Update (10:41 PM, May 4, 2011): Well, Brandon just informed me that I made a mistake in my blog post (as typically happens every so often). We did not have Leberkäse; we had Leberwurst. Yes, there is a difference. Rather than "liver cheese," we had "liver sausage." Naturally, one would expect to find Leberwurst at the Thüringer Wurst Shop instead of Leberkäse. Epic fail on my part. My bad.
The title of my blog post may be a bit overdramatic, but it was still epic nonetheless. On my way home, I arrived at the tram stop (that goes directly in front of my apartment every 20 minutes) just as the tram was pulling away. I did not want to wait 20 minutes on a suddenly chilly and wet Berlin street.
Knowing the U-Bahn from the same station would eventually arrive at a stop further along the tramline (two U-Bahn stops to be exact...and in approximately 8 minutes), I sprinted across the street, hustled up the stairs of the U-Bahn station, and jumped on the U-Bahn as it arrived literally as I climbed the last step.
Going from that U-Bahn stop to the one stops away takes approximately 4-5 minutes (you get in a habit of knowing times, etc. since everything runs impeccably on-time in Germany...well, for the most part). Given the 1 minute head start the tram had on me, I had to bolt out of the U-Bahn station, navigate through annoying fences set up by the never-ending road construction by Pankow Station, and squeeze through a small crowd to get across the street to the tram stop.
The tram had pulled up as I made my way through the fenced off area, so I had to run behind it and jump in through the last door. But, I made it! I was so proud of myself for outsmarting Berlin's public transportation system again to get home in the most direct and time-efficient way possible.
The only downside is that the ridiculous construction going on in Pankow caused the tram to be stuck for a few minutes, meaning we arrived nearly 10 minutes later than usual. Annoying. I've become rather spoiled with all this punctual public transportation. I always find it semi-funny when buses or trams are late. I saw a kid throw a tantrum once 'cause the bus was 3 minutes late. Pretty sure the adults all wanted to do what he was doing too.
Where the heck was I even coming from though? Well, I'd spent my day out in the southeastern suburbs of Berlin. My fellow Fulbrighter, Brandon, had a presentation at his institute today, so I went to support him and also see his office space (Haha. Office Space. Good movie. Ok, I digress).
His presentation was slick and slightly over my head, but not as much as the other ones—these guys all do high-end research in fishery sciences, etc. They're saving the world with fancy equations and hardcore fishing gear, but seriously, it's really amazing what they're doing. Brandon gave me a short tour of his office building too—and the view.
He also showed me the sturgeon in the lab downstairs. Apparently, they have two types of sturgeons, and they're trying to figure something out like how to keep them from cross-breeding and surviving on their own (they're endangered).
After that, we decided to head to the Berliner Bürgerbraü, which brews its own beer (naturally). It was a good idea, and the prices there were impressively Berlin as usual—that is to say, inexpensive. We definitely enjoyed the Schwarzbier (dark beer).
Since I hadn't eaten yet, I ordered a Berliner bratwurst too. Nothing special, but man do I love German sausages.
On our way to the train station, we ran into a Thüringer sausage shop (Thüringen is one of the federal German states and has fantastic sausages). I was still hungry, so I picked up a roll with a sausage hot off the grill with a row of mustard across the top. It was so good I didn't even bother taking a picture. Sorry.
Brandon got a Leberkäse (literally, liver cheese) and some fresh Schrippen (Berlin way of saying Brötchen, or bread rolls)—all for under 2,50€. Can't beat that. I hadn't actually tried it before or at least not that I can recall, so I had a small bite. Not bad. Tasted somewhat fishy. My roommate, Lenz, told me later tonight that you usually eat it with some sweet mustard like they do in Bavaria. Oh, and the lady across from us on the S-Bahn seemed rather amused by us silly Americans...
I finished leftover pasta for dinner tonight, but last night, I tried something new. After watching my friend, Jess, cook up some wicked good salmon with teriyaki sauce in Norway, I decided to give it a whirl. Sadly, last night, my cooking skills just fell way flat.
I had too much water in my rice (almost made porridge), I accidentally burned my garlic (totally realized I should've put it in later immediately after I threw it in the pan), and the teriyaki sauce I bought was pretty crappy (way too watery). Thankfully I can take solace in the fact that it looked fairly nice (and tasted pretty good too). :)
Today, I had a chance to Skype with my good friend and mentor, Dr. Taso Lagos, in Greece. Those of you who've followed my blog for a few years will know that Taso was my program director when I studied in Athens in 2009 and last year I attended his wedding in Greece. We wrote an article together on our research, and ever since, Taso's been a close advisor for me as I get my feet wet in social science research.
I shared with him my concern that having conducted my interviews in English and German I've actually created a problem for analyzing my results. While it is potentially problematic, I'm glad I was able to talk it through with Taso. As he reminded me, while I am aiming for as close to perfection as possible (with my project), the fact is this is my first independent dabble into research, and what I should savor more is the experience itself and the skills I glean from it. That's not to say my project itself doesn't matter, but it is to say that there's more to learn than from the project I originally proposed.
Tomorrow, I am speaking at another school in Berlin on the topic of "ethnic diversity in the U.S." Should be interesting. I see these rare opportunities to speak at schools as a real chance to teach/lead a class. I never talk the entire time. In fact, as best I can, I facilitate a conversation while sharing some key facts and attitudes from the United States. It's always so much more interesting to hear the students' thoughts.
Finally, I'll just leave with two tidbits that have brightened my day and hopefully will yours too:
1. Owl City's In Christ Alone (Owl City singing a worship song! Who knew? And I'm not even typically into contemporary Christian music)
2. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's Open Letter to America's Teachers (in honor of teacher appreciation week)
In closing, I just realized my blog post moved far away from the title, so I will finish by saying that I am proud of chasing down a tram with an U-Bahn. :) There, full circle.
