my good friend kerstin, spent four days in Hamburg and Kiel, and moved in with the family i'm working for.
i'm starting to adjust, and while i'm still homesick it's not as bad as it was the first week. i'm trying to keep myself busy and positive. it's absolutely beautiful here, the family lives on the outskirts of berlin and everything is green, and if i just walk five minutes i'm in the forest. i've been going on runs and finding little lakes and secret spots. the leaves are already starting to change color a little, and the weather is still very mild. last night i walked home through really thick mist rising from the meadows and woods, it was really eerie (sp?) and beautiful.
i think the biggest challenge is going to be making friends. people aren't that outgoing (but i've been told that it's even harder in other german cities) and you generally have to make the first step. last night i made my first friend at a concert, and the mom just gave me the number of another aupair my age in the area. so i'll give her a call and see where that goes. other than that i've been spending some time with my aunts and grandma, and getting to know them is really nice, too. it helps with the homesickness. sunday night my aunt vio and me made dinner together and then watched the german answer to csi (tatort -> crimescene). it was pretty great.
ok, now i'm going to try to upload some pictures of the house, the family (sunday breakfast outside), the view from my room, and my trip to hamburg to mee my baby cousin marlene.
i miss tucson!




uploading is taking a while... more later.