FUN THINGS 

Someone was super motivated.

Work by Alias

Kochen! (cooking) with Alexa, Katie, and Natan.

Pass this little lamb every day. He brings joy to my heart.

Furniture was glued to the ceiling at this bar, so everything had a bit of an upside down feeling.

Typical meal after midnight.

I have not felt like writing much lately. This blog feels burdensome, which is silly, but it does. I will write when I gain that darn motivation back. I’ll leave you with this piece of wheat paste I noticed the other day on my walk to school:

Das ist alles!

I went to the Hambuger Bahnof Contemporary Art Museum.

It was great to see the work of artists that I have talked about in class and or read about.

Keith Haring

Andy Warhol

Robert Rauschenberg

Marcel Duchamp

Joseph Beuys (these are blocks of animal fat)

It was huge and we couldn’t get through the whole building in 4 hours.

I have spent my last two Sundays at the Mauerpark Markt. The park is a 15 minute walk from my house and has a huge food/second hand/handmade market. I think it is the biggest in Berlin. The highlight by farrrrr is the karaoke  This guy brings the equipment every Sunday and has people lined up waiting to pick their song. Hundreds of people are watching. It is glorious.

My host mother just informed me that the reason we have a courtyard in the middle of the apartment building is because it was bombed during the war.

Thats all for now, I hope all is well in WA!

I aint no tourist

So I haven’t posted anything because I haven’t been taking very many pictures. I am becoming comfortable here and not taking my camera out with me. I will try harder to remember…

I’m listening to Sheryl Crow right now and she is transporting me back to senior year of high school driving to SPS. Music is the one thing here that makes me feel at home… I have heard Born in the USA more times than I’d like…did I already write this?

Yesterday after class I went to the Helmut Newton exhibition ‘White Women/ Sleepless Nights/ Big Nudes’ with my two British friends (I have been categorizing my friends by their homeland. England, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, France, Switzerland etc…). Helmut Newton is a photographer that was born in Berlin but left shortly before Hitler took power. His photography mainly consists of females in many different contexts, but usually with a high fashion spin. There were enormous pictures of naked women in heels that welcomed us into the exhibition.                    Helmut Newton:

Entrance of exhibition:

One of the huge entrance photographs, part of series’ Big Nudes’:

http://www.harrysmart.net/fine/bignude.html

Helmut Newton, YSL, French Vogue, Rue Aubriot, Paris 1975 (dressed)  © Helmut Newton Estate

*Probably didn’t site these pictures correctly…pls dont sue.

The exhibition was thought-provoking to say the least. Newton is addressing many different subjects, including but not limited to feminine/ masculine identity, power struggles, money and power, hypocrisy, narcissism, humor..the list goes on and on…

Last night I had a very traditional German dinner with my host mother and her bf. Brussel sprouts, potatoes with butter and beet salad:

Good thing I like all of these things. For real, I do.

So I have been searching for a good German children’s book, and look what I found!!!!!!!

This was ma book when I was a wee lil thang.

This week has been a new chapter in my Berlin life. I have stayed in every night of the week. Hooray! There is so much to experience all the time, it is hard to say no everyday!  Last week I went salsa dancing at Club Havana on Wednesday night, I fought the urge last night. I am realizing that I have time here, and need to have some organization and relaxation time. Many people at my school are only here for 2 or 3 weeks, so they are eager to fit everything into that time period. I still have 6 more weeks (and hopefully more) to soak it all in. I was talking with two guys who are also here for a longer period, and one of them wisely stated ” We’re here for the long haul, we can settle down a bit”. With that said…

Happy almost Friday!!!!

