Sunday, October 31, 2010
Losing My English...
P.S. I just reread my blog post (I never proofread before posting, by the way), and I realized how many mistakes I made (typos, missing words, etc.). My German's already pretty crappy, and it looks like my English is getting worse...so sorry. I wouldn't be surprised if I made more mistakes in this post too...
Halloween in Berlin is Funny
Tonight, as I was out walking around, I saw a few kids dressed up as ghosts for Halloween. It was rather adorable. Apparently, Berlin is one place where Halloween is celebrated more than in other German cities, but if that's true, it's no where near what it's like in the U.S.
Of the few trick-or-treaters I saw, some were pretty obnoxious. I was at my buddy Brandon's new apartment tonight, and some kids rang the doorbell. We weren't really sure if we wanted to open the door, since we had no treats prepped to give away (barely anyone even celebrates it anyway). They kept buzzing, so Brandon pulled out some candy bars he had in his backpack.
Before he could open the door though, we heard them running down the stairs (in the apartment building) and leaving. But not before leaving the doorbell ringing. Let me explain: the doorbells in Brandon's building look like door knockers. You lift them to ring and lower them to stop the ringing. These kids decided that anyone who didn't open their door deserved to have their doorbells left up, so you could hear doorbells buzzing throughout the whole building. Obnoxious, no? Slightly funny though...
Anyway, I went to my first Catholic mass tonight. I haven't really gone to church since arriving in Europe, so I figured I'd tag along to the new church Brandon found. Rather interesting, although difficult to understand—both because it was in German, and because it was German with echos in a grand church. I did feel more inspired to find my own church though. Still haven't found a Presbyterian church in my neighborhood.
Though I don't yet have the pictures to show it, last week was a busy week. I attended an "advanced training seminar" on human rights and (forced) migration in European citizenship education. It was hosted by Network Migration in Europe, a non-profit funded by several rather large foundations. Besides me, there were about 23 other participants, many of whom had PhDs or Masters degrees. I was the youngest one, though there a few German university students as well.
It reminded me of HIA back in 2008: intense seminars, discussions, site visits all day. Everyone commented that their brains were hurting after thinking so hard from morning till evening. I do think that I approached this seminar a bit differently from HIA though. Then, I was so focused on educational access issues, I sometimes felt like I might've tuned out a few of the other human rights discussions. I will admit I did that in more than a few of my college classes as well. But in this seminar, I was zeroed in the whole time. Even at the end of long days, when normally I'd be thinking "just stop talking and end this thing already," I was intrigued and listening intently, even though I was exhausted and partly running on fumes.
I was reminded of my very first college class actually—aptly called "Culture and Human Rights." Many of the discussions we'd had in that class gave me a foundation for understanding the international conventions and treaties that established human rights and fundamental freedoms around the world. At least as a moral obligation with a few enforcement mechanisms here and there. The other human rights and migration classes I took as part of my International Studies degree—as well as my HIA Fellowship and prior study abroad programs—also gave me more background knowledge coming into this seminar.
In this seminar though, I really soaked in everything we talked about—from understanding the European Convention on Human Rights to learning about how it's actually enforced, from Switzerland's not so clean past during the Nazi era to the effects of the economic crisis on Spain's migration policies. I came away with a greater appreciation of understanding the definitions of terms and concepts, and I realized just how important that is in understanding the complexity of the immigration debate in Europe. The institutions and structures set up to address these issues seem to be missing the mark in understanding just how important it is to distinguish between the various types of migration, etc. You can't simply lump asylum seekers into the same categories as, say, undocumented workers (or irregular migrants, as we learned in this seminar). To give them the same treatment legally is to ignore the contextual factors of their personal situations and ignores the needs of the individual to follow pre-existing laws and policies.
I could write a lot more on what I've learned, but it might be rather boring (plus the title of my blog post would make very little sense). So I'll just leave it at that. I will try to post some pictures later this week. I didn't actually take any, but a number of my fellow participants did. They will be sending them to me, so I'll share some of them to show you what the seminar looked like.
Well, I'm going to bed now. Daylight Savings Time officially ended in Germany yesterday, so I'm now 8 hours ahead of Seattle. At least for one week. It was rather funny to wake up at 1 PM today—that's what my laptop, iPod Touch, and cell phone all said. I figured I needed to change the time...until I saw the kitchen clock still showing 2 PM. Apparently, my electronic devices adjusted for the time change in Germany automatically. How wonderful.
Toodles,
Sam
Of the few trick-or-treaters I saw, some were pretty obnoxious. I was at my buddy Brandon's new apartment tonight, and some kids rang the doorbell. We weren't really sure if we wanted to open the door, since we had no treats prepped to give away (barely anyone even celebrates it anyway). They kept buzzing, so Brandon pulled out some candy bars he had in his backpack.
Before he could open the door though, we heard them running down the stairs (in the apartment building) and leaving. But not before leaving the doorbell ringing. Let me explain: the doorbells in Brandon's building look like door knockers. You lift them to ring and lower them to stop the ringing. These kids decided that anyone who didn't open their door deserved to have their doorbells left up, so you could hear doorbells buzzing throughout the whole building. Obnoxious, no? Slightly funny though...
Anyway, I went to my first Catholic mass tonight. I haven't really gone to church since arriving in Europe, so I figured I'd tag along to the new church Brandon found. Rather interesting, although difficult to understand—both because it was in German, and because it was German with echos in a grand church. I did feel more inspired to find my own church though. Still haven't found a Presbyterian church in my neighborhood.
Though I don't yet have the pictures to show it, last week was a busy week. I attended an "advanced training seminar" on human rights and (forced) migration in European citizenship education. It was hosted by Network Migration in Europe, a non-profit funded by several rather large foundations. Besides me, there were about 23 other participants, many of whom had PhDs or Masters degrees. I was the youngest one, though there a few German university students as well.
