When I first came to Berlin I couldn’t make up my mind about buying the so called BahnCard 50. That is, you get a 50% discount on all of the tickets you buy to ride Deutschebahn.  It’s a great deal, if you are a regular traveler. Train tickets can be really expensive, especially ICE (fast trains).  I thought it would be unfair to live in Berlin for a year and not try to visit other places in Germany. Buying a BahnCard 50 was definitely a good decision and it proved to be totally worth it.

It’s very easy to apply for it. You can order it on line by going to www.bahn.de or you can visit the train station for example in Zoologisher Garten and purchase it there. They take your photo right there and after you pay they’ll give you a temporary card (and also some bonus 20 euro discount card) and then they will send your card to your address.

I highly recommend it to those who travel a lot. It really makes the prices of the tickets reasonable.

My recent addiction was „Lost“, the TV show that has captured the uninterrupted attention of millions of people. Was it interesting? I would say a little strange but I finished watching it. Would I watch it again? Probably not.

With this said, my all times favorite will remain „Friends“. I’ve watched it billion times but I still can’t get enough of it. It really cheers me up especially when I am having a bad day. Last night I laughed so hard that tears came down my eyes. Those who don’t find it funny, we probably couldn’t be a good match! Anyways, now my new thing is to watch it in German. I already know what the plot is so it’s easy to understand. But it’s an excellent way of testing how much of it I understand.  I’ve heard people say that listening to radio is good for improving comprehension but it gets too boring for me especially when the news comes on. But with „Friends“ I obviously never get tired. You might want to try with your favorite movie or TV show!

I am thinking of taking a few private classes in Deutsch Akademie. I find it helpful to have a few hours of one-on-one classes. It provides a good opportunity to have all the attention to yourself. This doesn’t mean that I don’t like my group classes. In fact, I think they provide excellent interaction with other students and helps you learn more on others‘ mistakes.

I would appreciate if some of you could give me feedbacks. Perhaps you’ve had private classes before, particularly at Deutsch Akademie, and I would be thankful if you could share some of your experiences with me.  It’s not a secret that private classes cost a lot of money, so I would like to hold off till I get some recommendations or encouragement from you.

My previous visits to Ausländerbehörde in Berlin, the so called Immigration office, have always been with a German speaker. I was always afraid that I won’t be able to explain what I need. One would think that most of the employees at an immigration office would speak English since they are dealing with foreigners and English seems to be the most common language, but they don’t, or they hesitate to speak. They also tend to get angry when you „waste their time“ with your slow and incorrect German. Well, what to do? It’s not like I can drag my neighbor or a German friend with me every time I need to get something done…

Today, for the first time, I tried to go there by myself and explain my complicated situation and get the required document. I have to say, that if it hadn’t been for my wonderful German teacher from Deutsche Akademie I probably would still be in ausländerbehörde or I wouldn’t have the document I needed. My teacher not only helped me with all the immigration (visa, temporary residency, etc) vocabulary but she also roll-played it with me. She pretended to be the angry immigration officer and I was the poor foreigner who stumbled when speaking German.

Luckily, my trip to ausländerbehörde was successful. I explained what I needed and got what I needed. Just a little patience always gets me through!

I must admit that one of the most enjoyable things I’ve done during my stay in Berlin is taking dance classes. It’s usually not hard to find studios offering dance courses, in fact, there are so many that you can’t chose from. However, this one place I found on the Internet I decided to go and check out.  „Placement“ profesioneller Raum fur Tanz-Theater-Kunst und Korperarbeit International was the placed I quickly fell in love with and knew it was right for me. They offer different levels of moder jazz classes which includes choreography, stretching from head to toe, cardio and most importantly beatiful dance moves. The instructors are professional dancers. Most of them speak English, some don’t. But, hey, it’s a great way of practicing German! Carmen Schall, the director of the studio, is one of the most pleasant people to talk to if you’d like to be enrolled. She is full of life and has time for everyone.