Liebe, Natalya

Hey mom! This one is for you! ^

Evergreen reunion! Ashley and Sierra are also doing independent contracts through Evergreen. They stayed with me for 5 days, it was awesome to see familiar faces. And eat this Mexican meal. We went to the Dali Museum, but found it disappointing because NONE of hiss paintings were there! I was really looking forward to seeing some, but they are all in huge museums around the world…

Pieces of the Berlin wall still remain standing in a few areas:

A few days ago I was talking to Mio’s babysitter, and she told me about a kind of secret spot near my apartment. I checked it out and it was a sweet little oasis in the middle of the city. I had to wait for someone to leave their apartment because it can only be reached through the building. I felt like Alice in Wonderland, walking down a long hallway and then reaching this tiny door that I had to prop open with a stick or it would lock. It is a park with many trees, a small playground, and some random art… I miss the green land of Washington.

Art Parttttttt

These ladies down here are the work of El Bocho. He was a big inspiration for coming to Berlin…something about his women speaks to my 19-year-old self.

I pass this little guy everyday on my way to school..

So. German is going pretty good, I feel in a rut right now though because we were just hit with a bunch of past tense verbs…

The night life is rockin’…I went to my first club last night that is an old apartment building. It had a full size boat outside of it that is a swing.

Some friends having a drink before we left…

Week 4 is about to begin!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers,

Natalya

TGIF

It’s Friday, and it’s awesome! Week 2 is done and boy I am so surprised by how much German I am able to speak and understand. TGIF  is an expression I had a conversation about with some GLS students. They were saying that they love this US expression and always use it. When I first met my friend Minna, and we were planning to hangout, she asked if I wanted to go dancing. I responded with “I’m down”, she was confused, and asked what that meant, did I want to or no? This was the beginning of my English slang realization…I explained that it was an expression, and that yes I wanted to go dancing. She then said, so why don’t you say you’re up? Now when I ask her if she wants to do something she responds with ” I’m Dowwnnnnn!”

There are many of these identical looking candy/trinket dispensers around Berlin. This was the first one I saw and it swallowed my money 😡 They all have different things inside and look very old…on my block there are about 4. I just did some research…about a minutes worth…and couldn’t find any info about them. I wonder where, why, and how long they have been here.

SOME SNAPPERS:

In every park that I have past there are multiple ping pong tables

On the Corner of my st. Lychener Strausse

Happy weekend!

Unification

My first week of school is over and I’m already beginning the second…

School is pretty good, I have met so many new people from all around the world that have chosen to come here because they love Berlin, or have heard great things. For many people German is their second or third language. Every Monday GLS has a meet n greet in the restaurant. I went this week, and it was really just a party! Many of us went out on Tuesday night as well because we have no class Wednesday, it is a National Holiday, Unification. The day that East and West Berlin decided to become one. In my book, The New Berlin, I have been learning a bit about Germany’s history:

” I think of the stories that Wessis (west Germans) have told me about this place, when Potsdamer Platz was located in the GDR, and how they would pass through the station without stopping, only catching a hushed glimpse of border guards holding their leashed, muzzled German shepherds in one arm and rifles in another. It was the only way to traverse the “death strip” (Todesstriefe), the West German term for the area between the two Berlin walls that was chemically treated, filled with land mines, and heavily guarded by dogs, lights, barbed wire, and guns.” –The New Berlin

I have been to one section of the wall on Warschauer Str. (Varshower) It is completely covered with beautiful artwork. When I walk around this city I think about how much change it has gone through in the last 50 years. The entire city is under construction. This is one of the ways Berlin is transforming itself physically to move forward from the dark history that can never be changed. Every block I walk on there are multiple building being torn down or renovated. Even in front of my school there is construction:

I am living with a host family in an app. about 10 minutes walk away from the school. The area is called Prenzlauerberg. There is a mother Djamila, and her two boys Lorenz (12) and Mio (4). They are only at their mother’s half of the time, and the other half at their fathers. The house goes from noisy to silent during the week. I really am enjoying getting to know them. Lorenz is learning English in school, so we can help each other. I have a very nice room with a big window overlooking the courtyard. I love the neighborhood, it is near the center of Berlin and just a short walk form the Ubahn (subway) and Tram station. I am surrounded by backereis (bakeries), sushi, Indian, and African cuisine restaurants, bars, and a park. About a 15 minute walk away is a huge park which randomly (or maybe not…) has a petting zoo! Here is my room:

Zee sweet kitchen und terrace (zee is not a German word…und is …fy..i…)

A week ago I went to Volkspark Friedrichshaine. The have a big hill you can walk up (one of the only ones!) and also this fancy famous fountain called Fairy Tale Fountain. Surrounding the water are sculptures depicting characters form Brothers Grimm fairy tales:

Hello old man that appears to be a baby.