It reminded me of HIA back in 2008: intense seminars, discussions, site visits all day. Everyone commented that their brains were hurting after thinking so hard from morning till evening. I do think that I approached this seminar a bit differently from HIA though. Then, I was so focused on educational access issues, I sometimes felt like I might've tuned out a few of the other human rights discussions. I will admit I did that in more than a few of my college classes as well. But in this seminar, I was zeroed in the whole time. Even at the end of long days, when normally I'd be thinking "just stop talking and end this thing already," I was intrigued and listening intently, even though I was exhausted and partly running on fumes.
I was reminded of my very first college class actually—aptly called "Culture and Human Rights." Many of the discussions we'd had in that class gave me a foundation for understanding the international conventions and treaties that established human rights and fundamental freedoms around the world. At least as a moral obligation with a few enforcement mechanisms here and there. The other human rights and migration classes I took as part of my International Studies degree—as well as my HIA Fellowship and prior study abroad programs—also gave me more background knowledge coming into this seminar.
In this seminar though, I really soaked in everything we talked about—from understanding the European Convention on Human Rights to learning about how it's actually enforced, from Switzerland's not so clean past during the Nazi era to the effects of the economic crisis on Spain's migration policies. I came away with a greater appreciation of understanding the definitions of terms and concepts, and I realized just how important that is in understanding the complexity of the immigration debate in Europe. The institutions and structures set up to address these issues seem to be missing the mark in understanding just how important it is to distinguish between the various types of migration, etc. You can't simply lump asylum seekers into the same categories as, say, undocumented workers (or irregular migrants, as we learned in this seminar). To give them the same treatment legally is to ignore the contextual factors of their personal situations and ignores the needs of the individual to follow pre-existing laws and policies.
I could write a lot more on what I've learned, but it might be rather boring (plus the title of my blog post would make very little sense). So I'll just leave it at that. I will try to post some pictures later this week. I didn't actually take any, but a number of my fellow participants did. They will be sending them to me, so I'll share some of them to show you what the seminar looked like.
Well, I'm going to bed now. Daylight Savings Time officially ended in Germany yesterday, so I'm now 8 hours ahead of Seattle. At least for one week. It was rather funny to wake up at 1 PM today—that's what my laptop, iPod Touch, and cell phone all said. I figured I needed to change the time...until I saw the kitchen clock still showing 2 PM. Apparently, my electronic devices adjusted for the time change in Germany automatically. How wonderful.
Toodles,
Sam
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Festival of Lights
As promised, here are some pictures from Berlin's Festival of Lights:
Ronny and I went around and took a few pictures around the Mitte area, and there were a good number of folks out there as well. I decided to also take a video of the Brandenburg Gate since it was changing colors. Check it out.
If the video doesn't work, oh well. It's just the colors changing at the Brandenburg Gate. I had a ridiculously difficult time just trying to get it uploaded.
On our way back, we suddenly felt like watching a movie. So we stopped by the Sony Center and got tickets for the 10 PM showing of Inception in English. I have to say it made a lot more sense this time. As much as I enjoyed watching it in German, I felt a lot better understanding everything they said.
Good night,
Sam
Ronny and I went around and took a few pictures around the Mitte area, and there were a good number of folks out there as well. I decided to also take a video of the Brandenburg Gate since it was changing colors. Check it out.
If the video doesn't work, oh well. It's just the colors changing at the Brandenburg Gate. I had a ridiculously difficult time just trying to get it uploaded.
On our way back, we suddenly felt like watching a movie. So we stopped by the Sony Center and got tickets for the 10 PM showing of Inception in English. I have to say it made a lot more sense this time. As much as I enjoyed watching it in German, I felt a lot better understanding everything they said.
Good night,
Sam
Ah, Berlin
It's been a relatively typical weekend in Berlin. Always enjoyable.
Friday, my good old buddy from the German language course in Marburg, James, came to Berlin for the day. We spent the time walking around the city and saw some parts of Museum Island I had never seen before.
We were walking by the Brandenburg Gate when we noticed the security guard outside the U.S. Embassy was the same one I'd had a nice chat with on Thursday. So we went to say hello. He was very nice and asked if I had another appointment with the program coordinator I met on Thursday. Sadly, I did not, so we just had a nice chat. Always fun making new friends.
I also thought it was cool to see the Brandenburg Gate reflected in the front windows of the U.S. Embassy.
We went back to my place to cook dinner with Ronny, and we ended up inviting two other friends over as well. It was quite fun, even though we didn't start eating till about 10 PM.
On Saturday, I did some work at home and then, at night, Ronny and I went out at midnight for a few drinks. As is typical in Berlin, the bars were packed, but we got a nice Polish beer and chatted in the middle of the crowd. After that, we actually hit up two more bars, where we had another Polish beer (or maybe it was Czech?) and a Berliner Pils. In between, we had the best Schawarma I'd ever had as well as a baked Turkish goodie (almost like a pretzel but way better).
We made it home at 3 AM, just in time for me to watch the Giants vs. Phillies game. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it, so I fell asleep and woke up to learn that my ideal World Series matchup for 2010 was actually going to happen. Pretty exciting.
Tonight, Ronny and I are going to head downtown to check out Berlin's Festival of Lights. Tonight's the last night, so we're going to try and see the main sites. I hope my camera will be able to capture some of the pictures. If I'm successful, I'll post them on the blog tomorrow.
This week is going to be pretty intensive with my training seminar with Netzwerk Migration in Europa from Wednesday to Saturday. I also have a few meetings for my research. I've managed to make some great connections in the past week from my meetings with professors, so things are starting to work out with my project.
