Given that my last blog post was written in a whole different year, I've got a lot to catch up on...  I can’t figure out how to write a blog post which encompasses the last three months without a table of contents!  This'll be a summary.

Christmas season in my new apartment.

A few weeks ago, walking down a street in Mitte searching for my friend’s name on various apartment building buzzers (having been to her flat before but forgotten which door), a woman standing in one of the doorways asked if I had an appointment to visit an apartment.  She was, I realized, a realtor awaiting a potential client, thinking I might be the one she was scheduled to meet.  (I’d love to write more about the “doorway moments” of apartment searching, and probably will, but some other day).  Victory came in my reply-- that I was not visiting an apartment but searching for a friend-- and the realization that I don’t have to say “yes” to that question again...  Because we have an apartment!

Lights at a Christmas market booth.

We moved into our place, which has now been dubbed “The Boonies,” a name which derives from the ubahn stop at which it’s located, not its proximity to civilization, on December 14.  Here’s a quick summary of moving day:  The Moving-Day Schedule (which, after only two years, is a legend); the guys picking up hand-me-down and e-bay items from virtually every part of the city; Ikea (can I mention here that I have a truly love-hate relationship with this store?); an-entire-apartment-in-one-moving-van and the guys’ constant reassurance that “it’ll fit,” regardless of what “it” was; assembly like no one’s ever assembled before; and the beautiful moment at the end of the night when I stood at our living room window, looking over the train tracks and the highway blurred by the rain, thinking about how excited I am that I get to live here for the rest of the year.  Thanks, Lord, for knowing about this place all along and for making it possible for us to be there.

Five days after move-in, we broke in the apartment by hosting our team Christmas party, and three days later, we headed down south for Christmas.  The twelve-hour train ride (cheap trains take time), broken up by several changes and several games, including my teammate Katie’s new and original version of Zug um Zug, proved on the whole to be an experience I’d be willing to repeat.  We travelled to a small, quaint old town near Stuttgart to spend such a special Christmas with the family of one of my teammates.  Wonderful hosts, they seemed undaunted by the fact that 9 people had been added to their family... They welcomed us in, fed us at every possible moment, and introduced us to their Christmas traditions.  We ate bratwurst and kartoffelsalat (potato salad) for Christmas Eve dinner and then, by the light of the real candles on the Christmas tree, sang carols to the tune of the violin... It was beautiful.

We left the south of Germany to head to a student retreat in the east, in a village in the forests of the Erzgebirge-- a region of whose beauty I’d been told and can now confirm.  We were able to help in various ways at the conference, and I loved spending time with the students, learning new German worship songs, and helping to build Heinrich, the biggest snowman I’ve ever seen in my life.

A candle on our Christmas tree.

Now we're back in Berlin.  At work we're doing some new things and some familiar things, and it's all exciting...  At home we're settling further into our apartment (we still need things like drawer pulls and a shower curtain)...  And we're experiencing the winter (snow!) that's only popped in for brief visits over these past couple months.

I'll pause this contradictorily long and brief review here... But there's more to come.  :0)

A few glimpses of life in Berlin this month...

Using my major.

(I studied English/Creative Writing in college, which means that my blog posts should be far more crafty and clever than they presently are.)  I miss things about college... specifically, I'd love to sit in a cafe-- my favorite had mediocre coffee, great tables, and plenty of electrical plugs-- and write something again.

These past few weeks, though, a couple of people asked me to edit papers written in English.  So I get to jump back into the world of writing, albeit semi-vicariously.  I'm really glad they asked.  And I think I might find a cafe in which to read through this next paper...  I'm getting pretty excited as I plan.  I'm such a nerd.

The truly fun things that happen while I'm waiting for an apartment of my own.

I'll admit that I've been quite restless, frustrated, etc. about this apartment thing.  But I'm really trying to trust the Lord, learn from Him, and have patience.  And, as my roommate pointed out, we've done things that we otherwise wouldn't have because of it.

*My roommates and I cleared the furniture to the edges of the living room, dragged our mattresses in, and had a sleepover.  Two days later, we still haven't moved them back.  It's like a camp-in.  We plan for this to continue once a month or so, even after we're settled into our own place.

*About a week ago, I stood outside an apartment building waiting for the real estate agent to meet me.  (She never did-- I'm not sure if this was because of a failure on my part, since our conversation happened in German, or forgetfulness on her part.)  As I waited, an older woman came out of the building, and we began to talk.  What a sweet conversation it was!  She had patience with my German, and her friendliness as we talked about where I'm from and what I'm doing here, as well as her kids and her building, put a bright spot in the otherwise-frustrating night.  And I wouldn't've had this sweet conversation if I weren't searching for an apartment.

