Septemeber 3rd, 2010 (How to become friends with a city...a seemingly impossible misson)

I feel like a lot of new stuff should have happened since last time I posted, but actually not that much has happened. School has officially started though. Wow, its been pretty crazy, good crazy. Everyone has been super nice and welcoming that it almost feels like home. I don't think that it will ever feel like Santa Barbara, but I still enjoy it.
When I first came here I had this idea that after a few weeks Berlin would start to feel like my hometown. When I talk to people at my school they all seem very proud to be Berliners. When I first arrived I wished that I was just like them. That I was raised here, that I spoke the language perfectly, that I knew all these short cuts and cool facts about the city. I came here thinking "yeah yeah yeah this is my city now bitchesss."The truth of the matter is that I am a guest. I am learning new things everyday and I am lucky to be surrounded by people that are willing to show me where they grew up. It is a very personal thing. I did not grow up in Germany, more specifically in Berlin. All the people that were raised here will always have a certain connection with it that I will not. I think of Berlin as a person, someone that I am just meeting for the first time. It would be rude for me to get involved in its personal business without getting to know it first. Even though it's a place, not a person I think that it still needs to be treated with respect. It takes time to build a relationship with a person, so why wouldn't it take time to build a relationship with a city? I can't just show up here expecting to know everything. If I make a good first impression, if I keep an open mind and appreciate all that it has to offer then Berlin will treat me the same. So here I am, a truly grateful girl. I think that we are becoming friends.