In one of my meetings last week, I also learned that Berlin has changed its school system this year,. Apparently, Berlin now has two tracks after elementary school, rather than the traditional, stratified three-track system. However, what will be interesting to know is whether this newer two-track system is a two-track system in name and theory only or if it actually is enforced in practice. I haven't been able to find out yet if the schools that were formerly the lower levels in the three-track system have a standard curriculum for the two-track system now that they're technically supposed to be on the same level.
So things are in transition, and I really don't have good numbers against which to compare my findings. Thankfully, since I'm doing an ethnographic project, I can still use what I learn to write a relevant research paper. I really just need to know now if I need official permission to do my interviews, which has been more difficult to find out than one can imagine. I've received conflicting information from advisors and professors in the U.S. and Germany, so now I'm trying to get in touch with scholars who have already done this process. I had tried putting out feelers for that earlier, but had little luck. Now I actually have the name of a particular individual, so I know I can find out good info.
One last thing: if you haven't already, read Rolling Stone's profile on Obama by Tim Dickinson. It's quite good. Then, go vote before the deadline.
Toodles,
Sam
Friday, my good old buddy from the German language course in Marburg, James, came to Berlin for the day. We spent the time walking around the city and saw some parts of Museum Island I had never seen before.
We were walking by the Brandenburg Gate when we noticed the security guard outside the U.S. Embassy was the same one I'd had a nice chat with on Thursday. So we went to say hello. He was very nice and asked if I had another appointment with the program coordinator I met on Thursday. Sadly, I did not, so we just had a nice chat. Always fun making new friends.
I also thought it was cool to see the Brandenburg Gate reflected in the front windows of the U.S. Embassy.
We went back to my place to cook dinner with Ronny, and we ended up inviting two other friends over as well. It was quite fun, even though we didn't start eating till about 10 PM.
On Saturday, I did some work at home and then, at night, Ronny and I went out at midnight for a few drinks. As is typical in Berlin, the bars were packed, but we got a nice Polish beer and chatted in the middle of the crowd. After that, we actually hit up two more bars, where we had another Polish beer (or maybe it was Czech?) and a Berliner Pils. In between, we had the best Schawarma I'd ever had as well as a baked Turkish goodie (almost like a pretzel but way better).
We made it home at 3 AM, just in time for me to watch the Giants vs. Phillies game. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it, so I fell asleep and woke up to learn that my ideal World Series matchup for 2010 was actually going to happen. Pretty exciting.
Tonight, Ronny and I are going to head downtown to check out Berlin's Festival of Lights. Tonight's the last night, so we're going to try and see the main sites. I hope my camera will be able to capture some of the pictures. If I'm successful, I'll post them on the blog tomorrow.
This week is going to be pretty intensive with my training seminar with Netzwerk Migration in Europa from Wednesday to Saturday. I also have a few meetings for my research. I've managed to make some great connections in the past week from my meetings with professors, so things are starting to work out with my project.
In one of my meetings last week, I also learned that Berlin has changed its school system this year,. Apparently, Berlin now has two tracks after elementary school, rather than the traditional, stratified three-track system. However, what will be interesting to know is whether this newer two-track system is a two-track system in name and theory only or if it actually is enforced in practice. I haven't been able to find out yet if the schools that were formerly the lower levels in the three-track system have a standard curriculum for the two-track system now that they're technically supposed to be on the same level.
So things are in transition, and I really don't have good numbers against which to compare my findings. Thankfully, since I'm doing an ethnographic project, I can still use what I learn to write a relevant research paper. I really just need to know now if I need official permission to do my interviews, which has been more difficult to find out than one can imagine. I've received conflicting information from advisors and professors in the U.S. and Germany, so now I'm trying to get in touch with scholars who have already done this process. I had tried putting out feelers for that earlier, but had little luck. Now I actually have the name of a particular individual, so I know I can find out good info.
One last thing: if you haven't already, read Rolling Stone's profile on Obama by Tim Dickinson. It's quite good. Then, go vote before the deadline.
Toodles,
Sam
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Feelin' Official...Sorta
Today, I got to do something in Berlin that I've always wanted to do but never had the opportunity to do—I went inside the U.S. Embassy at Pariser Platz.
As nerdy as that may sound, this embassy is located right next to the Brandenburg Gate, arguably the most famous site in Berlin. Besides its place in European history, the Gate also has significance in U.S. history, since it's where JFK said "ich bin ein Berliner" in 1963, where Ronald Reagan said "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" in 1987, and where Barack Obama wanted to speak in 2008 before he was elected president (he ended up speaking in front of 200,000 people about 2 km west of the Gate).
Anyway, this embassy was opened officially on July 4, 2008, and coincidentally, I happened to be in Berlin at the time for my Humanity in Action Fellowship. I remember that it rained—actually, poured—that day because we had our final research project presentations at Potsdamer Platz that morning, and I had to trudge through an inch or two of rain in my suit. In fact, my umbrella blew inside out.
That night though, we celebrated the end of our fellowship as well as Independence Day in the U.S. with drinks at a classy bar atop one of the buildings by Anhalter Bahnhof. From there, we could see the fireworks from the celebration for the U.S. Embassy through the wall of raindrops streaming down the windows. Apparently, former President George H.W. Bush was in town that day, and unlike his son, he's still quite well-liked by Germans.
Almost two weeks ago, while I was walking by the embassy in Pariser Platz with my friends from Boston, they asked if we could go into the embassy. My response was: "Well, I've never tried, and I'm pretty sure they don't just let anyone, even U.S. citizens, just walk through the doors." Seeing the guards all around, we decided we'd just have to save it for another time.
