Blogs from Berlin, Germany, Europe - page 154

One of the advantages of being a traveller and a woman of leisure is of course that you can do really time wasting things like watching TV all day or lying on the beach from dawn to dusk because you have the luxury of time. And so I decided when the soccer world cup began that I would watch all 64 games or at least attempt to. Having been deprived of quality soccer (I dont think I offend anyone by stating that you can hardly call the Knights quality soccer) for more than 6 years and of course being the soccer fan I am, I was more than excited at the propect of drinking beer and watching soccer every night with my dad and various friends. In these times of terrorism and the increasing divide between ... read more

Due to the World Cup and all that, pickings were slim when it came to finding lodging in Berlin. Devan eventually discovered the Eastern Comfort Hostelboat floating in the river just on the western side of what remains of the Berlin Wall. Very cool. As you approach the boat you wander down along a stretch that runs along the river bank. Unlike the more touristy sections of wall, this one hasn't been picked down to the rebar by souvenir hungry tourists (Interesting note: the sections of wall that are most commonly seen have actually been themselves walled off to keep tourists away. Ironic?). Eventually you come to a breach in the wall through which you can see the psuedo-beach bar surrounded by a picket fence (our neighborhood tavern which due to their choice of music, we ... read more

My German teacher is Oliver Dietrich, a very soft spoken man, skinny, with glasses. He has a hard time getting anyone's attention, its kind of sad. Some of the students were annoyed with him because they felt the lesson was too simple. It was--we started with numbers and the alphabet!!! But, it seemed like just a very brief overview of the very basics, I assume we'll advance quickly. I felt a little sorry and protective of the poor guy because of everyone's complaints! The other students are from France, Switzerland, Italy, Turkey, Ecuador, Libya, Jordan, Georgia, and the U.S. There is a strange congruency among several of the students from the U.S.--4 of us are grad students, 2 in history and 2 in art history! A fifth is from San Diego (where I grew up) and ... read more

Germany's penalty-kick expulsion of Argentina, along with France's astounding outclassing of Brazil, has left the 2006 World Cup with four semifinalists from the same continent. This has not occurred since 1982. England lost in typically English fashion, and Italy breezed by an outmatched Ukraine. So, England and Argentina join Switzerland as teams to go home undefeated (a "loss" or a "win" from penalty kicks is technically a tie). Switzerland may be the only team ever to leave a World Cup having never conceded a goal (and perhaps also the only never to score in a penalty shoot-out). Italy is clearly the "evil" team remaining, given their penchant for diving, which means of course that Germany might go home...er, stay home. One of Germany's best midfielders might be suspended for participating in the mini-brawl that followed the ... read more

God, Berlin is so hot! There don't seem to be fans or air conditioners anywhere and it is just broiling in this internet cafe and in all the subways. But enough bitching! Today I took my placement exam at the Goethe Institut. In a way it was sort of fun--I got to meet some of the Goethe Institut staff and take a peek at some of the students. The people I talked to were all _really_ nice and friendly. The other students were a remarkably hip looking bunch--hard to tell where they are all from, but not too many appeared to be obviously American (which I'm glad about!). The placement test part of it was less exhilerating, and actually rather discouraging as it made me realize (again) how much work I have to do. But, that's ... read more