I know it's been a while since I posted last - we got snow for a couple of days, and it's already gone. We're back up to 8 celcius ( sorry, I think of cold temps in celcius now ) and it's rainy. Tomorrow it ' s supposed to continue raining, except it'll be about 3 celcius. It' s much better to have it below freezing and snowy than to be almost freezing and wet. The snowy days were some of the nicest days we've had this winter. Globa lwarming is a major topic of conversation here, though. It's normally about 4 or 5 degrees below zero ( in Fahrenheit!) in January, and we've barely dipped below thirty so far.

I spent yesterday with my housemate Adam helping a local gallery owner (and friend of the apartment) tear out the temporary walls he had installed in his gallery . In exchange, we got a couple of free matrasses, a chunk of the Berlin wall, a rusty rail road spike, and all the building materials that had been used to construct the walls . Adam is going to use them to build a loft in his room... but getting them there meant hauling probably a couple of hundred pounds of drywall and lumber the three blocks from the studio to our apartment. In a shopping cart. Over cobble stones. Yeah... Adam owes me.

OK, not a lot of time right now, but... I have photos up on Flickr! Not all of them, and they don't all look nice, but they're there! Sorry I haven't labeled them yet, but I'll get to it soon, I promise. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristal_images

Also, an interesting anecdote: My housemate Adam answered an ad to help a sculptor get his stuff from the airport to a studio near our house. The sculptor ended up being this really cool guy named Ted, and since we have an open room he's staying with us for a few days. This place is, in many ways, like a small town - except with all the good parts of a big city.

Oh, and I was talking to a girl today in my German class. She's an army brat and has lived all over the world, currently splitting time between London and Berlin with her husband. She was born in the same hospital as me. And we were both premies. Weird, huh?

So... I guess you might all be wondering what my usual schedule is like here. Well, I'm attending German classes five days a week, from 10 am until about 1:30 pm. However, it takes me about 45 minutes to get to class, so I don't normally get back until after 2:00. If I use the internet at my school, it could be significantly later. After that I'll run any errands that need running, particularly if I need to go somewhere outside my immediate neighborhood. For example, the place where I get my photo supplies is in the city center, and requires two metro transfers, so going that direction can turn in to a whole afternoon jaunt around the Mitte district.

Once I'm back in Friedrichshain, I usually attempt to do some tidying up around the apartment. Our kitchen is a perpetual disaster, and no matter how often we mop the floor it turns black again. Then there's Larry, our cat, who's having psychological problems after the departure of his owner. He's used to having someone home with him all day, and walks around the house meowing forlornly until someone picks him up and pets him. The catnip toy I bought him doesn't seem to be helping much.

I have a few projects I'm working on, too. I can often be found wandering around, taking photos of whatever catches my eye. Lately I've been playing around with long, wide-angle shots from sidewalk-height. I haven't made any prints yet, but I think they're going to look pretty cool. I'm also designing a few different styles of bracelets - I have a leather jacket I bought at a thrift store that ended up being a terrible fit once I got it home. Oops. And the shoulder pad in one of the shoulders is currently serving as an elbow pad. So, the jacket is being sacrificed for it's leather. And once that runs out, I'm thinking of switching to a stiff canvas wrapped with other materials. I also have a bunch of plans for stencils and silk screens - I've never cared for vandalism before, but around here every flat surface is covered in stencil art. At that level, it really stops being vandalism and starts being an addition to the local art scene. And I'm scouting around for a used sewing machine - I saw some really neat re-designed shirts at a punk rock shop in Prague that looked really cool, but would be incredibly easy to make and sell.

I'm reading a lot - everything from the history of Berlin to philosophy. I have a great book right now, titled "A Nation of Sheep," that was written in (I think) '59 or '60. It's a brilliant critique of American's naivite in world politics that was written in the late 50s or early 60s. The scary thing is that, as you read the opening chapter, the author could easily be talking about Iraq at this very moment. The author criticizes the American government for essentially listening to what 2nd and 3rd parties tell them about supposed enemy activity, criticizes the media for buying in to the government position without doing its own research, and critizes the American population for not asking questions - not asking where the supposed "facts" are coming from, for just blindly accepting what the government tells them is the case. At the time the enemy was "Red China," and everyone was afraid of being seen as "pink" if they dared question America's actions, but you could easily substitue "terrorists" and "soft on terrorism" and republish large parts of the book right now. It's really, really well written, and really fucking sad and scary.

