Wake me up before you go, go ...

It's catch up time again. I've started embracing the laidback mentality here. It's weird not worrying about my phone or stressing about the paper. I've already started thinking about returning home and to work and thinking about what I'll miss and not miss here. But that'll be another post :)

To catch you up ...
After I interviewed at the Olympic Stadium, I came back and wandered around with my small group of friends. I then met up with Felix, another couchsurfer, and we picked up some meat, bread, cheese and OJ at a grocery store and ate at a local park that's popular with students. (He's in the picture here.) It was fun and felt very bohemian. I want to head back to the park on Sunday, where students have a flea market. When I returned, Lara, Abigail, Kevin, Vince and I all went to an Irish pub nearby, which was also fun. There are some silly pictures on Facebook of us laughing if you care to check.

Yesterday we went to Der Spiegel, a really popular newsmagazine in Germany. We talked to two English speakers who run the online section of the magazine. They talked a lot about multimedia and the industry - basically what we're all dealing with in terms of advertising and revenue problems. They seemed optimistic and worried at the same time. We'll always need news, but we need to figure out how to present it and get paid for it, as soon as possible.

After the paper, Professor Freeman, Kevin, Lara and I went to Germany's parliament building, the Reichstag. It has a crazy swirl on the top that people walk around, so we walked. (See here?)


Some kids seem pretty interested. They were pointing out things and then looked up at me and got embarrassed that I was taking their picture.

Then again some weren't so interested. This is great.

And it rained. And rained. And rained. We tried to wait it out but decided to walk in the rain to a cafe Freeman knew about that has excellent desserts. We walked to the bus stop and were drenched, and my shoes were full of water. The cake (Lara and I shared a chocolate and raspberry slice) was definitely worth it. We also got to know Freeman better in a smaller group, which I really liked because I've never ahd him as a professor. He has some great stories about previous visits to Germany - when he and his wife visited in the '80s, they knew they couldn't take East Berlin money back to West Berlin and left a large chunk of change on the table for waiters, he thinks in the same cafe. It was decked out in Titanic-esque decor and musicians. Fantastic.

We came back and changed and then headed out as a group to Kevin's assignment. He's featuring a bassist in a band that played on the street a few days ago, but this gig was in a private college. It was pretty good, and we met some fun people our age. When we walked in, they played "Sweet Home Alabama," so that was funny.

This morning, Lara and I woke up and went to the Turkish market (which I went to at the beginning of my trip) and met up with Ian. We bought all kinds of fruit - strawberries, cherries, grapes, raspberries - all for about 5 euro. We've been deprived and craving fruit. Lara picked up some olive spread so we can make sandwiches for a few days next week. I was restless today and didn't want to stay at the hotel, so almost as soon as we got back, I gave Amanda's shoes back to her and was invited to go with her and Jessie to some boutique shops. My mentality was the same as in Athens - fun to shop, but the price isn't right unless it's on the sale rack. I didn't buy anything, but we bonded by walking the wrong way a few times, buying ice cream and walking in the rain. The rain pops up out of nowhere here.

Once we got back, I met up with Lara and Abigail again, and we decided it's time for a girl's night out. Lara napped, and I took a long shower. The three of us went to an Italian restaurant across the street and laughed our heads off. I'm so glad I get along with these girls and that we're so close after only a week. As I pointed out at dinner, it's hard to believe I won't see them again in about a week. And now we're getting ready to go out. What can I say, some nights the girls just have to dance.

I'll update you on that tomorrow. Here's to Friday night!
Love,
C