Well, yesterday, my chance to go in arrived serendipitously in an email. At a Fulbright dinner earlier this week, I met a former Fulbrighter who works at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin and, during our conversation, she invited me to stay in touch and that she'd connect me with a colleague who is in charge of the "Meet US" outreach program. Basically, it's a program that sends U.S. citizens currently living in Berlin who volunteer to go into local high schools to share about life in the U.S. Of course, I was very excited, so I connected with that program coordinator, and she invited me to meet her in person at the embassy.
So, this afternoon I got to spend about 30 minutes walking around the building and talking with the program coordinator about how I could be of help during my time in Berlin. I decided it might be better to dress up slightly so I wouldn't have as much trouble with security, so I went with khakis, a white dress shirt, and a black blazer. Haha.
Turns out, I was right about not being able to go in without official business reasons. I had to show my passport, leave my electronics at the gate, then trade my passport for a visitor's badge (that said I needed official escort the entire time) at the second security check. It was all pretty neat. By each of the entrances, there were pictures of President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Secretary of State Clinton. By the other entrance, there was also a large plaque with all the names of the official representatives of the U.S. to Germany ever, starting with John Quincy Adams in 1797 all the way through to the current ambassador, Philip Murphy.
The center of the embassy is actually a giant courtyard, where you can sit and meet or have lunch or coffee. Although the weather is quite cold already, I can imagine that it's quite nice during the summer. Plus, even though the busy Pariser Platz is just over the other side of the building, it's surprisingly quiet in the open-air courtyard. I am sure the architect took all that into consideration when building the embassy.
Anyway, the meeting itself was pleasant, and I'm quite excited to be able to volunteer with the Meet US program. I'll have a chance to visit schools I might not otherwise have a chance to visit (since I'll be visiting schools around the state of Brandenburg as well for this program). At the same time, it'll allow me to build relationships with teachers who can help me connect with students for my Fulbright research.
So, all in all, I had a very successful day with my meeting at the U.S. Embassy. I've only ever been inside one other U.S. Embassy (in Guatemala), so today's experience was pretty neat. I did also learn today that the U.S. Embassy here in Berlin is quite unique in that nearly anyone can walk right up to the front door, although there is security everywhere. At other U.S. Embassies, there are usually big fences around the perimeter of the building like in Guatemala and the U.S. Embassy building I saw in Athens.
Anyway, I don't know when I'll be able to go back again, but I did enjoy making new acquaintances with folks who work for the Embassy and with the security guards at the front entrance. :)
Until next time,
Sam
As nerdy as that may sound, this embassy is located right next to the Brandenburg Gate, arguably the most famous site in Berlin. Besides its place in European history, the Gate also has significance in U.S. history, since it's where JFK said "ich bin ein Berliner" in 1963, where Ronald Reagan said "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" in 1987, and where Barack Obama wanted to speak in 2008 before he was elected president (he ended up speaking in front of 200,000 people about 2 km west of the Gate).
Anyway, this embassy was opened officially on July 4, 2008, and coincidentally, I happened to be in Berlin at the time for my Humanity in Action Fellowship. I remember that it rained—actually, poured—that day because we had our final research project presentations at Potsdamer Platz that morning, and I had to trudge through an inch or two of rain in my suit. In fact, my umbrella blew inside out.
That night though, we celebrated the end of our fellowship as well as Independence Day in the U.S. with drinks at a classy bar atop one of the buildings by Anhalter Bahnhof. From there, we could see the fireworks from the celebration for the U.S. Embassy through the wall of raindrops streaming down the windows. Apparently, former President George H.W. Bush was in town that day, and unlike his son, he's still quite well-liked by Germans.
Almost two weeks ago, while I was walking by the embassy in Pariser Platz with my friends from Boston, they asked if we could go into the embassy. My response was: "Well, I've never tried, and I'm pretty sure they don't just let anyone, even U.S. citizens, just walk through the doors." Seeing the guards all around, we decided we'd just have to save it for another time.
Well, yesterday, my chance to go in arrived serendipitously in an email. At a Fulbright dinner earlier this week, I met a former Fulbrighter who works at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin and, during our conversation, she invited me to stay in touch and that she'd connect me with a colleague who is in charge of the "Meet US" outreach program. Basically, it's a program that sends U.S. citizens currently living in Berlin who volunteer to go into local high schools to share about life in the U.S. Of course, I was very excited, so I connected with that program coordinator, and she invited me to meet her in person at the embassy.
So, this afternoon I got to spend about 30 minutes walking around the building and talking with the program coordinator about how I could be of help during my time in Berlin. I decided it might be better to dress up slightly so I wouldn't have as much trouble with security, so I went with khakis, a white dress shirt, and a black blazer. Haha.
Turns out, I was right about not being able to go in without official business reasons. I had to show my passport, leave my electronics at the gate, then trade my passport for a visitor's badge (that said I needed official escort the entire time) at the second security check. It was all pretty neat. By each of the entrances, there were pictures of President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Secretary of State Clinton. By the other entrance, there was also a large plaque with all the names of the official representatives of the U.S. to Germany ever, starting with John Quincy Adams in 1797 all the way through to the current ambassador, Philip Murphy.
The center of the embassy is actually a giant courtyard, where you can sit and meet or have lunch or coffee. Although the weather is quite cold already, I can imagine that it's quite nice during the summer. Plus, even though the busy Pariser Platz is just over the other side of the building, it's surprisingly quiet in the open-air courtyard. I am sure the architect took all that into consideration when building the embassy.
Anyway, the meeting itself was pleasant, and I'm quite excited to be able to volunteer with the Meet US program. I'll have a chance to visit schools I might not otherwise have a chance to visit (since I'll be visiting schools around the state of Brandenburg as well for this program). At the same time, it'll allow me to build relationships with teachers who can help me connect with students for my Fulbright research.
