the blog is back

so it's been a few months.. or... the entire summer since i've updated this thing. but i have some good excuses. first, having fun in Berlin and studying full time doesn't really lend itself to sitting in front of the computing uploading photos and typing out the stories. the last few months have been fairly life-altering, an experience that lead to my current decision: to stay here for the fall. far from feeling like this is irresponsible move, a good or a bad decision, it was one that really made itself. in a sense there was little chance i could have been convinced to come back in the fall even after my first few weeks here. why? what is it? it seems like a running joke among my north american friends here that once you get to berlin you just can't go back to where you've come from. you could make an argument for the cheap rent, the cheap food, public transportation and the non-stop nightlife but i dont think that any of those things make this place what it is... somehow small town livability and friendliness have converged with a metropolis still open to the sky - literally. unlike new york and manhattan there is no sense of claustrophobia here. the freedom of movement here, aesthetically and intellectually and physically gives a sense of expanding rather than contracting horizons and possibilities. of course already i've made the city a smaller one. i'm living in a neighborhood called Friedrichshain - part of old east berlin - but specifically in a spot called Nordkitts. unlike the southern part of Friedrichshain where cafes, restaraunts, hipsters and backpackers rub elbows nordkitts is bit quieter. there's a pretty even dog to person ratio here for which the punks, punk families and the government support of pet ownership (100 euro a month...) contribute. i'll try to get some documentation on the neighborhood up soon... there's a handful of squats and collective houses, Gebaude that were formerly squats and have been reconstructed and renovated by their occupants, as evidenced by the d.i.y. paintjobs. at the moment i only leave the neighborhood to do research and go to my job. yes job. i am currently an intern/assistant at a gallery downtown (http://www.pool-gallery.com) but the language classes i take are just around the corner. today's lesson was more like a monologue where the teacher tried to debunk some of our views of the DDR. so, anyways, here are a few pictures and more on all of the above soon.

xo

L