Grocery Shopping, Food, and more Cultural Differences,

Dear Grocery Shoppers.

Sprechen sie English? Hopefully, because I have no clue what I am doing. I moved into an apartment yesterday, and had to go grocery shopping, which turned into being more nerve racking than Jewel-Osco, Until now I have been eating out at currywurst, doner kabab, and pretzel stands, because I was in a hostel(these are all excellent foods. This has been working out because I only have to say the name of the food I want, and Danke schoen, and i can go about enjoying my merry self. However this gets expensive, and this weekend is easter holiday, so stores are closed on sunday and monday. So thus I was forced to grocery shop. Now maybe I am not used to going into this particular grocery store, but I dont believe that is the case. I had a hell of a time. I bought meat, but in Germany, the germans just throw shit in their meat. Iv seen, and eaten meat with carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower in own slice. Although I think I bought ham and salami, but with the language gap its quite possible i bought dog , or rat.(just kidding)(hopefully).  Besides the meat, I bought bread and some other essentials, but I am sure i looked ridiculous walking around this small grocery store doing maybe 8 to 9 laps and only coming out with less than ten items. Oh well maybe life is about looking a little ridiculous. 

But I havent talked about food recently and I feel a little ashamed. So.... let me start this off.  

Currywurst and fries with mayonnaise. This food equals a heart attack I would be proud of. Currywurst is sausage chopped up sprinkled with curry seasoning and drenched in ketchup. Delicious! Definitely on my top 5 hot dog list. Its exactly like you would imagine, and it just works, with a nice mesh of curry and sausage and ketchup. WOW! I have noticed most people like to get fries with hot mayonnaise with this. Mostly because they don't feel fat enough. And once again mayonnaise and fries are exactly what you would expect, and it works. I have enjoyed this tasty snack more than once, and I believe it goes well with a Berliner Pilsner. 

Doner Kabab!!!! Top five favorite sandwiches, watch out. This is a sandwich that will blow you out of the water (if your in a boat, or swimming or something). This sandwich is turkish, and I am excited because I am now living in turkish town. I may come back fat. This sandwich starts out with a flat bread, and consists of shaved lamb, chopped lettuce cabbage, onions, cucumber, and tomatoes, topped with a red sauce i wouldn't know because i don't speak german. But this warm snack goes good at anytime, from early in the morning to late at night. And besides the lamb, it has to be healthy. But ill be honest it doesn't taste that way. I would recommend to anyone to try a Doner Kabab sometime soon, its a sandwich that America is mourning not having much of. And at the price of 2 euros you can never go wrong.  

Schnitzel. Ok wow. I had a turkey Schnitzel and it was amazing,  but this is a German treat that once again America is missing out on. I am going to try and come back knowing how to make them, because, its simple that it need to become part of my diet. I am not quite sure how or what it all consists of, but it had lignin berries on top and I enjoyed every bite. I'm sure I will eat more before I get done, and I can explain more later. 

So thats just a small portion of the food over here that is good. Please let me know if you know of any german food you think I should try and Ill give it a go. 

And last but not least cultural differences. Which I believe this may be a running segment in my blog for a while. But this difference is good and made me laugh. In my hostel before I moved out, I had a conversation with the bartender at mid-day, about why Chris Brown hit Rhianna. He could not understand why rappers do bad things when they have so much money. I ended up trying to explain to him that most rappers are thugs and that they are products of American ghettos. He couldn' t understand that these people were never taught good habits, and so when they get a lot of money their old habits sometimes don't leave them. He just kept telling me that when he gets a lot of money he will just chill. I smiled and remembered that Germans dont have problems with things such as guns, and the ghettos are cake walks compared to American ghettos. I live very close to the turkish ghetto, but I am still very very welcome and all most all of the turkish people I see smile and say hello. So far Germany has been pleasant-vile and everyone is very friendly. Either way I had to laugh that, in Germany, American rap is really popular and they don't understand what it really comes out of.  

But I have posted a link to my photos on the left hand side, so please check them out, I will post them as I have time, and will try to add captions as much as possible. 

Thanks and Tschüss (thats bye)

Funky Town

Dear Foreign Travelers,

I am going to let you all live vicariously through my experiences. So the next time anyone asks where in the world you have been, you claim Berlin on your list. This way my stories can become you stories, and you can spread the good news of Berlin across the globe, bringing peace and joy to all that seek it. Well maybe not. But if someone asks you what Berlin is like, you can now tell them. 