Classes are offered at different times of the day: morning, midday, evening. They also have ballet classes for kids. At the end of the class I feel so content and relaxed. Dancing is such a great way of working out without getting tired. I highly recommend the place to anyone who’s interested in dancing and having fun.

www.placement-berlin.de

info@placement-berlin.de

Uhlandstrasse 85, 1 Etage

I’ve lived in the U.S. long enough to adjust to the conversion of units of measurments. But I still get annoyed occasionally. It takes only a few months of being away and I need to make readjustments. Life in Germany just seems easy on everyday basis. Going to supermarket means picking out groceries I want to buy. In the U.S. it also means doing calculations in my head to figure out pounds vs. kilogram, ounce vs. grams, oz. vs. ml, etc. Then, another set of calculations trying to follow a recipe to make something by using a measuring cup. The same applies to checking the weather, Farenheit vs. Celcius. It’s easier to count when it’s above zero (I mean 32 degrees) but it gets really complicated when it’s below zero. Then I decide to use a sports watch to measure the distance of my run or use the treadmill in the gym. Oh man! I need to not only figure out miles vs. km, but also how many minutes per mile to set the treadmill for. And finally the pain of finding the right converter and adaptors to be able to use a hair-dryer or other electornic devices. Sometimes I just don’t understand why everything needs to be so different…

So, that was it! An interesting trip has come to its end. For me, it was quite an experience to share with so many people my thoughts and views.  I just hope it was also interesting for you. During this last month a lot of things had happen in my life, in your life and in the world. Some of these were bad, some others were good. Some made us happy, others made us probably sad or even gave us a hard time. What matters, however, is the trip and not the final destination. They were all experiences that made us wiser and stronger.

Tomorrow, I start my new German course and I expect to meet some of my classmates from the previous course along with some new and as always interesting people. New knowledge and new experiences in the constantly transforming Berlin!

Last but not least, in our“ live in -usually- Berlin“ session, my favorite group of all times… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9cbyeDx8Ac&feature=related

Today was his birthday. Luka became six years old and he looked like he was having a good time. It wasn’t a usual kid’s party. In fact, all his guests were above 20 years old. Some of them even above 30 or 40 years old.  But all of them share something in common: their love for this 6 year-old kid that was diagnosed with autism 4 years ago. It’s a team of 10 volunteers that  spend a few hours per week to play with him following an innovative therapeutic approach.

It was obvious in their faces that Luka’s happiness is their happiness too. But most importantly, this  happiness is reflected into Luka’s eyes. These big blue eyes that when they look directly in to your eyes you realize what unconditional love means…New members are always welcome in the team, so if you are interested visit http://www.fuer-luka.de/.

So, tonight another exception –they tend to be the rule- the live is from my home town and despite the awful sound quality it worths seeing it to the end…So, für Luka http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRwx9W0eFJU&feature=related

Tonight I felt as if I was in London. It was drizzling and windy and I was walking in Kreuzberg and steering in a hurry to the super market. And this is how I started thinking of the similarities between Berlin and London. Well, except the obvious ones- Berlin and London are both capital cities and they are both written with six letters – I didn’t find any! It’s probably me, but I believe that they are two completely different cities. I am not saying that Berlin is „good“ and London is „bad“ or the other way round. I am just saying they are different. Completely different. I know people that swear they couldn’t live anywhere else in the world but London. I feel sorry of them :) but on the other hand I think I can understand them. London’s „transitional“ atmosphere is something unique – for those who appreciate it…

For tonight, speaking of London I felt like I had to pay a tribute to a   great, great, great musician…. long live Morrissey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6kNYuhdX-U&feature=related

That was it! The B 1.2. course in Deutsche Akademie has finished and we are now moving forward to B2.1. Such a small difference in written, but such a big difference in the actual level…To be honest I never really liked the labels such as B1 or B2 etc.. However, it’s a practical way to make a general classification although sometimes, this actual level varies considerably. And this is where the teacher’s job becomes really difficult but tat he same time important.

I feel that I have to congratulate our teacher, if not for anything else at least for trying so hard -and succeeding- in keeping everyone interested and in the „loop“ of learning. It can be extremely difficult when one has to deal with ten different personalities and -despite the fact that we were all at the same class- ten actually different level of understanding and language knowledge. Keep up the good work Michael..

For tonight, a song that I felt identified yesterday night after the end of my favorite’s football team match…Long live Panathinaikos!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PORQVyZrB8c