So, all in all, I had a very successful day with my meeting at the U.S. Embassy. I've only ever been inside one other U.S. Embassy (in Guatemala), so today's experience was pretty neat. I did also learn today that the U.S. Embassy here in Berlin is quite unique in that nearly anyone can walk right up to the front door, although there is security everywhere. At other U.S. Embassies, there are usually big fences around the perimeter of the building like in Guatemala and the U.S. Embassy building I saw in Athens.
Anyway, I don't know when I'll be able to go back again, but I did enjoy making new acquaintances with folks who work for the Embassy and with the security guards at the front entrance. :)
Until next time,
Sam
Saturday, October 16, 2010
What a Week
It's been a while since my last update. Probably because it's been a crazy week that required me to do all sorts of things not entirely related to my research. Blah. But they had to be done.
One of my medical implants needed a medicine refill, so I went to the doctor in Berlin that my pharmaceutical company had recommended. First, some context: since July, when I was getting ready to leave for Europe, I had been emailing this clinic, which happens to be a very famous one (I'll leave out all names for this story), and I maybe got one or two generic responses—none from the actual doctor. I figured phone might be better, so I used Skype to call from Seattle and then with my German cell once I arrived in Marburg—all to try and schedule this one appointment. They must've been really busy or something because I didn't get an appointment until a week before I went, and only because I asked my roommate to call for me since he's German and could express my needs in German in a way I could not.
So I went to the appointment on Monday, and lo and behold, they had made the wrong appointment for me. After waiting for nearly three hours, I finally got the correct appointment lined up but not before I had been bounced from one office to another and on to another like a package no one wanted. Plus, when I asked the office how much I would have to pay (since I have to pay upfront first and file a claim to my insurance company later), they couldn't even give me a straight answer except an estimate of 2,000€.
Now, that's a huge chunk of change, and I didn't have that much money in my bank. So I figured I could use a credit card to pay the next day before my appointment. Whether I can actually use my credit card or not, I will probably never find out because I didn't even make it that far on Tuesday.
I woke up early to go to the hospital (it's an hour away by a bus and an U-Bahn), but I missed the bus due to construction at the normal stop. I couldn't find the replacement stop until seconds before the bus pulled away. So I had to wait another 20 minutes. Screw it, I thought. I'd just get there late and figure out how to pay later.
When I finally arrived, the office lady gave me a bunch of crap for being late. Whatever, I thought. On the other side of the hall, the nurse had been waiting for me, and she motioned for me to follow her at the same time the office lady told me to go pay downstairs. They had a heated discussion and ultimately the nurse won the argument, leading me to a waiting area curtained off (poorly, I might add) from the main hallway.
She told me that I would be staying overnight and had to change into the hospital gown because I was going into the operating room for the pump refill procedure. Uh...ok? I thought, "Is that how you do all your pump refills here?" I've had this pump implant for nearly eight years now and have had it refilled every 30-60 days in that time, and never have I had to (1) stay overnight or (2) take off all my clothes and change into a hospital gown just to have my pump refilled.
I convinced her that the doctor said I could simply stay for four or five hours after the procedure instead of staying overnight. She didn't seem satisfied, but said ok, just change into the hospital gown. Reluctantly, I did. As I was standing there in my basketball shorts, the office lady came back around and said, "What you're doing is not allowed. You must pay for the treatment beforehand. We'll let it slide this time, but you must pay when you are done. If you try to leave without paying, we will call the police." Riiiight. I responded, "I already know that, and you've already talked to the nurse. I know already. Thank you." No reason to harass me, seriously.
I changed and climbed into the hospital bed, which was rather comfortable. Since I had woken up so early, I was ready to fall asleep, but I forced myself to stay awake because I felt it would be most prudent to stay attentive. I can't say I had much faith in their medical abilities at this point.
After two hours of waiting, I thought about what my dad had told me on the phone that morning: If you don't feel comfortable with it, just cancel it and see if you can do it back in Marburg. Wise idea. The two hours of waiting on the bed in a hospital gown did it, I think. I called the doctor's office in Marburg and spoke with the dear secretary there who had treated me spectacularly when I went for my appointment. She had walked with me to every office I needed to visit (to register, to pay, and to schedule my appointments, etc.) and translated for me, even though she later found out I actually understood most of what the folks were saying. Still, I'm very glad she did that for me.
They were equally surprised at the strange process for pump refills that this hospital had, and we quickly made an appointment for Thursday morning. Great. Now I had to figure out where I'd stay in Marburg and book transportation as well. Easy.
I put my clothes back on, packed my stuff, and walked into the nurses' station, where the nurse looked at me with a bewildered expression. "Why are you dressed?" she asked (in German). I responded with my best German: "I'm sorry, but I do not feel comfortable with the process here. It's totally unfamiliar to me the way it's done at this hospital. I have had this pump for nearly 8 years, and in the two hours that I waited, it could've been done extremely easily. I would like to cancel my appointment."
Their silence was followed by an irritated, "Well, you'll have to talk to the patient manager." No problem. I'd like to talk to him, since he's the one who made the wrong appointment for me in the first place, even after I had spoken with him on the phone and emailed him (and again received no response).
When I explained my situation, he finally called the doctor to talk to me. Funny how I only ever met the doctor when I told them I was canceling and leaving. The doctor was overall pretty nice, and I told him he had received good recommendations from my pharmaceutical company. However, the process in which they conducted their procedures was completely inefficient and backwards to me. I told him that I've had this procedure done in a number of clinics around the West Coast and in Germany, but never had I encountered one where they would require me to stay overnight and go into an operating room for the procedure. Heck, I've had this procedure done so many times, they could've just given me the syringe and medicine to do the refill myself.