Its an interesting mix between old and new. The buildings and the architecture, runs the gamut, from extremely old building that looked like they were built for roman emperors, to very hip looking office buildings, to everything in between. Many buildings are sprawled with graffiti and most of the people look like have partied for the last 20 years. But has a unique European feel with people riding bikes everywhere, and small streets with unique sausage stands everywhere. Yes they know sausage and they know it quite well. But that is for another post. But here are some pictures I took within the last coupe days of trying to get apartments, talking to my school and getting used to the time difference.  

 check it out ill post more pictures later

sign language

Dear foreign speakers,

I dont know how you do it. I came to Berlin imagining it would be a city I would be able to communicate in easily. Everyone I spoke to, said oh yes when Berliners see English speaking folks they speak english because they want to practice their English. This may be the case. But Im not speaking to the right Berliners then. And I have found I am not speaking better German at all, but I am learning. Such as how to communicate via street sign language. This involves a lot of pointing, smiling, and hoping. This is good because I have skills in all of these areas. And thus far I have managed to smile, point, and hope my way through Berlin. 

But really its not that bad. I would say more than half the people I have spoke to speak very good english and are happy to speak to me. And the other half know a little. Today was a good example of me speaking to someone who knew little. I was trying to buy a cell phone to use for the next four months. The young man behind the desk was trying his best to keep up with me, and smiled and pointed a lot, and together we got the business of my cell phone taken care of. However I had to take my passport out at one point, and hand it over to him. As he took it, he got this big grin on his face and said "oh... your from America." I said yes hesitantly, not sure what he was going to say next. But he comes out and says "TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, Is it real?" I laughed out loud in the store, I thought out of all the cliches America is know for, I didnt know the Texas chain saw massacre movie was one of them. I was personally a little embarrassed I had never seen the movie. However things seemed to run a little more smoothly after that. Which means a lot more smiling and a little less hoping. 

But I must go look for a place to stay, Please share with me if you have any stories of any hack job sign language that you have had to do. Im sure Ill have more stories by the end of the trip. And their will be picture and descriptions of Berlin tomorrow so please tune in, thanks.

Traveling

Dear friends,

I have made it into Berlin safe and sound. But I smell terribly from hot airport terminals, I haven't slept more than 2 hours in the last 26 hrs, and Im paying for internet by the minute. So I will make this brief. First off, disappointments. I did not become a member of the mile high club like I expected, but there were several flight attendants that were looking me up and down, and were pretty cute. If they hadn't been serving me good food all night and morning, I would have been in the club.  But thats another thing. The food. In the past I have only ever rode on domestic flights. And they don't compare. I was served a whole dinner that rocked my socks, no top 5 or anything, but Chicken with rice and mushroom in cream sauce is one hell of a treat, compared to the stale crackers I am used to getting. And to have a nice selection of liquor was also nice. Well not nice selection, but a free selection, which was nice. The trip was enjoyable besides the layovers and there was lots of cute women. Europe might be a place to come back to. Anyway, I must explore the city and so I can let you all know what it really has to offer. 

Enjoy the States

I Bid You Adeau

Dear Friends, Lovers, and all others... oh and family,

I bid you farewell, this will be my last blog before I go global. I will miss you, and you will all be in my thoughts. The only thing left to do is to leave you with a song to contemplate. I feel confident about my trip, and I believe this song reflects how I feel.

So Auf Wiedersehen, Ill write for you all when I arrive in Berlin

Crackers

Dear White People,

I am not talking about you. I am talking about the snack food. I was reading my friend Petes Blog on chips,(the blog in general is entertaining) and I kept thinking how much I dislike chips. I hate chips so much that I had to write about it.  Well OK I don't hate chips, actually I enjoy a good salt and vinegar, every now and then, but... chips don't stand a chance compared to crackers. But nobody likes the guy that brings crackers to the party. And thats where my rage begins. Chips are put on a pedestal compared to crackers, with their shiny bags, their low low prices, and their huge selections in the convenience stores. And because chips are so popular, I feel a little girly while eating crackers. But no more! Im taking a stand. God-Dammit! Maybe its because Im on this whole healthy living kick, and everyone knows crackers are chips healthier more fit cousin. But I don't think so. No. I just like crackers, and I can eat a whole box of crackers and not feel guilty. Thats a wonderful thing, you never feel that way after eating a bag of chips.

