Great Expectations

Lausanne, July

The other week a colleague jokingly said it was cute I was "stressed" about a presentation I was giving in the office, and that it was very "American" of me to put in so much effort. My brain, as always, jumped to the underlying cultural implications of such a statement. Do we Americans tend to be perfectionists and put lots of effort into every little thing (at least in a professional sense)? And if so, why? Is it because we're worried about how we will look in front of others or because success is heavily valued in our society? Or because striving to be "better" and ascending the ranks in some form is part of our Puritan, ambitious, self-starting work ethic?

Colleague's husband's art in Tel Aviv, October

That may play a role, but I also have a hunch that this cultural difference is due in part to educational structure and expectations. In Germany, it's all about credentials. Not "what school did you go to?" (no Ivy League here), but more "what exact training did you receive and what exact certificates do you have?" If you have the certificate, you're expected to know a certain standardized body of knowledge that others outside the field don't have. If you don't have the certificate, well, it's not your field so why should you? Part of this must stem from the fact that people choose an academic or job training path so much earlier here than we are forced to in the States, where spending half of college earning liberal arts credits before choosing a major is the norm. Let alone the number of us who end up doing jobs after college that barely relate to our degree.

Kreuzberg, January

In Germany, life planning is notably more direct: you're filtered into a school level by age 10 that determines whether you will go to college or into a vocational path, and before entering higher education you most certainly have picked a major. That area becomes your expertise and if you want to do something else, you basically start over from scratch to get all those required certificates for that new field. Even applying to university is a more no-nonsense game over here. It's not about how many extracurriculars you did, what type of personality you have, or where you see yourself in 10 years. It's your grades and your planned field of study, that's it. This system is too rigid- 10 years old is way too early to filter, tracking puts lower-income students at a disadvantage, and the 21st century requires a more flexible skill set- but I can't deny it has its advantages, too. People are highly trained and generally competent in their fields. In the US on the other hand, the typical liberal arts college is designed to give you a well-rounded and general skill set (learning how to write and do research, learning to work well with others, etc.) and subsequently a lot of training ends up happening "on the job."

Tiergarten, February

My colleague summed it up this way: Germans plan and Americans prepare. And I think there's some truth to that. If you're well-trained for a job, you may not feel the need to do a lot of "last minute" preparation because you've been preparing for, oh, 10 years. And maybe, if I'm allowed to push it this far, the higher level of job security in Germany may make pushing yourself to the brink or outshining the others less of an issue. In a similar vein, my American friends and I have talked about how unusual it is to hear praise from teachers or bosses here. While in the US you may get a "great job!" for sorting the mail correctly, in Germany you may receive no positive feedback after a 30 minute presentation that you put hours of work into. Both situations can seem a bit ridiculous (and counterproductive) at times.

Köln, February

I would probably be more confident in my current job had I began training in international education at age 14 or 18 (or even 22 instead of 25), but a great deal of my "training" for this field and the reason I got my job is my soft skills, and those come from a variety of experiences and jobs, not from one certificate. So in typical transnational form, I think both systems have it right and wrong and could stand to learn from one another. A little planning and a little preparation never hurt anyone.  

B is for Belated, Bears, and Berlin

Happy belated Valentine's Day, dear readers! I don't know about you, but my V-Day was pretty good. I started off my evening with a Spinach and Cheese Börek from my favorite Turkish stand by work and a homemade cosmopolitan, followed by finally seeing Les Misérables at Berlinale, Berlin's annual film festival. There was a red carpet at the theater which made me feel all sorts of important (minus the celebrities) and there were beers (which we smuggled in). Kelly and I went to Berlinale last year in our unemployed days when we had no sorts of real lives and all sorts of time to go explore the city every day and take cute pictures and wish you a Happy Valentine's Day on time. This year I offer you the following picture, which took 5 tries and still didn't turn out right:

Also, cultural difference alert!! Apparently the Germans found any mention of Jean Valjean "giving away" Cosette to Maurius incredibly funny. I mean, they were cracking up in any scene where it came up. The idea that a man would pass off his daughter like property! Ludicrous! It is pretty silly, but come on, this was the 1800s and Jean did Cosette a real solid with the whole adoption thing.

Seasons Part III

It's that time of the year again for a seasonal tree update. Lately they've been chopping down trees around our beloved Lietzensee like nobody's business, but thankfully my favorite Baum is still standing tall and proud. Who could really cut down such an extraordinary tree like this one, anyway? It's too bad I didn't think to get a shot when the lake was frozen, but the other part of me is happy that temperatures are now hovering around freezing rather than plunging deeply below it. Makes my 2 hr weekend jogs somewhat more enjoyable. More to come soon, but for now it's bedtime. Gute Nacht!

July 2012

October 2012

January 2013

Red Peppers at Green Week

Since we're on the topic of food anyway, I thought I would share a few photos from Berlin's recent "Grüne Woche," or Green Week. I'm too lazy to describe the event, so here is what the website says:

Established in 1926, International Green Week (IGW) is taking place for the 78th time in 2013. The IGW is a one-of-a-kind international exhibition for the food, agricultural and horticultural industries. At the same time, the IGW is the point of origin for the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) with more than 60 departmental ministers. Producers from all over the world come to IGW to test market food and luxury items and reinforce their brand image. Renewable resources, organic agricultural and products, Fair Trade, rural development and gardening continue to gain importance at International Green Week.