Other, random events like the occasional potluck dinner are fun, and every Sunday afternoon I head a few blocks over to the Boxhaganer Platz flea market. I almost never buy anything, but the people-watching is fantastic, and I love looking at all the things people bring to sell. A lot of people use it as a place to sell their knitting, jewelry, art, or homemade clothing without the investment of opening a proper store. One guy puts his dog in sunglasses and a hat, sits him on a podium, and charges 1€ for "your picture with the most famous dog in Berlin!" (written in English). There are other people who scour thrift stores during the week and sell their finds for a markup every weekend. And then there are the people who just bring out random boxes of shit from their garages. Today I was digging through a cardboard box full of old dishes, and I found a sugar dish complete with ancient, discolored sugar cubes. It was unreal.

My favorite stalls, though, are the people selling their crafts. There's a lady who makes rings out of old typewriter and keyboard keys. They run about 13€ for a standard keyboard key, up to 60€ for a key from a really ancient typewriter. People sell armwarmers (really just forarm sleeves made of fleece fabric) for as much as 12€ a piece, when I know the actual investment was about 30 cents and the 20 minutes it took to cut and stitch it. There was a girl today selling magnets she'd made by just cutting out pictures and gluing them to magnet backings (John, care to go in to business with that one?). And of course, the ubiquitous handmade fabric wallets (again, all I need is some stiff canvas and a sewing machine and I'm in business on E-bay).

And, to wrap everything up, here's my top 10 favorite new habits I've picked up in Berlin (in no particular order):

1) Drinking tea (all the time - it's about 59 cents for a box of 50 tea bags)
2) Drinking out of jam jars.
3) Putting a lid on said jam jar and taking it to school with me as a "to go" mug.
4) In that vein, realizing that no one really gives a shit what I do. No one is staring at me thinking I'm inferior to them because I'm walking around with coffee in a jam jar.
5) Taking the U-bahn.
6) Having a real neighborhood, where I actually know some of the people who live within walking distance of me.
7) Walking to the grocery store.
8) Using a fabric shopping bag as a matter of course. Everyone does. Just like the ones that Trader Joe's sells for 5 dollars - except these are only 50 cents, and carrying one doesn't give you the right to be smug.
9) Dressing in layers - looks cooler, feels warmer.
10) Buying real butter instead of margarine, because it only costs 1€ for a half-pound. Mmmm...

Oh yeah, and to continue with the things I miss: The Simpsons, Family Guy, Mexican food (just like everyone warned me), being able to buy things like standard painkillers and antisceptic spray without talking to a pharmicist, and knowing that I can talk to anyone around me without a problem.

Something I don't miss at all: People like the ones featured in this fabulous website.
http://www.thecobrasnake.com/partyphotos/sloanjam/index.html

For those of you who are unfamiliar with his "work," the Cobra Snake is a 24 year old hipster kid in LA who manages to make a living taking party photos of pretentious hipsters and putting them up on his website. Because, God only knows, hipsters in LA don't think highly enough of themselves already. They really need Cobra Snake running around with a camera to prove that they're hip enough. And seriously, in case you make the mistake I used to, and think that these people look at all "alternative," look closer. There isn't one stylistic detail left unnoticed. They aren't just smiling at the camera- they're all consciously putting on their "look at me, I'm gonna be a star" face. It's impossible to get away from them in LA, and I didn't really understand how pretentious it all is until I got over here. Yeah, Berlin has it's own small hipster population, but you can still go out here without having the right "look," and no one will look at you like you aren't good enough to be sharing the air with them.

OK, things are finally starting to fall in to place for me a little bit. My computer arrived the other day in the mail, and once I get myself square d away with a ke yboard and a power cable I should be able to once again access the internet from the comfort of my own home, rather than spending hours stuck at my school 's computers with these crappy keyboards. My roommate has thoughtfully offered me his old monitor, which he describes as "this big and thiiiiiiiiiis crappy" - so no real photo editing yet but at least I can do my resume and look things up again. You have no idea how wonderful the internet is when you can't just waltz in to a library or bookstore and find out what you want to know.

Secondly, I bought my tickets back to Berlin. I'll be in LA from Feb. 14th until March 1st, and then I come back here. I bought a round trip ticket, just in case someone in customs wants to make sure I'm not *ahem* trying to move here without the proper permits, but once I'm here I can extend it for up to a year. And it was the same price as a one-way ticket, so why not?

Lastly, I think I'v e found a new language school to switch to. I've been doing OK at my current one, but it takes me 45 minutes each way to get here, and I can't really take advantage of any of the cultural activities they offer because I'm not about to come all the way back in the evening. The new school is only a 10 minute walk from my house, and cheaper, too. Also, from their website it sounds like they focus a lot more on actual speaking during class time. I like the teachers here, but I can only improve so much when I'm just listening and writing most of the time. I'm waiting to find out if they'll let me sit in on an afternoon class sometime before I sign up.