He was very sorry about how I felt and offered to do the pump refill still. But I told him that I had already made up my mind and would go to Marburg on Thursday to have it done. With that, I walked out the door and didn't bother to check in with the office lady again, since they had told me to see the patient manager too when I mentioned I wanted to cancel. Thankfully, I have not been chased down by police yet.
Anyway, the rest of the week included some speedy online reservations for carpools to Marburg. The train was very expensive (as in 145€ roundtrip), but with the carpool, I paid 40€ total for the trip to Marburg and back to Berlin. I also got to see old friends in Marburg and actually stay with my old neighbor. Oh, and the pump refill in Marburg? It took a grand total of 15 minutes for me to get off the bus, walk in the hospital, pick up my receipt for paying online, getting my pump refilled, and then hopping back on the bus into town.
Unbelievable.
The good news is that I have great doctors to take care of my medical needs. The not so great news is that I will have to travel the four hours (by train) or five hours (by car) to Marburg every month. On the flip side, it also lets me visit friends there, so that's a plus.
Speaking of friends, I had a friend from Boston visit me earlier this week. We had a fun time walking around Berlin. It had been a while since I had walked around the Mitte area, since I hadn't done that since arriving. I've seen it all before, so it wasn't a high priority for me. But with friends, it is definitely more fun.
We actually started by checking out the East Side Gallery, which is the largest segment of the former Berlin Wall that is still standing. In fact, though I have driven by it before, I had never visited it in person. Pretty neat.
After spending some time walking around Mitte, seeing the Brandenburg Gate, and going to Starbucks, we headed back to make dinner and celebrate their last night in Berlin. Pretty fun.
My research has started out more slowly than I had anticipated, mainly because the professors with whom I need to meet to establish contact in local schools are all swamped with office hours visits from students. School just started this week. So it's likely I won't have many interviews until the beginning of November, which only delays my project timeline by a month, but I will be able to manage since I had included some flexibility in my proposal.
I also have a human rights conference coming up in a week and a half in Berlin, so I'm excited for that. Talking with random students who are friends of my friends or whom I meet in a car-ride has been pretty enlightening. I've spoken with a first-year German university student who has aspirations for working for the UN and engaging in academics and work abroad. I've chatted with a Pakistani student who is my age, but has already graduated from law school and plans to continue doing research and working in international environmental law. All of it has been fascinating, and I love chatting with students who share a passion for global affairs, even if our political views differ.
Speaking of politics, I filled out my ballot and now have to send it back to Spokane for it to get counted. If you haven't already, vote!
Until next time,
Sam
One of my medical implants needed a medicine refill, so I went to the doctor in Berlin that my pharmaceutical company had recommended. First, some context: since July, when I was getting ready to leave for Europe, I had been emailing this clinic, which happens to be a very famous one (I'll leave out all names for this story), and I maybe got one or two generic responses—none from the actual doctor. I figured phone might be better, so I used Skype to call from Seattle and then with my German cell once I arrived in Marburg—all to try and schedule this one appointment. They must've been really busy or something because I didn't get an appointment until a week before I went, and only because I asked my roommate to call for me since he's German and could express my needs in German in a way I could not.
So I went to the appointment on Monday, and lo and behold, they had made the wrong appointment for me. After waiting for nearly three hours, I finally got the correct appointment lined up but not before I had been bounced from one office to another and on to another like a package no one wanted. Plus, when I asked the office how much I would have to pay (since I have to pay upfront first and file a claim to my insurance company later), they couldn't even give me a straight answer except an estimate of 2,000€.
Now, that's a huge chunk of change, and I didn't have that much money in my bank. So I figured I could use a credit card to pay the next day before my appointment. Whether I can actually use my credit card or not, I will probably never find out because I didn't even make it that far on Tuesday.
I woke up early to go to the hospital (it's an hour away by a bus and an U-Bahn), but I missed the bus due to construction at the normal stop. I couldn't find the replacement stop until seconds before the bus pulled away. So I had to wait another 20 minutes. Screw it, I thought. I'd just get there late and figure out how to pay later.
When I finally arrived, the office lady gave me a bunch of crap for being late. Whatever, I thought. On the other side of the hall, the nurse had been waiting for me, and she motioned for me to follow her at the same time the office lady told me to go pay downstairs. They had a heated discussion and ultimately the nurse won the argument, leading me to a waiting area curtained off (poorly, I might add) from the main hallway.
She told me that I would be staying overnight and had to change into the hospital gown because I was going into the operating room for the pump refill procedure. Uh...ok? I thought, "Is that how you do all your pump refills here?" I've had this pump implant for nearly eight years now and have had it refilled every 30-60 days in that time, and never have I had to (1) stay overnight or (2) take off all my clothes and change into a hospital gown just to have my pump refilled.
I convinced her that the doctor said I could simply stay for four or five hours after the procedure instead of staying overnight. She didn't seem satisfied, but said ok, just change into the hospital gown. Reluctantly, I did. As I was standing there in my basketball shorts, the office lady came back around and said, "What you're doing is not allowed. You must pay for the treatment beforehand. We'll let it slide this time, but you must pay when you are done. If you try to leave without paying, we will call the police." Riiiight. I responded, "I already know that, and you've already talked to the nurse. I know already. Thank you." No reason to harass me, seriously.
I changed and climbed into the hospital bed, which was rather comfortable. Since I had woken up so early, I was ready to fall asleep, but I forced myself to stay awake because I felt it would be most prudent to stay attentive. I can't say I had much faith in their medical abilities at this point.
After two hours of waiting, I thought about what my dad had told me on the phone that morning: If you don't feel comfortable with it, just cancel it and see if you can do it back in Marburg. Wise idea. The two hours of waiting on the bed in a hospital gown did it, I think. I called the doctor's office in Marburg and spoke with the dear secretary there who had treated me spectacularly when I went for my appointment. She had walked with me to every office I needed to visit (to register, to pay, and to schedule my appointments, etc.) and translated for me, even though she later found out I actually understood most of what the folks were saying. Still, I'm very glad she did that for me.
