Politik

 On 18. September there are elections in Berlin, so the streets are full of these political posters. It's interesting to see how the various parties market themselves and what issues are important for them, and for this neighborhood. In Germany if a party gets 5% of the vote they get representation in parliament, so there are more third parties that we would never see in the US. Most of the posters are just the candidate's photo with the party name, but some are more interesting. Above, the "Pirate Party" tries to attract young voters, using facebook slogans: "847,870 voters 'like' this"; and the second poster says "Not sure why I'm hanging here, you don't vote anyways". The other two blue posters are for the PSG: Party for Social Equality, and they are advertising their international solidarity for  workers: against the "bank dictatorship", and "Gegen [against] Rassismus und Nationalismus". Die Linke (far-left party) has this very colorful, multilingual poster, and the Green Party has this alternative artsy poster with the woman with the trident. 

Klaus Wowereit (SPD) has been mayor of Berlin since 2001, so there are a few parties trying to oust him. The Green party has been doing really well in Germany (especially since the Japan nuclear catastrophe...) and the CDU is advertising their candidate with the slogan "Damit sich was ändert" (so that things change). Wowereit coined the slogan "arm aber sexy" for Berlin (poor but sexy), and is openly gay, which I think also says something about German politics/culture (compared to American politics) I just did some google-research to make sure I'm not wrong about this, and Houston is the largest city to elect an openly gay mayor, also Portland and Providence. Anyways, interesting.

Because so many of the posters in Kreuzberg have to do with multi-culturalism, I found this poster really interesting (left). It's from the FDP (center-right party, similar to libertarian in the US). It says: "What is the FDP's stance in regards to integration? We think it would be a nice gesture to ask for "Croissants" instead of "Schrippen" [a German roll] in Paris."  I find this argument (or the implied argument) a bit flawed...first of all everyone in Germany (like in the US) knows what a "Croissant" is, and French culture is (like for us) considered "high culture". The poster kinda makes you smile, because no one would go to Paris and order "Schrippen" or, in English, a "dinner roll," when they want a croissant. What is implied, of course, is that people living in Germany should speak German and "integrate" themselves. "Integration" is a big keyword (compared to "Assimilation") because it implies that you don't have to give up your own culture, but you just "integrate" into your new culture.
Below/right is another political poster for the FDP about schools: "Will the the FDP support Gymnasien or the Einheitsschule? [Answer:] We would also find the idea of one uniform/comprehensive soccer league silly." In Germany the secondary school system has tiers--so the students who want to go on to college usually all go to the Gymnasium, and students who want to go into a certain trade go to a Realschule or Hauptschule. After the 4th grade teachers decide which school students go to, and this often ends up being a question of who your parents are. Additionally, handicapped students do not go to the same school as their peers but a Sonderschule. The Einheitsschule is a proposed secondary school model that is more like the US high school, where children stay together from Kindergarten through the end of schooling. So the comparison to soccer suggests that it would be silly (doof) to throw all the kids--smart and not-so-smart--together in one school. I have strong feelings about this...the Gymnasium system is basically a class and prestige question,and it really disadvantages kids from lower-class or immigrant backgrounds. Parents want to be able to say their child goes to a Gymnasium.  And the SPD and the Green Party support the idea of an Einheitsschule, but, like I said, lots of voters are not so sure.

Below are the results from the last congressional election (Chancellor Angela Merkel is CDU, the blue bar below):

guten Morgen

 Last night I moved into our apartment. Michael is still not here for another two weeks, but I have time to get settled and get a bit organized.

This is  the little Frühstückstisch (breakfast table) in the kitchen, and below is the view out the window. The apartment is located in the back of the courtyard, so all our windows look over the very green courtyard and not over the street.

the checklist

Moving to Germany includes a lot of bureaucratic hassle.

My big checklist: 1. registration  2. Bank account  3. Visa

For anyone (even Germans) changing address in Germany, or for people moving to Germany, you have to register yourself in your new town within 2 weeks of arrival. It's the kind of bureaucratic mess Germany is infamous for, and involves a lot of waiting around...but someone tipped me off that you can make an appointment online. So I arrived at the Kreuzberg Bürgeramt (city hall, citizen center), where the waiting room was full, and didn't have to get a number. The number board said 39 people were currently waiting in line. I just waited for my pre-reserved number to come up and the whole thing was over in 10 mins. Got my stamped piece of paper. Easy.