It is still not really that cold here yet. Chilly, but not so bad that a pair of jeans is insufficient in the daytime. It is dark and gloomy, though. The sun sets about 4pm, and it feels like late afternoon from 2:00 onward. Everything feels like an old noir film, except without the gr eat lighting contrasts. It makes daylight photography almost pointless, u nless I go out firs t thin gin the morning - everything is so flat and dull that it's more interesting to go out by lamplight.

One nice thing about the early sunset, however, is that I 've finally gotten over my ingraine d "don't go out after dark" mentality from LA. It' s safe here after dark as yo u could possibly ask for in a big city - I' ve never once felt threatened or uncomfortable walking around he re at night . There are always people around, too. Even if yo u get on the metro at 4 or 5 am, there are almost always a few other people riding with you - and they usually aren't scary or homeless.

John asked if there is anything that I miss about home at all. Well, aside from people, I miss seeing familiar landscapes. Of course, everything he re is starting to feel more familiar, but naturally I get nostalgic when I see Sunset Blvd. in a movie or something. I miss being able to find things easily in the supermarket. The market I go to most often here c ould probably be most closely compair ed to Jon's market in LA - run down, shabby, but inexpensive. They have most of what you need, but not always things like yeas t or baking soda or more than two or three types of pasta. It's good, though, because it keeps me from buying stuff I don't really need. But when I do want something special, I often have to go to a different store to find it. On the other hand , the produce here (even at the cheap stores) is usually far be tter than what you find in the s ta tes. And it keeps practically forever without going bad. The other things I miss are specific places, like EATS cafe, or Footsies, or wings and brunch and beer and bloody mary's at Ye Rustic. And just the smell of an American beer bar. Bars here don't smell the same. Oh, and celery. I don't know if I'm just missin g it or if it's out of season, but I can't remember seeing the damn stuf f since I got here. There are tons of weird looking root vegetables tha tI don't know how to cook, though. I may ha ve to break down and s tart experimenting. And ... Pabst Blue Ribbon! Somebody better have a six pack waiting for me when I get bac k. Or , wait, do they even sell Pabst in a 6 pack? I think it might only come in 12ers. Hmm.

For that matter, shit, I miss beer in cans. They don't sell beer in cans here. Only glass bottles. John thoughtfully gave me a combination key ring/bottle opener for Christma s, which is the most useful thing ever in a city where a beer in hand is an almost obligatory accessory for Sunday afternoon flea market shoppi ng. You don't realize how important things like that are until you find yourself in the wonderful position of legally trying to crack open a beer in public, only to realize that 1) your beer isn't in a can, so the phrase "crack one open " implies literally breaking the glass 2) you are three blocks from home without a bottle opener, and you can't do the lighter trick. People here give you funny looks if you can't open a beer with your lighter. It isn't just a great party trick, it's an absolute necessity.

Speaking of wings and beer - when John was here I broke down and had a totally American moment. I bought some frozen BBQ wings a t the marke t and had them with beer and homemade potato wedge sfor dinner one night. Of course ,I did this on the night when our new housemate was due to arrive. This poor French girl shows up , ha ving rented the place over the internet, and finds John and I sitting in the living room chowing down on greasy wings, beer in hand. Under one of Scotty 's weird American flags (see http: //www.myamericatoo.com for examples). I think that was the beginning of the end. We tried to tell her that this was the most ridiculously American thing we 'd ever done in Europe, but I don 't think she believed us. She told Scotty that night that she didn't think she was "artistic" enough to feel comfortable in our house, and two days later she had moved out .

Poor thing . I don't really know exactly what it was, but I blame our shower to start. And really, if you're looking for a nice, regular apartment, ours isn't it. We enjoy the scruffiness, but goodness nows she can find somewhere much tidier than ours for pr obably a lot less money. We pay extra for the character and the enormous rooms we have by Be rlin standards. And I think y ou really hav e to be the right kind of weird o to feel comfortable there.

OK, one last thing- the word for "shower" in German is Dusche, pronounced exactly like the French word "douche," which led to the following interesting conversation the other morning over breakfast. (Note, we were all speaking English, in case you're wondering. Oh yeah, um... insert Parental Advisory Notice here):

Vanessa (suddenly remembering something she had intended to do the day before): Oh shit, I am such a douche-bag!
Me: Why, what happened? Hey, wait - calling someone a douche- bag doesn't work over here. Dusche just means shower.
Vanessa: Yeah, you're right. Hmm. I wonder how you would say that in German.
Jorge: What's a dusche bag?
(Vanessa and Kristal giggle and glance at each other nervously)
Jorge: What's a dusche bag ?
Kristal ( aside to Vanessa): You started it. Are you going to explain to him?
Jorge ( completely innocent, looking very confused by our giggling and obvious embarrassment): Is it something for your hair?