Cheers,
Sam
The title of my blog post may be a bit overdramatic, but it was still epic nonetheless. On my way home, I arrived at the tram stop (that goes directly in front of my apartment every 20 minutes) just as the tram was pulling away. I did not want to wait 20 minutes on a suddenly chilly and wet Berlin street.
Knowing the U-Bahn from the same station would eventually arrive at a stop further along the tramline (two U-Bahn stops to be exact...and in approximately 8 minutes), I sprinted across the street, hustled up the stairs of the U-Bahn station, and jumped on the U-Bahn as it arrived literally as I climbed the last step.
Going from that U-Bahn stop to the one stops away takes approximately 4-5 minutes (you get in a habit of knowing times, etc. since everything runs impeccably on-time in Germany...well, for the most part). Given the 1 minute head start the tram had on me, I had to bolt out of the U-Bahn station, navigate through annoying fences set up by the never-ending road construction by Pankow Station, and squeeze through a small crowd to get across the street to the tram stop.
The tram had pulled up as I made my way through the fenced off area, so I had to run behind it and jump in through the last door. But, I made it! I was so proud of myself for outsmarting Berlin's public transportation system again to get home in the most direct and time-efficient way possible.
The only downside is that the ridiculous construction going on in Pankow caused the tram to be stuck for a few minutes, meaning we arrived nearly 10 minutes later than usual. Annoying. I've become rather spoiled with all this punctual public transportation. I always find it semi-funny when buses or trams are late. I saw a kid throw a tantrum once 'cause the bus was 3 minutes late. Pretty sure the adults all wanted to do what he was doing too.
Where the heck was I even coming from though? Well, I'd spent my day out in the southeastern suburbs of Berlin. My fellow Fulbrighter, Brandon, had a presentation at his institute today, so I went to support him and also see his office space (Haha. Office Space. Good movie. Ok, I digress).
His presentation was slick and slightly over my head, but not as much as the other ones—these guys all do high-end research in fishery sciences, etc. They're saving the world with fancy equations and hardcore fishing gear, but seriously, it's really amazing what they're doing. Brandon gave me a short tour of his office building too—and the view.
He also showed me the sturgeon in the lab downstairs. Apparently, they have two types of sturgeons, and they're trying to figure something out like how to keep them from cross-breeding and surviving on their own (they're endangered).
After that, we decided to head to the Berliner Bürgerbraü, which brews its own beer (naturally). It was a good idea, and the prices there were impressively Berlin as usual—that is to say, inexpensive. We definitely enjoyed the Schwarzbier (dark beer).
Since I hadn't eaten yet, I ordered a Berliner bratwurst too. Nothing special, but man do I love German sausages.
On our way to the train station, we ran into a Thüringer sausage shop (Thüringen is one of the federal German states and has fantastic sausages). I was still hungry, so I picked up a roll with a sausage hot off the grill with a row of mustard across the top. It was so good I didn't even bother taking a picture. Sorry.
Brandon got a Leberkäse (literally, liver cheese) and some fresh Schrippen (Berlin way of saying Brötchen, or bread rolls)—all for under 2,50€. Can't beat that. I hadn't actually tried it before or at least not that I can recall, so I had a small bite. Not bad. Tasted somewhat fishy. My roommate, Lenz, told me later tonight that you usually eat it with some sweet mustard like they do in Bavaria. Oh, and the lady across from us on the S-Bahn seemed rather amused by us silly Americans...
I finished leftover pasta for dinner tonight, but last night, I tried something new. After watching my friend, Jess, cook up some wicked good salmon with teriyaki sauce in Norway, I decided to give it a whirl. Sadly, last night, my cooking skills just fell way flat.
I had too much water in my rice (almost made porridge), I accidentally burned my garlic (totally realized I should've put it in later immediately after I threw it in the pan), and the teriyaki sauce I bought was pretty crappy (way too watery). Thankfully I can take solace in the fact that it looked fairly nice (and tasted pretty good too). :)
Today, I had a chance to Skype with my good friend and mentor, Dr. Taso Lagos, in Greece. Those of you who've followed my blog for a few years will know that Taso was my program director when I studied in Athens in 2009 and last year I attended his wedding in Greece. We wrote an article together on our research, and ever since, Taso's been a close advisor for me as I get my feet wet in social science research.
I shared with him my concern that having conducted my interviews in English and German I've actually created a problem for analyzing my results. While it is potentially problematic, I'm glad I was able to talk it through with Taso. As he reminded me, while I am aiming for as close to perfection as possible (with my project), the fact is this is my first independent dabble into research, and what I should savor more is the experience itself and the skills I glean from it. That's not to say my project itself doesn't matter, but it is to say that there's more to learn than from the project I originally proposed.
Tomorrow, I am speaking at another school in Berlin on the topic of "ethnic diversity in the U.S." Should be interesting. I see these rare opportunities to speak at schools as a real chance to teach/lead a class. I never talk the entire time. In fact, as best I can, I facilitate a conversation while sharing some key facts and attitudes from the United States. It's always so much more interesting to hear the students' thoughts.
Finally, I'll just leave with two tidbits that have brightened my day and hopefully will yours too:
1. Owl City's In Christ Alone (Owl City singing a worship song! Who knew? And I'm not even typically into contemporary Christian music)
2. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's Open Letter to America's Teachers (in honor of teacher appreciation week)
In closing, I just realized my blog post moved far away from the title, so I will finish by saying that I am proud of chasing down a tram with an U-Bahn. :) There, full circle.
Cheers,
Sam
1 comment:
That is most def a true test of your familiarity of your hometown. Or do we dare call it that? That is just awesome & way to outsmart it :)
Post a Comment