Alrighty, enough for now, hope you enjoyed

Tschus! (the u should have a umlaut above it, the double dots, but I cant figure out how slash too lazy)

Natalya

Oh sweet street art

Rant of the day

I have spent that last 3 days searching for a converter that goes from American to European. After walking 8 miles just today, I finally found one just one block from the flat (ohhh of course). It is a megga world converter that can work in over 150 different countries, hell yeah. I wandered around the library and read a few pages in Bridget Jones’ Diary, I was laughing so hard I felt like I was disturbing the peace of the library. There are so many cafes here, and adorable with big comfy cushions. I wish I could sit in every one of them. Also I found out some information about my host family. It is one mother with two sons, 12, and 4 years old. They live on Lychener Str. (street) about a 10 minute walk from my school. My aunt tells me it is the biggest party neighborhood in Berlin! I move in on Sunday. I will miss the views from my and aunt and uncles place. I like to walk out on the terrace frequently. I love the perspective, and the constant movement of cars and people, and of course spying on them (in more of a curious than creepy way). I am really ready for school to start and to meet new people (hopefully a few that speak english).

I am almost finished with The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. It is a breathtaking book. I have been reading it for months, and am glad I am finishing it during my transition to Berlin. Like an old friend, it brings comfort. I am missing all the people I love too much. Tomorrow will be the end of my first week here, and what an emotional roller coaster it has been.

James and Gisela’s apartment is on the 9th floor of the right tower

View from terrace

Hallo!

I have arrived safely in Berlin! The first two nights I stayed in a hostel because the guest room at my aunt and uncle’s was occupied. I spent my first day walking and skating around the hostel area. I ran into two street markets and a huge park. I played with many dogs (I MISS LU)! The next two days I worked on a tile project at my uncles new flat. He is renting it out to his business partner, Arto. The tile project was much larger than I anticipated, there were three mosaics all about 5′ x 4′. We spent about 25 hours total on them- it was an exhausting process, but it helped me sleep soundly at night. Just as I thought I was on schedule, the last two days I have been sleeping all day and up all night. That will change tomorrow though because I have to go to the U.S. embassy to renew my American passport. I feel like I have not really experienced Berlin yet, but I will move into my new flat on Sunday and school will start on Mondayyipeeeeeee! The food here is great. We eat a late dinner, then take a break and have tea and some dessert (usually chocolate or tart).

First dinner at James and Gisela’s flat with Arto in the middle

On another note, the street art here is AMAZING!  I feel like I’m walking around a dirty gallery all the time. It is so inspiring and constantly changing!

Here goes…

Here goes my first post. I was iffy about having a blog, but it will be the most convenient way to let all the people I love know about my adventures. And lets face it, I’m sure I’ll get into it…

I leave for Berlin on September 13th. I have created an independent contract through Evergreen that encompasses a few things. I will attend a German language school for 10 weeks, in the beginners class (I know nothing..or zilch…wait is that German??..heh..) and I will also work on two mixed media artworks a week for a total of 10 sketches and 10 taken to a complete state. These will be an exploration of new mediums such as watercolor, ink wash, 3D/figure drawing and collage.

I am staying with a host family that my school has set me up with, but don’t find out who/where they are until my FIRST DAY OF CLASS. I am biting my nails and cheek skin in anticipation. I pray to be near campus and fun lovin’ folks.

I still have so much to do in the next week and a halfUUugghhh shopping, packing, documents, and meetings. And wrapping up the last few days of my nanny job in Seattle.

Thanks for reading,

Natalya