They were equally surprised at the strange process for pump refills that this hospital had, and we quickly made an appointment for Thursday morning. Great. Now I had to figure out where I'd stay in Marburg and book transportation as well. Easy.
I put my clothes back on, packed my stuff, and walked into the nurses' station, where the nurse looked at me with a bewildered expression. "Why are you dressed?" she asked (in German). I responded with my best German: "I'm sorry, but I do not feel comfortable with the process here. It's totally unfamiliar to me the way it's done at this hospital. I have had this pump for nearly 8 years, and in the two hours that I waited, it could've been done extremely easily. I would like to cancel my appointment."
Their silence was followed by an irritated, "Well, you'll have to talk to the patient manager." No problem. I'd like to talk to him, since he's the one who made the wrong appointment for me in the first place, even after I had spoken with him on the phone and emailed him (and again received no response).
When I explained my situation, he finally called the doctor to talk to me. Funny how I only ever met the doctor when I told them I was canceling and leaving. The doctor was overall pretty nice, and I told him he had received good recommendations from my pharmaceutical company. However, the process in which they conducted their procedures was completely inefficient and backwards to me. I told him that I've had this procedure done in a number of clinics around the West Coast and in Germany, but never had I encountered one where they would require me to stay overnight and go into an operating room for the procedure. Heck, I've had this procedure done so many times, they could've just given me the syringe and medicine to do the refill myself.
He was very sorry about how I felt and offered to do the pump refill still. But I told him that I had already made up my mind and would go to Marburg on Thursday to have it done. With that, I walked out the door and didn't bother to check in with the office lady again, since they had told me to see the patient manager too when I mentioned I wanted to cancel. Thankfully, I have not been chased down by police yet.
Anyway, the rest of the week included some speedy online reservations for carpools to Marburg. The train was very expensive (as in 145€ roundtrip), but with the carpool, I paid 40€ total for the trip to Marburg and back to Berlin. I also got to see old friends in Marburg and actually stay with my old neighbor. Oh, and the pump refill in Marburg? It took a grand total of 15 minutes for me to get off the bus, walk in the hospital, pick up my receipt for paying online, getting my pump refilled, and then hopping back on the bus into town.
Unbelievable.
The good news is that I have great doctors to take care of my medical needs. The not so great news is that I will have to travel the four hours (by train) or five hours (by car) to Marburg every month. On the flip side, it also lets me visit friends there, so that's a plus.
Speaking of friends, I had a friend from Boston visit me earlier this week. We had a fun time walking around Berlin. It had been a while since I had walked around the Mitte area, since I hadn't done that since arriving. I've seen it all before, so it wasn't a high priority for me. But with friends, it is definitely more fun.
We actually started by checking out the East Side Gallery, which is the largest segment of the former Berlin Wall that is still standing. In fact, though I have driven by it before, I had never visited it in person. Pretty neat.
After spending some time walking around Mitte, seeing the Brandenburg Gate, and going to Starbucks, we headed back to make dinner and celebrate their last night in Berlin. Pretty fun.
My research has started out more slowly than I had anticipated, mainly because the professors with whom I need to meet to establish contact in local schools are all swamped with office hours visits from students. School just started this week. So it's likely I won't have many interviews until the beginning of November, which only delays my project timeline by a month, but I will be able to manage since I had included some flexibility in my proposal.
I also have a human rights conference coming up in a week and a half in Berlin, so I'm excited for that. Talking with random students who are friends of my friends or whom I meet in a car-ride has been pretty enlightening. I've spoken with a first-year German university student who has aspirations for working for the UN and engaging in academics and work abroad. I've chatted with a Pakistani student who is my age, but has already graduated from law school and plans to continue doing research and working in international environmental law. All of it has been fascinating, and I love chatting with students who share a passion for global affairs, even if our political views differ.
Speaking of politics, I filled out my ballot and now have to send it back to Spokane for it to get counted. If you haven't already, vote!
Until next time,
Sam
Friday, October 8, 2010
Bob der Baumeister
Saw this little juice box at the grocery store down the street. It brought me a nice chuckle...hope it brings you one too.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
I am now matriculated
This week, I have had to take care of the necessary paperwork to make my stay in Berlin official.
On Monday, I went to the Bürgeramt in Neukölln, which is basically the city registration center. There are several in each of Berlin's sixteen districts, and the nearest one in my district just happens to be about four blocks down the street. I am now official registered as a Berlin resident.
Then on Tuesday, I had my first appointment at Humboldt University (HU) to matriculate as a non-degree-completing student. I met up with Brandon there around 10 AM, and boy, that was the most challenging, confusing, and rather disorganized method of matriculating.
We arrived with a crowd of other international students, among whom there was a small handful of other Fulbrighters. No one seemed to have a great idea of what we were supposed to do, since there was no official line. People just stood in areas where you could assume they were probably in line, but at the same time, they could have just been standing in the middle of the lobby.
I made my way up only to be told I had to go to another room first to get a waiver in place of the private medical insurance letter I was already carrying. The letter I had was a letter that was an official document stating that I was taking a private insurance instead of the state insurance. Apparently, I still needed an official waiver letter from HU instead.
So off we went to this other room, where we filled out a form. The guys there said we were to keep the original and that we had to give a copy of it to the people in the other room for matriculation. Ok, easy enough.
Except when I finally made it to the other room (which I have to admit was much faster than what most people experienced), the lady there said she needed the original and that I was to keep the copy. Uh...that was not what Brandon and I heard. Whatever though. I was in no mood to argue and, frankly, I could have cared less which copy she wanted. I just wanted to get my semester ticket and get out of there.