So top 5, partially in response to Petes chips, (no order)

1. Animal crackers. Who doesn't love animal crackers? You have to be an uptight bitch, who hasn't had sex in over a hundred year, and hasn't taken a dump in 200 years because their is a stick up your ass, in order to hate animal crackers, thats the only way. The question begs to be answered, why are they so delightful? Well.... Their tasty. Im pretty sure their healthy because their made out of cracker material. Their fun because you can put the animals into provocative positions. And they are the only animals Vegetarian, and even Vegans can eat. Finally, their classic, and classic things are good. 

2. Wheat Thins. Wow this is a great cracker. Also good to bust out at the party where there is salsa and guacamole. Try it. I actually like to make my own dip which mixes a thing of fresh salsa and two avocados, mashed up together. Then dip your wheat thins in, and let the explosions of flavors begin. 

3. Cheez-It.  I somehow associate this cracker with only good times. The perfect party snack. I would also imagine this food would go good with recreational drug use. But I wouldn't know. Also Cheez-It white cheddar is amazing, and would probably go on my top five but I think these two can be combined. 

4. The standard cracker and cheese platter. I understand that every cracker should be judged equally but when there is a platter of cheese and crackers, this becomes a cracker category. I love crackers and cheese. The only thing I don't love about cheese and crackers are the plates or lack their of. When a cheese and cracker platter comes out it will usually be accompanied by small plates, or napkins. Small plates are terrible because you can only fit about five crackers on a plate at a time. I am not a five cracker kind of guy. But I would worship a small plate when the only option is a napkin. Because then your walking around looking like an idiot trying to grasp your crackers and cheese in the napkin, and the cracker is crumbling, and your getting cracker parts all over your nice clothes (because these platters only exist at nice clothes events). But when I do have a small plate, I then feel like a fat-ass, because Im the one going back to the table for more cheese and crackers three and four times. And I shouldn't feel like a fat-ass, but you always have the feeling that the guy replenishing the cracker platter, is judging you. Terrible!, either way it stays in the top 5. 

5. Bright orange crackers with the fake cheese inside. I haven't had this cracker since preschool but I remember it as wonderful. Its one of those things that you know your consuming utter crap but because its only 6 crackers in the plastic sleeve, you don't feel like you are over endulging. Also Ritz Bitz with either the cheese or the peanut butter would fall into this top five cracker category. But hey the idea of a cracker sandwich is a wonderful thing. 

Let me know some of your cracker choices, and maybe some cracker stories. (and remember blogs are great because it gives the reader a chance to comment back and get conversations started. so get to commenting."

 I wonder if Germans eat crackers?

Getting Nervous

Dear Procrastinators,

I have five days before I start my four month long journey to Berlin. And I realized today, "SHIT, I dont have a place to stay, I dont speak any German, and I have very little money." What in the hell was I thinking. Now... I have had the last three months off, and I have accomplished very little, past making CDs for my friend's. (two CDs for the same friend.)

Do you ever look back at the last couple months, or year, or couple years and ask yourself what the hell was I doing? I largely think its alright to take a few days off or maybe even a few months off, but somehow I feel Ill be asking myself in several years, still... what have you accomplished? Now, often times I feel this way after talking to business majors, who seem to segment their life in five year increments. Such as,  "what have you done in the last five years to accomplish your long term goals", and "where do you see yourself in five years". These are not questions I ask myself..... Instead I go through life stumbling about, and drowning in the muck of decisions that I keep putting off.  Somehow though I keep surfacing just long enough to take a deep breath, regain composure and submerge myself once again into things I was not ready to take on. My main question is, Are we meant to have life planned out like business people five and ten years down the road, or,  is that what we call distant dreams. I am going to hold on to the belief that most great things that happen didn't have a sound five year plan, and formed by the forces of nature coming together. Im going to hold on to this mostly because I have a hard time telling myself what's for dinner more or less what's expected in five years. 

But... there is a word of encouragement from Samuel Beckett. In his play Waiting for Godot, Vladimir, says, "Let us not waste our time in idle discourse! Let us do something, while we have the chance! It is not every day that we are needed. Not indeed that we personally are needed. Others would meet the case equally well, if not better. To all mankind they were addressed, those cries for help still ringing in our ears! But at this place, at this moment of time, all mankind is us, whether we like it or not. Let us make the most of it, before it is too late!....

So I guess the thing to do in accomplishing tasks in life is to be needed. Thus I have turned to women. I figure from here on out women can need me instead of me needing women. Why should I empower other when I can empower myself. 

Either way let me know if you have ever felt extremely unprepared while starting something, and then tell me what that thing was.