Much has transpired since my last blog entry. The semester is well on its way, Easter has passed, spring has sprung, I now have a German visa, and my hair has survived a long journey. We are in week 3 of classes and thanks to Easter, I only have one class this week, which means I also had a 6-day weekend. I don't think in terms of my schedule I can really complain. I had applied for an internship that would be during the semester for about 10-12 hours a week because I thought I would need something to do besides sit around my apartment and read. Unfortunately I didn't get it, but I think it's still for the best because even though I don't spend all day reading, I do need more time to read and make sure I understand all of the German texts. It's definitely a roller coaster while I read them though because I can tell when my attention is going in and out. There are points where I realize how much I am understanding and following along and then there are moments where I finish a few sentences and think to myself how I have no clue what was just said. It's pretty much like when I read any text for class and at least with the German texts I can attribute the lack of understanding to the language barrier. With English there is no excuse except I was just not paying attention any more.
The weather here in Berlin has been amazing and I really can't complain. We had our first thunderstorm last night and luckily I didn't have to go anywhere yesterday. I know that back home people are just swimming in all of the rain and I'm glad I don't have to deal with that. For Easter, Nick and I went to Julian's house and spent time with his family at their lake house. Every day was a perfect warm sunny day with no clouds in the sky. We all sat outside to eat, played some basketball and sat around and read. We even got to go sailing with his dad and I thought it was great. The only thing that freaked me out was when the boat would lean really far on one side and you felt like you were about to tip over into the water. That water wasn't warm enough for swimming, but I know that when we go back in the summer it will be great.
Easter was a fun day though because I got to experience a traditional German Easter. Like most Easter celebrations a big meal is had and there is plenty of chocolate to go around. Unlike any Easter I had ever had, the family started the morning by going on an Easter hunt and not just for Easter eggs. Everyone that was there hid gifts for each other in the yard and everyone had to search for them. Julian's uncle's mom was there and she was near 90 and even she hid things! At one point, Julian's aunt had to climb up part of the tree to reach one of her gifts. It was a lot of fun and something very different from what I was used to. When I was a kid all I ever looked for were colored eggs and I was really good at finding all of the different colored eggs in the yard. I needed some assistance in finding the few gifts that were there for me though and Julian had to turn it into a game of hot and cold to help me find them.
It was a wonderful weekend though where we got to leave the city and go back to the quite countryside. I didn't realize just how quiet it was there until we came back to Berlin and I heard all of the police sirens again (I didn't miss those at all). I love living in Berlin, but there is definitely something to be said for having a place outside of the city where you can go to escape for a weekend. It's a nice break and I feel much more relaxed now.
In other recent and wonderful news, I have my visa. It was quite an uphill battle with trying to figure out all of the insurance issues and making sure I had the right letters to prove I was receiving financial aid and that I was enrolled at the university here. When we went, my appointment was at 8am, which meant we had to leave our apartment around 7:20 to get there on time. There was a long line as people waited for the doors to open because I think most of those people didn't have appointments. My number was already on the board when we walked in and of course I got to see my favorite fat German guy behind the desk again. This time he liked everything I had and we were probably done in about 15 minutes. That includes the time it took to give him all of my documents, wait for him to print out the visa, pay and then get my passport. I was so relieved to have all of that done and it was the day before we left for Easter break too, so that helped make the break even better!
The other big event that happened a few weeks back was my haircut. I had found a great deal on Groupon for a 20 Euro haircut (originally 44 Euros) and so I finally decided to use my coupon. I had some serious issues trying to find the place and ended up running around Alexanderplatz because I was afraid they would skip my appointment if I was late. Luckily I got there and they weren't ready for me at all, so I ended up sitting there for a bit. When the hairstylist finally came over she explained how at this salon they are all about trying to figure out what they think would be the best cut for your type of hair based on your face shape and all that jazz. She ran her fingers through my hair for a good five minutes and kept picking it up and letting it fall to see how it would fall. By the time she had figured things out, my hair was in my face and pretty poofy. The actual hair cutting part was fine and even though it seemed like she was taking way too much off and doing way too much texturizing, I was okay. Then they suggested we try some highlights just in the bangs (bangs=Pony auf Deutsch) and around my face. I figured that it couldn't be that bad and I am always wanting to try new things so I agreed. When she came at me with the color, I originally thought it looked very orange, but I figured it probably wouldn't be so bright because my hair is so dark. After they washed the coloring out and sat me back down in front of a mirror I had to really make sure I didn't gasp from how bright the color was. To me, it looked quite orange and more like an orange red when I would have rather had something more red or red orange (that color distinction may seem ridiculous, but there is a distinction, look at some crayons). Amazingly all of that only cost 20 euros, but I was definitely not a happy camper. When I got home I put on a hat until Julian made me take it off. I was reassured by a few that it didn't look as bad as I thought it did and it definitely wasn't orange. I waited a few days hoping it would get better, but finally I realized that I didn't like it and I never would. Only 3 days after the cut, I went to another hair salon that was right around the corner and I had them fix it. They were able to dye it and make it darker and I can definitely live with it now. I really don't know what I was thinking when I agreed to let those women color my hair and I have definitely learned my lesson there. That will never be happening again. So unfortunately for me, my original 20 Euro haircut turned into a 60 Euro expense once you add in the second haircut. Lesson learned.
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