*I've found unexpected treasures in the city.  A few weeks ago, I viewed an apartment in an area I'd never visited.  A couple of blocks away, I found a square with a set of columns that had, I learned upon investigation, been there for about a hundred years.  The cafes, restaurants, and old buildings encircling the square and the stone fountain marking the center made it so quaint.  I'd love to return.

*My roommate and I took part in the *first-ever* Lange Nacht der Wohnungsbesichtigungen.  This means Long Night of Apartment Viewings.  This was an actual event, and it's hilarious.

In Berlin, culture and arts abound, and so there's a series of 'Lange Nacht's that give people the opportunity to experience them.  For example, I participated in the Lange Nacht der Oper last year.  You pay 10 or 15 euro, and then you can ride around the city to view little snippets of opera works, dance shows, etc., done by professionals.  This takes place between around 6 or 7 PM until 11 PM or midnight.  There's also a Lange Nacht der Museen (the museums are open till about 2 AM), Langen Nacht der Bibliotheken (libraries), etc.

But this year, the apartment-searching website service that I use jumped in with their own Lange Nacht.  This, I think, speaks better than anything of the incredible difficulty in Berlin right now for apartments.  From 6-11 PM, people boarded buses that drove them around neighborhoods in the city where real estate agents had opened up apartments for viewing.  The buses dropped people off nearby, giving them a chance to look around the apartments, talk with the agents, and decide if they'd like to apply.

I should have probably dedicated a whole blog post to that evening, because it was pretty great.  Turns out that the apartments we visited were far above our budget, but they were beautiful and we loved touring them.  Plus, now we can say that we were there for this momentous occasion.  ;)

Campus, students, and ministry...  The most important part of life in Berlin :)


The semester has begun!  I've loved meeting new students and talking about God, faith, and spiritual things with them.  And I've loved meeting up with students I know, catching up and talking about this new year.  Our first event, a "Welcome Back" party last Saturday, was great, and Alpha Course begins tomorrow!  I'll be writing a newsletter on Friday with more updates about ministry, so if you're not already on my mailing list but you'd like to be, please let me know!

From my last post, four months ago...

I'm sitting on my bed, surrounded by empty walls.  I've filled around six boxes, two suitcases, two garbage bags, and one large backpack, all of which are cluttering my floor.  I've said several see you later's, and have postponed the goodbye's till absolutely necessary.

The scene isn't much different today.  My floor is cluttered with three suitcases, three garbage bags, one large backpack, and more.  I've said several see you later's, though that's been about a month ago.  I've also said several hello's!

I am back in Berlin!  This ends my fourth week here, which might raise questions about the state of my bedroom...  The explanation:

We aren't homeless, but we don't yet have a home.  Berlin, as it turns out, continues to grow in popularity, so the apartment-search hasn't yet brought us a place to live.  We've been really fortunate to have someone apartment-searching for us, but I've recently begun to work on this, too.

So today, for example, my roommates and I squeezed into an apartment full of people who, like us, thought the place was "schön"... beautiful... and it was!  Now we apply and wait to see if they pick us.  It's the apartment competition of 2011, and we're aiming for a win.  We'd love prayers for this!

Aside from the apartment scarcity, though, Berlin's great.

I've returned to the days of student life-- learning, homework, and even a quiz coming up soon.  Our team's been in language school the last several weeks to learn more Deutsch.  Though I'm far from good (quite far in fact), I've learned so much.  I'm really grateful for this time... and for the stories that come with it.

What happens when you try to learn another language:

Sometimes, you have too many words in your head.

Today, walking through a big bookstore on a busy street, I found myself in someone's way.  I opened my mouth to apologize, but what came out was a mixture of the German entschuldigung and the English sorry... the combination of which is:  "Shorry."  As in, "Oh, shorry."  At least I said it quietly.

Sometimes, you don't have enough words in your head.  You forget words that you have been using since you were five.

Last night, I forgot "lighthouse."  I'd just read the German word (Leuchtturm) on a postcard and wanted to translate the phrase for a friend, but this is what happened in my head:

Leuchtturm.  Light tower.  Light tower?  No... that's not it.  Light... light-- Light tower.  That's not it, right?  Is it?  What is it?  [....]    Light... Lighthouse!  Lighthouse!!


And I majored in English.

Stories aside, I'll be sad to end my time in language school.  Great discussions, fun classmates, and a very helpful teacher have made these weeks really neat.

After next week, though, the university semester begins... And I can't wait for all that comes with that!  To spend more time on campus talking with students, and to get going on the events we're planning-- this is what I'm truly excited about.  These are the things I love, and this is what makes me so glad to be in Berlin.

I'm sitting on my bed, surrounded by empty walls.  I've filled around six boxes, two suitcases, two garbage bags, and one large backpack, all of which are cluttering my floor.  I've said several see you later's, and have postponed the goodbye's till absolutely necessary.