Now after being registered I was able to get a bank account. You can't get an account until you have a registered address in Germany. And this is a big priority, since I will soon get monthly deposits of Euros. So I went to the bank, which turned out to be the bigger challenge of the morning. It took one and a half hours!! The woman was very thorough, explaining to me all my banking options, although I kept telling her I'm a student on a tight budget and not in the market for stocks/bonds/mortgages/loans/credit cards, etc...it was a long process, but I did get an account.

Compared to German banks, US banks seem like they are still stuck in the middle ages.

First, bank transfers are super easy in Germany and no one uses checks. They are honestly like artifacts of a far-distant past. You pay private individuals via bank transfer, as well as things like rent and utilities. Second, online banking is apparently waaay more secure. I was very confused when the banker was trying to explain how this is done here. You can't just get a login and password, but every time you want to complete a transaction, you need a unique pin number. You get this number sent via SMS (text message) to your cell phone. Let that sink in. I asked again, just to make sure, that I can't just log in online with a username/password...she was like, "what? that would be so easy for any hacker to break."  Hmmm...

But I did get some presents for dealing with 1.5 hrs of bank mumbo-jumbo: a canvas bag, a binder to organize my "financial" stuff, and 3 plastic cuba libre glasses with the bank logo printed on them. ha!

Now I just need the visa...which requires my registration at the university, and some other steps...That might not happen for a while.

Prost!

in search of a needle

Today I went on a walk in search of needle and thread…(Elisabeth borrowed a dress of mine and the flower came off in all of the wild partying, and it has remained unfixed since then.) But all I could find was a package of needles and a package of thread I will never use (for 7 Euros or something). So I kept walking and found an older woman (of foreign origins) in the Markthalle who has an Änderungsschneiderei (alterations shop). When I explained I just wanted a needle and a piece of thread, she smiled—apparently it’s just “Nadel” and not “Sticknadel” (an embroidery needle? what is that even?). She asked me, “Spanierin?” and I said, “Nein, Amerikanerin” and she smiled and gave me the needle and thread for free!  I guess there are some perks to being a foreigner in Berlin…the other foreigners have sympathy for you…

…Which reminds me of the other time someone was so randomly nice to me. In Vienna a few years ago I was buying cheese at the Naschmarkt (their big market) and only wanted a small piece, because I was flying that day. Making conversation with the guy behind the counter, I explained that I was traveling, and he asked me where I was from. He kept urging me to me more specific---US…Minnesota…Duluth… When I said “Duluth” he said “Bob Dylan!” and wouldn’t take money from me! He kept saying “Bob Dylan!” :) Very amusing...

And this brings me to one last aside: I had heard this year that there is somewhat of a “backlash” against tourists in Berlin. This year, for the first time, Berlin replaced Rome in the top European cities for tourists to visit: third after Paris and London. But the anger: Apparently tourists are driving up rent prices, not speaking German, and being a noisy nuisance, especially in “hip” neighborhoods where people hang out and party all night. On my walk I saw this sticker on a bike (right): “Berlin does not love you”, which is evidence of this phenomenon. I had heard about this, but it was strange to actually see. The whole thing is a bit crazy…As this city is crazy-poor and really needs the tourists. And it feels a bit xenophobic. On the other hand, of course, tourists need to be a bit more respectful…

Kaffee und Kuchen

Every return to Germany must be celebrated with Kaffee und Kuchen.

here: Apfelstreusel und Schokoladen- Orangen Kuchen

Mein Spaziergang - Bergmannkiez to the Kanal

 some pictures from my walk today.
Berlin is already starting to look a bit fall-like, but today was 78 and sunny, and absolutely perfect-feeling.

It starts with my new neighborhood: Bergmannkiez, then goes through Kreuzberg to the Kanal and the beautiful apartments with balconies overlooking the water. 

Berlin, once again

According to my calculations, I've spent about 2 years and 6 months in Germany...I've lived a year in Bad Bramstedt (Schleswig-Holstein), and Saarbrücken (Saarland), and traveled extensively all over the place. The last two summers I've spent in Berlin, and now I'll be back for a year.  I love Berlin for its fascinating history, and the interesting layers of this history that are visible all over the city.

So I will continue to eat more pastries than I should, walk, jog and bike all over, take pictures, and maybe take a few little trips.

For the record: as I leave the exchange rate is 1 Euro = 1.44 US Dollars. Gott sei Dank I will soon be getting paid in EUROS.