Two weeks in. Berlin.

I've been in Berlin slightly over two weeks.  This blog is about that much time overdue too.

And even after 2 weeks, it's still easy to feel as if I'm just on vacation, despite having packed up my room at home and bringing over 200+lbs of luggage (and that was scaling back).

Life in Berlin has so far been wet, to say the least.  Today has been only (maybe) the second day without rain since I've been here.  The first few days of it (and maybe even the first week) I was ok with it; it was certainly a nice reprieve from the 110+ temperatures of the arid desert.  But then it just kept on going, and seemed to only get wetter and colder.  I've been in sweaters and jeans and drinking tea, in JULY.  Again, I can't say I'm really complaining, other than I did bring over a drawer full of beautiful summer clothes that I'm just afraid I'll never have the opportunity to flaunt living in a place that barely gets over 75 in the summer.  Everyone here has so far claimed that this is so "unusual" - strikingly familiar to the sentiments I got from the Spaniards in "Spring" of 2010 when Andalucia received a record amount of rainfall.  Sure, that might be the case, but it doesn't exactly make you feel any better about the fact that you can't leave the house without a scarf and umbrella.

But obviously, I didn't come here for the weather.  As anyone who knows me can testify, I'm a bit of a pussycat when it comes to cold(er) temperatures - stepping outside in temps under 65F will cause my leg hair to grow a centimeter.  Needless to say, Berlin in the winter is hardly where I'd choose to vacation.  But now, yes, I'm choosing to make the move here on account of my wonderful man, who, for educational reasons, is more or less bound-to-Berlin for at least another year.

He'd had just enough time to get used to being his lonesome self in his little, central apartment before I came to crash the party.  Now we're making IKEA runs because there're clearly not enough places to put all the stuff (reminder: 200+ lbs) that I brought.  Additionally, I insisted on getting more bowls and coffee mugs because I wasn't thrilled with the notion of eating muesli out of a salad bowl.  For that matter, I insisted on wine glasses too, because the water mugs weren't going to cut it.  It was also a shame that as the American, I was the one that bought the beer glasses.

Honestly, I kid.  Because really, he's quite amazing, and has actually been the one to insist we get anything and everything (*cough* that we can afford) to make me comfortable in my new home.  He actually wanted to get an additional armoire even before I arrived, but it was I who insisted he didn't.  I was (am) afraid that it would just jinx the bound-to-be bureaucratic nightmare of finding a job and getting a visa to stay longer than my allotted 90-days as a "tourist."

Thanks to Dad, for his accompaniment (and help with said 200+lbs of luggage), I was able to use my first days in Berlin as an excuse to actually be a tourist and learn about the city I hope to make home.  We covered all the highlights from the Brandenburg Gate to the Reichstag, with plenty of beer and brats in between.

In a couple of days, we took both the "Third Reicht" and "Cold War" walking tours, both of which were sobering, to say the least, very least.  Berlin, in its entirety, is a constant reminder of the horrors humans are capable of.  In turn, Berlin (and to a greater extent, Germany) is also a reminder of the wonderful humanity that can prevail after such horrors.  It is evident that there is such an ethos of acceptance and individuality here.  In a short passing, one is likely to hear (at least) every European language (Spanish being half of that), see several unnatural hair colors (Pink is in!) and more characters than in Valentines Day.  "Diversity" sort of defines Berlin, and I'm beginning to think that it could actually be the other way around.  It's not for all people.  But I definitely like it.

I'll be sending out my letters to Language schools over the weekend.  And hopefully, without too much anguish and too many tears, I'll find a way to stay with Bosse in this place.  I'm certainly eager for the experience I know it will bestow upon me.