I'm heading home!  And... I'm coming back.  :D  I am absolutely thrilled that I'm only saying "see you later" to the city, many friends, and the work here.  It's been an amazing year, and one I'm so very thankful for.  I'd love to share more about the process of deciding that my time here would continue... Send me an e-mail, or, if you're in the US, you can call me in a week or so!

Everyone keeps asking me how I feel about the fact that I have only x number of days here in Berlin.... and it's sort of a long answer.

I'm sooo not ready to say goodbye to those who won't be here next fall... even as I write this, I'm getting a little teary.  I love that the world is big, but it makes goodbyes so darn hard!  What great friendships I've been blessed with this year.

And, I'm sooo excited to see the people I love at home!  Skype is awesome, but I can't wait for face-to-face talks with my parents, hugs from my sister, fun with my friends, and worship in my church.

I'm looking forward to the work I'll get be part of at home this summer-- I've got a lot going on, but I think it's going to be great.

 And, I'm already really excited to start work here again in the fall.  I've been talking with others about ideas, plans, and hopes, and I can't wait for another year!

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...On another note, I'm also worried that I'll never be fully packed... :0)  And, I'm looking for something to read on the plane ride home... Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Some things in my life this week.

I've already written about the fact that Berlin is like a miniature world... meaning, people from everywhere come here.  I love it.  There's so many languages... and a lot of people want to practice their English.

So, we've decided to start an English cafe group.  We're going to hang out at Starbucks, sip coffee, and talk to people who wanna practice.  How fun is that?  We meet for the first time on Friday.

Sometimes we'll check out song lyrics and texts in English, too... So I'd love to know your favorite song, poem, etc.  Maybe we'll read it one night!

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Last night, a bunch of us met together to sing to the Lord.  We do that every week, and I'm so grateful.

There's a lot of things that I love about this time.  I love to sing.  I love to sing about the goodness of God.  I love to study something in the Bible and then pray about it with everybody else.  I love the fact that God uses this time to reveal things... cool things or convicting things.  I love that when I'm convicted of something, I can confess it to God and to others, and nobody condemns.  I love that God created music, and that He's worthy to be praised.

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"And I am going to shoot you."

"Dynamite.  Blow up!"

"Wait... can she shoot me?" ...  "Yep, she has a big gun."

"Jail time."  ... "Ughh.  I've spent a lot of time incarcerated."

"Finish her off..."

This is a selection from the conversation happening in my living room.  As I write this blog post, removed from the battle, my friends are threatening death.  They suggested that I blog about it, and so I am.

They're playing Bang, which is best explained as a sort of Western (sheriffs and outlaws), card-ified version of Mafia.  It's kind of a big deal on our team.  I might get in on game two.

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My family comes to visit me in three days!!!!  

I.  Can't.  Wait.

There's different kinds of questioning.  Sometimes, finding the answer is a process in which I rush from door to door-- I'm gonna find it-- slamming shut mostly untouched rooms after a brief glance.

And then there's the questions for which I want to make time in my day to open a door, jump on the bed, peel back the wallpaper, run my finger over the photographs, check for inscriptions in the books, try on the dresses in the closet, and know... And then, leaving the door wide open, make my way down the hall and turn the next knob.

These are the kinds of questions written all over my journal these last couple of weeks, coming from wise people and curious people.  They're questions that I need ages to answer, but it's okay.

I'll try to post my thoughts on some of these, but I've got some more thinking to do first :)

On a semi-unrelated note, Easter's next week.  Three quick thoughts, because I'm going to post more about Easter later.  

1)  I-can't-believe-it's-the-middle-of-April.  2)  Looking forward to celebrating here.  3)  Love hearing people's holiday traditions... so, how will you celebrate?

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."  (Hebrews 13:8)  I'm glad we've got a holiday to celebrate, but I'm also glad that we can celebrate all the time, because we serve an unchanging, living God and Savior.

Tier = Animal

Kangaroo.  It tastes like steak.  I know this because they serve kangaroo at an Australian restaurant in the city, and I recently ordered it.  The first time, I had kangaroo on a Caesar salad, and the next time, I had a kangaroo wrap.  They also serve crocodile.  I might try it sometime, but I'm not sure.

Bulldogs.  Are headed to the Sweet Sixteen!!  Go BUTLER!!  :D

Polar Bear.  Ohh, Knut.  Berlin Zoo's famous polar bear.  Apparently they're supposed to live until, like, 30-something, but he died yesterday at the age of 4.  I never even met him.

Mice.  Can apparently haul a lot for their size.  I saw a piece of bread moving along the u-bahn tracks today, and peered closer to find a mouse of similar proportion clutching it.