The Bavaria Section

Different countries and German states had booths and sections where you could try their delicacies (samples for free, dishes for a fee). South African wine was EVERYWHERE (I'm not complaining). I obviously had to wander past the US section to be supportive of the homeland but all I found was one measly soft serve stand! Is that really all we have to offer the world?

Found somewhere in between "Thailand" and "India"

I tried many things, including a mackerel sandwich, South African wine, German red wine, more South African wine, Indian chicken curry, red Thai curry, more German red wine, Spanish red wine, German white wine, and coconut gelato. Yes, in that order.

Then there was this cuteness:

That I guess eventually becomes this:

Sorry to my vegetarians, but this wild boar roast was literally right next to the live animals! I guess it's all about knowing where your food comes from. And then covering that knowledge with mustard and tossing it into a Brötchen.

The Case for Food Snobbery

Last dinner in Bethesda with the family

It's no secret that I am a bit of a foodie and eat (and drink) pretty well. Besides travel it's probably the number one thing I splurge on. I blame my family, since growing up with a dad, sister, and aunt who all cook really damn well meant I had high standards from a young age. The travel hasn't helped either, because once you have sushi in Japan or wine in Mendoza or gelato in Rome or seafood in Brittany or chocolate in Switzerland it's hard to go back to the mediocre stuff. I also don't know why being a "food snob" has to have such a derogatory connotation. Smokers have their preferred cigarette brands, no one rolls their eyes when people say Starbucks makes bad coffee, so why is it so bad if I say I'd rather not eat at Olive Garden or Chili's? I'm not going to sneer at anyone who does, I'm just not going to be sitting at the table next to them slurping up overcooked fettuccine drowning in a bath of bland cream sauce.

Galettes with Giovanni (extra egg on top for good measure)

Discovery of a new Weinbar with Kelly in Kreuzberg

I also think food snobbery gets conflated with people just trying to be high-class. I'm not talking about fancy food here, just good quality food. When I lived in smaller towns I ate plenty of "peasant" food like spaetzle and pretzels in Ludwigsburg and Tuebingen and galettes in Lannion, and I loved it. But the problem with living in small European towns like those was that although local cuisine was tasty and of high quality, there was absolutely no diversity. Tuebingen had one mediocre Chinese buffet and Lannion had... a Subway. Thankfully, Berlin is a large capital city with most cuisines on offer, and on top of that it is cheap. Not everyone seems to know that about Berlin. But yes, Berlin is very cheap and you can eat (and drink) pretty well at a reasonable price. So this foodie does! 

My ongoing search for Berlin's best cappuccino at an Italian cafe

Sunday brunch with Max and Kelly in Prenzlauer Berg

Pizza, salad, and wine night

Chicken curry at "Gruene Woche"

Fortnight

  

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since my last post! I really don't mean to disappear like that. Things have been kinda busy I guess, partly due to my resolutions that I've been following through on. Primarily #3 has kept me busy outside of my normal routine, and I have to admit that dating is hard work! I'm not used to going out with guys I don't really know and most of the time it feels like an interview that I thankfully get to mitigate with a couple glasses of wine. I don't think actively hunting like this is going to last for long, but it's an interesting experience for the time being. Resolution #2 has also been moving slowly but surely, and #4 will get a kick-start in a few days when I commence a weekly study schedule. As for #1, a potential trip to Croatia and Macedonia is in the works for the summer (Kate!), I have my eye on a three day weekend at the end of March for a possible getaway to Scandinavia (actually just thought of that as I was writing this, pretty good idea though right?), and the 2013 PJS reunion weekend has been booked for London in April. All in all not bad for a few weeks work.

Otherwise it's business as usual. A few little surprises at work, half-marathon training in the persistently below freezing temperatures (though running through the deserted and snowy Tiergarten last night amongst the bunnies was nothing short of spectacular), and lots of meeting friends for dinner and drinks. My Opa was also just in town for a few days which was lovely, and now I have a few leftover hunks of wurst in the fridge to remember him by. Anyone want some chunky pork products?

Oh, and the picture. That's just an advertisement I saw weeks ago at the S-Bahn that never fails to make me giggle. Hehe.

Got My Berlin Groove Back

Bye, bye Christmas

After 6 days, I feel I have finally gotten my Berlin groove back. Yesterday I described coming back to Berlin after a long trip home a "hangover," because that was the best way I could think to explain it. My head is spinning from everything I did, all the places I visited and family and friends I saw, and then all of a sudden I'm opening the door to my apartment in Berlin and am supposed to resume whatever it is I've got going on over here. It's like flipping a switch, turning on one life and fading out the other.

Solo Sunday trip to the Berlinischer Galerie

The first couple days are never easy. There's the unpacking, of course, the follow up emails and calls to tell everyone at home you've landed and are fine and to stay in touch, etc. Then there was returning to work and reorienting myself to a normal schedule after 3 weeks which is hard enough in itself. And then there was the fact that 3 of my close Berlin friends were still out of town, which meant a somewhat lackluster social calendar. So on Monday and Tuesday it was staying at work late, staring at a computer screen, to come home exhausted and watch movies on another screen. It's not a good pattern, but it's hard to break when you're tired and all you want to do is watch things on a screen. Sure enough though, as always, things turned around in the middle of the week, and a productive day at work coupled with a great jog with my running group last night was all I needed to whip myself back into shape. Now Kelly and Giovanni are also back, and my weekend calendar is filling up quite nicely.

Hope you all had a lovely holiday season, and have fully recovered from your respective hangovers, whatever type they may have been.