OK, OK, I'm back. I haven't deserted you all, and nothing catastrophic happened. I just haven't been online much lately. I guess I should start up from Christmas:
Christmas in Germany is celebrated on the 24th, but since I spent it with a bunch of Americans, we decided to celebrate on both nights. So, on the 24th John, a girl named Aastin, and I went to Vanessa's studio and drank wine and ate cheese and chocolate while listening to Christmas music. As we were walking home aro und 4 am, John and I passed an underground (literally and figuratively) bar called Kontroll Punkt. To get in to this place you have to crawl through a basement window. Having done so, we found ourselves in a tiny, graffiti- and-flyer-encrusted room with a ceiling seven feet high at the most. We continued on to the music room (also about 7 ft of ceiling clearance ) and found a bunch of drunk punk rockers dancing around to bizarre German folk songs and the occasional American pop hit (think 'Barbie Girl'). The other great feature, besides the music, was what I have dubbed the Magic Swing. You sit on this thing for five minutes and feel pretty safe, but as soon a s you relax and lean back, i t dumps you on to the floor . We felt stupid when it happened to us, but over the course of the next few hours we realized that the club owners probably leave it up for entertainment value more than seating capacity. That thing must have tipped someone off every 20 minutes.

The 25th was supposed to be the big eating day, but of course we went through all the cheese the night before, and all the stores were closed, so we had to pool the contents of our refridgerators to come up with a meal. That meal ended up being a giant pot of mashed potatoes, a small vegetable stir fry , two bratwurst (which John ate because he refused to eat the stir fry after I put broccoli in it), lots of wine, and (after the wine) part of an eggplant fried Italian style in a giant puddle of olive oil. It was tasty, though.

The next day, John and I headed off to Prague. I have to admit, I liked it more this time around, but it's really a tired, dreary city in the winter, despite all the beautiful architecture. This wasn't really helped by the fact that we had to share the hostel dorm with 6 American college students, one of whom 'snored like an elephant being sodomized' as John so eloquently put it. They would all wake up each morning and spend an hour and a half going to and from the shower, squeaking the floorboards, and 'whispering' in a way that works for two people but sounds like a dull roar with 6. There are rules of hostel etiquette, and one of those is that when other people ar e sleeping in the room, you leave as quickly as possible because you WILL wake them no matter how quiet you try to be. So we spen t most of our time in Prague in a daze of fatigue and irritation, but it was nice anyway. We got a fresh snowfall on e afternoon, and it was beautiful. I've never seen a city freshly covered in snow like that. Of course it was ugly slush the next morning, but for a few hours it was gorgeous.

We got back from Prague on the evening of the 29th, and found my housemates discussing the idea of throwing our own New Years party. That sounded great, so we stocked up on Champagne and hoped for a crowd. Vanessa showed up about 8:30. No one else did. Ever. So John, Vanessa, Jörge and I all headed out to watch the fireworks at midnight.

Fireworks in Berlin are a serious business. Dozens of little Feuerwerk shops open up all over town for two or three days before New Years, and people are setting off explosions in the metro stations starting on the 30th. When we got to the Warschauer bridge near my house, we discovered that the better part of my neighborhood was there too, fireworks in hand. We didn't have any of our own , but we just stood around double-fisting our champagne and taking in the madness. It was complete smoky chaos for about 45 minutes. The air was filled with sparks and sulfur as people threw fireworks at passing trams, at police cars, at ambulances - it didn't really matter. I've never seen anything like it, and I'm told that my neighborhood is actually somewhat tame as these things go. Jörge described the scene in Kreuzberg (a nearby neighborhood) as 'civil war'...

The fireworks, by the way, led to some interesting discussions:

Kristal : I'm so excited to see all the craziness on New Years. I've never really seen fireworks up close before!

Jörge: What do you mean you haven't seen fireworks up close before?

Kristal: They're illegal in California. People sneak them over the border from Mexico sometimes, but even when that happens we have to keep things pretty tame so we don't get caught.

Jörge: Wait, your country allows fireARMS but not fireWORKS?

Of course, I explained about the whole California draught and the fire risk, but... even if that weren't the case they wouldn't allow anything like what goes on here .

Oh, and another funny thing: I met our upstairs neighbor yesterday. He is German, he's never been to America, and yet he speaks with a twang. I'm told he's (for what reason we aren't sure) totally obsessed with the South and listens to blues and bluegrass and funk all the time, but... it's the strangest thing. I don't even know where he COULD have picked the accent up. He speaks very good English, but he uses specifically southern idioms and pronounces a lot of words like he learned them while living in a shack in Alabama somewhere - I expect him to be barefoot , chewing on a piece of hay. I mean, yes, I only really recognize that accent and make that association because of movies I've seen, but that means he watched those same movies and said 'I want to sound like that guy! The hillbilly, yup, that's me!'