So much so much so much is going on... it's hard to update because EVERYTHING is happening ALL THE TIME for me. I will say this: My creative soul is being restored, and I feel like I am home here in Berlin :-)
I played at a BBQ staff party out in Brandenburg, and it was fantastic! I love riding the trains here, and getting to visit the country side of Germany was such a treat. The home that the BBQ was at was an old stone school house. BBQ's in Germany consist of at least 4 different kinds of potato salad, pickled herring, plenty of wursts, and pork chops. Mmmmmm!
As I said above, I love riding the trains. They're so efficient, and even within the efficiency the German's complain. They think waiting 5 minutes for the next U-Bahn is terrible, and here I'm happy to know "Oh wow, I only have to wait 5 minutes!". Most people have a bicycle, and insist it's the best way to see the city. I know they're right, but I'm just hesitant. I had a couple bad falls on the one I had in Victoria, BC, Canada. It was a great bike though, and I ended up selling it to the wicked Witch of the West Coast.
Collaborations are on the rise. I'm tapping into many sides of what I enjoy playing, and performing, and am meeting great musicians and performers here to focus on projects with.
 |
| Photo: Mona Salem |
 | ||||
| Photo: Pierre Joël Becker |
Something was missing for me in North America. I realize now that I was severely bored. I thought it was maybe depression, or anxiety, or how life just was and that I would live a life of mundane drudgery - but always felt like there was more to see. Well of course there's always more to see!
I felt like a dog that wasn't being let out enough, and as a result was gnawing on his own leg. Berlin is like my dog park!
The old ladies of Berlin remind me of my German relatives. They're little old ladies, but they know how to grow a garden and are not going to take any of your crap. Actually, I would say no one here is going to take any of your crap, which is also a huge reason why I feel at home :) The North American culture seems to have to be treated with kid gloves, and there's not a lot of time for that here.
I've developed Berlin-Feet, which means they're calloused, sore, sometimes have blisters, but they are seeing everything. A true test of a lady is if you can navigate the bumpy, cobble-stoned streets of Berlin in heels. Oh yes, I can!
Berlin-Feet are not to be confused with Disney-Feet. They're much different. They're sore, and they're effected by wearing wobbly Mary-Jane's with nylons every day in 35'C heat, and walking on hot backstage pavement. The sole's of your feet just peel off - and then for some reason I had developed weird little red sores, like corns. Ugh, so gross. That's probably the least of the foot problems that can occur there. I knew others with bunions, and deformed toes, and permanent problems from their performance shoes. On the bright side, the Vietnamese nail spa's were EVERY WHERE in Orlando, and I would often treat my sore feet to a fantastic pedicure.
I'm making some great friends here, some are German, some are English, Canadian, American, Lebanese, French, Spanish, Dominican, and with all of them we're enjoying food, music and art together.
I HAD to buy this bag of crisps. Being an accordionist, I personally have lost some steam when it comes to seeing imagery of an accordion. It doesn't faze me too much. But seeing a guy playing on a bag of Dijon flavored chips? Right on!
By the way, the picture is flipped. The cords should be played with the left hand.
Enough about food!
What am I up to? Well, I live in the gay district of Berlin, known as Schöneberg. I live with a fabulous tranny named Kaspar, and through her I am meeting some absolutely wonderful friends. Through the modeling work I am meeting some fantastic artists that have become fast friends, and the same goes for the music work I'm focusing on.
I go to clubs, Kit Kat, Tresor, SchwuZ, B-flat, Kookaburra, and have yet to see more of them... private parties, dinner parties, and plenty of restaurants, cafes, and imbiss. I ride the trains, people stare at me, I stare at them, there's always a homeless guy trying to sell a German newspaper to us on every ride, or an obnoxious amplified back-track with a melodica or trumpet played along to it. "Oh when the saints" doesn't go over too well in a German U-Bahn. There's public urination, and lots of smoking, people walking about with a beer in hand, very cute/smart dogs and they're owners, bicycles, petite cars that go FAST, gardens, graffiti, massive kebab rotisseries, all ages, all ethnicities, religions, and so on.
I will see doppelgangers from time to time. A lot of the women my Mother's age look like my Mom, or how she dresses, sometimes the young men look like my brother in certain ways, I see my theater friend, Rod Peter in a lot of the guys here, and my musician friend Marcus Hissen as well. Being German, Hungarian and Swedish I am able to pinpoint the physical characteristics of the people around me, and what makes someone look a certain nationality.
I hear German around me constantly, or other languages, probably Turkish. I try to understand German, as my Mother's side is German and I grew up hearing it around me and took 2 years of it in University, but I'm planning to take some courses to refresh myself. At this point I understand half of what I hear, and I'm too timid to reply at times because it's all too fast for me. I had two little cute girls come up to me in a park a week or so ago, and talk to me in German and I could talk to them - so I guess I can speak children's German. I'd say I'm doing pretty good with bad broken German though. I've been able to get accordion repairs done, buy a pillow and case (this was hard), monthly U-Bahn pass, register myself as a resident, get a bank account, ask for directions (every day), order food or drinks, tell a taxi driver where I live, and..... BE SNOW WHITE:
 |
| PRINCE CHARMING!!! |
 |
| Schneewittchen's beste freundin |
 |
| Hallo? |
Yes, life is very interesting here :)
