get lost

hi hi - i'm in BERLIN!!!!

landed safe, figured my way around on the U-Bauhn and got to Sada's without a hitch. Had a great time catching up, been 6 years since we last spoke! she's an old friend of mine and Lori's (who's been living in austria for the past 3 years) from when i was 17 in victoria and she also moved to new york while lori and i were there. so we've rediscovered our estranged friendship and i met her nice boyfriend marco. they live in an AMazingly HUGE apartment, for soooo cheap 550 euro or something crazy. in the heart of a great area - Mitte. and today i spent some time with her and the 2yr old she nanny's for. she has nannied in berlin for a year and a half with the same family - an uber chic couple, owners of an amazing trendy art gallery. and well, i must say it's pretty neat. all this morning and afternoon i have been walking around the streets of the area Mittte. I LOVE BERLIN!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOD. it's so beautiful, still SO ruined (buildings still riddled with bullet holes and really rough looking urban landscapes) (I LOOOVE IT), and full of art on the streets (graffitti, it's beautiful), nice little things going on all over. AND CHEEEAAAAAP. jesus. compared to paris and THEN compared to NORWAY. there are things you can get on menus for ONE EURO. that's insane. there is one place where EVERYTHING is one euro. so a sausage. a burger. a beer. glass of wine. anything 1 euro!

so i will live here i think til about the end of august. Sada has a friend who has a huge apartment near by that she was taking care of. the friend wants me to stay there to take care of the plants. for free. so i have an amazing place ALL TO MYSELF until the 23rd and then we'll see. i may fly somewhere for my birthday (or wait til the 31st of august and go to la tomatina festival in valencia - i wanna hurl tomatoes at people!!!!!) and then maybe come back to berlin. who knows. as intended, anything can happen.

neither sada nor the place i will stay have internet. so it's cafes for me. but at 1euro an hour i can still get a lot done for cheap and stay inside nice and warm. it's cold and a little miserable today but i kinda like it. it's open, everything feels open and ready for exploration. sada is also lending me her bike. last night she told me about the apartment i will stay at and the bike and all these really exciting things. i said, sada, my birthday isn't til the 24th!!! this is craziness. soooo excited. i'll be able to get by here without spending too much money and who knows, maybe even get a job. now to work on my german. ack! languages man. so bizarre.

there are also these bikes parked all over. you call a number on your cell and they give you the code to unlock it. then it's yours to use as long as you want and when you're done you lock it a certain way on a corner, call and tell them where it is. easy as pie. gimmie a break, this is the best place ever.

so i guess you can tell i'm super happy and hopeful.

miss you all

catch up again soon

tschus! Berliner Banane