After turning in all the papers, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I was entitled to 100 Euros as a kind of welcome gift. Sweet. I also found out I paid 50 Euros more than I should've for my semester ticket. That's what I get, I guess, for not reading carefully.
I decided to wait for Brandon since we were both hungry and wanted to get food. The problem was that we had to wait for him to officially matriculate and pick up his semester ticket. It took an hour or more to get to his number. Ridiculous. Everyone was probably thinking the same thing: why couldn't they have just mailed us all this stuff?
Anyway, we made a few new friends. We met a girl from Paris who spoke English, French, and German. I chatted with her a bit in French, and even though she said she was impressed, we switched over to German and English since my French is entirely rusty. Haha.
Also met another Fulbrighter who is researching education in Berlin. Her focus though is on Islamic education in Berlin public schools. We definitely have areas of mutual interest though, so we're going to chat more as we both try and figure out how best to get all our research prepped properly, etc.
Today, we had our international student orientation, which turned out to be another long session that I didn't find particularly useful. The entire hour and a half program was in German, which was not a problem. The problem was that I do not plan on taking any classes, so none of the information really applied to me. I did find out how I can sign up for sports though.
I came home after that and skipped the campus tour since I've already seen HU before and really wanted to eat something. I went to the grocery store around the corner from my house and then came back to eat some delicious chicken noodle soup with bread and apple juice.
The past week has been pretty quiet as I've mostly stayed home and worked on various things. I have read more student essays for scholarships in the past week than I had all year. At least, that's how it feels. Apparently, there was a major scholarship deadline this week, so my Scholarship Junkies inbox was constantly full with new essays to read.
Although I am in Germany, I am still finding ways to stay in touch with things happening back in the states. On Tuesday, a friend and former co-worker asked me to speak to her middle school class in Tacoma via Google Chat. It was pretty fun speaking to this group of 21 or so 8th graders about everything about Germany. They asked me some of these questions about life in Germany:
• What kind of clothes do they wear?
• What kind of music do they listen to?
• What kind of shoes does my roommate wear?
• Do they have "silly bands" in Germany? (I think that's what they called them...I felt rather old not knowing what they were)
• How is the weather?
I shared a bit with them about the research project I was doing and why I thought it was important. One of the teachers asked me what advice I would give the 8th graders as they enter high school and work toward post-high school life.
As I usually try to do during my scholarship presentations, I tried to give them a bit of inspiration and context for the opportunities they had ahead of them. So I shared about the schools I have visited in Germany already and the sometimes limited opportunities that some kids in Germany have (or at least more limited in Germany in comparison with the US).
That night, Ronny also had a bit of a dinner party, so I got to meet some of his friends. They were all really nice. We spoke mostly in German, which was great 'cause I could follow along (most of it, at least). I mainly just sat and listened.
Anyway, I meet with my professor tomorrow to discuss the next steps for my research project and will probably get started in the next week or two. If I have any fun adventures from my school visits to share, I'll let you know.
Sam
Friday, October 1, 2010
Settling In
As I started settling in, my guess is that my blog posts will become less frequent as I no longer have group excursions, family dinners, or crazy side trips in my plans for the next few weeks. If something exciting does happen, I will post, of course.
For dinner tonight, I had two falafals from the shop across the street. I am becoming addicted to these falafals, especially when they taste so good and cost only 1€ each. Most of the time though I just eat bread with cheese and slices of meat. Very German indeed. Haha.
Today, my roommate, Swen, drove me to the nearby department store to exchange the lamp I bought two days ago. Annoyingly, the one I had bought was actually broken, so I had to take it back for a new one. While at the store, I also picked up the right light bulbs. I failed on that end on Wednesday too.
Swen offered me his printer since he won't be needing it anymore (he just finished his master's degree yesterday and will be starting work soon). I just needed to buy ink, so we went to another department store to get it. When I tested it though, it turns out we had bought the wrong one. So I had to run back to the store and exchange it for the right one.
We cleaned up my room today, since Swen had all his stuff in here from working on his master's thesis. His thesis project was to design a new train station and plant a huge park in the middle of a big Polish city (he's an architect). It was pretty awesome. His final project proposal and model looked incredible. I am always envious of people with such artistic talents.
Anyway, the room looks much cleaner and spacious now. I didn't take a before and after picture, but I took pictures from both sides of the room, so you can also see the loft in my room. Check it out.
Tomorrow, I'm going to meet up with Brandon, since we haven't hung out since we arrived in Berlin from Marburg together. Should be fun. Then at night, I'm making his now-famous Italian pasta dish for dinner. Since I missed Swen's graduation party (it went late into the night...after Oktoberfest, I'm in no mood to party), I told him I'd make dinner. So pasta it will be.
I know UW has started its school year now, and I keep seeing all these Facebook updates about what everyone is doing. Makes me miss Seattle, but I also see updates on Facebook from friends around Europe who either doing Fulbright, teaching English, or some exchange program. I really have the travel bug again now!
Speaking of travel bugs, if you know anyone who might be interested in cheap, student travel plans, have them check out www.wsaeurope.com or www.andysteves.com. They were created by Andy Steves, son of travel guru Rick Steves. A few years back, I helped write the Berlin itinerary for Andy's first website.
I am also thinking about getting a job here in Berlin as a tour guide, but we shall see what happens. If you happen to be in Berlin though and want a tour, just let me know. I've shared some walking tours of Berlin with friends before, and I think I've studied enough German history to give enough context. :)
I am also thinking about getting a job here in Berlin as a tour guide, but we shall see what happens. If you happen to be in Berlin though and want a tour, just let me know. I've shared some walking tours of Berlin with friends before, and I think I've studied enough German history to give enough context. :)
Anyway, time for bed. Toodles!
Sam
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