Berlin Baby, Berlin.

Before I get started on about Berlin I’d just like to say that I had a blast on my second outing into London. There’s just something about this city that draws me in. There isn’t anything I can really pinpoint about the city, but just the entire atmosphere and history of those streets. I originally tried writing this entry before I went to Berlin while I was sitting outside the British Museum (my favorite museum ever btw) but there was just too much bustle to really bog down outside a pub a bang out some words that weren’t there. So what did I do? Well in lieu of my plane leaving at 6:25 in the AM meaning a bus ride to the airport at 4:10, I decided to booze the night away on what may be my favorite city in the world. Along with some newfound cousins (go figure) and old friends, we had a raucous night starting with dinner at the Museum Tavern and moving into the city of London (the business district) to cap the evening off. Anywho, it got to be so late that I ended up staying up all night making Thorburn vs London Round 2 a very memorable experience.

So on to Berlin.

As the title would suggest, I came in expecting Europe’s version of Vegas. To my disappointment it was more Detroit and less Vegas (I did spot some casinos!). I even went in with a positive mindset (no sleep, all go) yet the city just never won me over. Don’t get me wrong this is a great city, but it needs to rebuild some more and really capture the history it possesses. Most of the historical information I saw in cathedrals and museums seemed to omit the 20^th century which I feel like deserves more attention from the city. It wasn’t Germany’s brightest 100 years, but it was one of their biggest and should be treated that way. They owe it to the remaining and deceased people involved in the wars of the 1900’s.

The mantra for my weekend was “Berlin, City of Love” due to the fact that everywhere I turned I was accosted by some couple snogging or groping one another. Before I even got all the way into town from the airport, I came across a couple in the station making out with more tenacity than I’ve ever seen, and this is at about 10 in the morning mind you. I don’t know what it is about Berlin that caused this epidemic outbreak of PDA (public display of affection as Briesemeister Middle School called it) but I definitely wasn’t feeling the love. Berlin is one of the stranger cities I’ve ever been to. It felt like I went back 15 years in the past, and the strange clothes and dreadlocks confirmed that feeling. I’m not sure if it is still struggling from the effects of WWII or the Cold War, but this definitely wasn’t the party extravaganza I was expecting.

Berlin felt like a city on the verge of either collapse or greatness. To its credit Berlin is much cheaper than England, but as the old saying goes you get what you pay for. They have great buildings and museums, but they don’t seem to mix with the new array of post-modern structures scattered all over the place. Even the Jewish Museum (one of the most emotionally effective structures I’ve been in) seemed to be missing something once inside. I don’t want to criticize too much, there’s simply too much history there but for a world class city Berlin felt as if it lacked the soul of a London, New York, Paris, or Mexico City. I definitely had fun there but it was mainly due to the people I was with, not the environment. At the very least I can say I’ve been there.

Story of the weekend goes to Friday night when a friend of a friend (yeah one of those) got so scared in this sketched out dark alley way (it was lit by black lights) that she ran out of it dropping her wallet which sent the group on a backtracking goose chase. Her fright came with good reason, I mean this definitely felt like a scene out of the opening of Triple X where the secret agent is killed by some chain smoking Eastern European metal-techno/terrorist group. Strange right? Well not as strange as second nod of the weekend which goes to the 60 year old man walking around Zoo Platz in grandma clothes. I think I found a more conservative relative of Leslie.

Nod for best exhibit of the weekend goes to the aquarium which was really a lot of fun despite its small size. Any place that has crocodiles in a close enough proximity to eat a patron gets my vote.

So that’s it for Berlin, not the greatest weekend ever but definitely worth the trip. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures cause I just don’t think that far forward, but at least I have the shirt to prove it.

In other news…

• Beaver Bus Lines is a company in Leicester with transport for rent. Apparently they’re pretty cheeky with the signage because the joke isn’t lost in translation, it means the same in thing in England and the US. So with my detective duties for the week fulfilled, I’ll have to find something new to investigate. Oh and thanks to Michael Kantor for looking that up for me, Holmes could have never done it without Dr. Watson just as I could have never done it without Kantor B.S.

• Ryanair is scary. It is seriously a bootleg version of Southwest. Yes the prices are dirt cheap, but from now on I think I’d like to have reclining seats and free bevies when I jump on a 2 hour flight hung over with no sleep. I will give them props on the flight attendants who fit that old legend your grandpa tells you about when they were young, but I haven’t quite figured out if youth and beauty beats age and experience yet. I’m leaning towards the latter because they come with complimentary peanuts.

• As a final side note, England needs to chill out on the train prices. I just had to dump 50 pounds on my train ticket (sorry Mom and Dad) back to Leicester because I originally bought the wrong one in advance, go figure that being under 26 doesn’t make you a young person unless you actually buy the rail card to prove it.

So that’s about it. It’s going to be a busy next few weeks with Scotland coming up next weekend and UT’s spring break the following week. meaning Adam is in town and we’re hitting up London and Paris. So maybe we’ll be able to teach that youngin some culture.

Ride The Beaver and The Arctic Monkeys

Yes I realize what that title connotes which is why I picked it. See one thing that hasn't happened much, against promises that it would, is total miscommunication between American and English idioms. While spotted dick may sound lewd to an American, it's a type of dessert, or pudding as they call it, in England. However before I get into all that, let's get back to The Beaver.

All adult humor aside, I was perplexed to see a single-decker bus fly by my usual stop this morning brandishing the phrase "Ride The Beaver!". I don't know what this means and I can't pretend to even begin to comprehend why this particular bus is "The Beaver" but I figured it was some distant relative of a Duck Boat. See, in the land of the double-decker the bus with one level is most definitely not king. They're out of place and strange. I can only compare it to seeing a Duck Boat in the US. You all know what I mean, like when people passing by may pretend it's a normal occurrence yet they all manage to sneak a gaze and sometimes do a quick 180 like Freshman do when they first realize that a) Leslie is a man and b) Leslie is a man in purple lingerie.

So it got me thinking, as the empty Beaver flew by (does this mean it's hungry?), what exactly does The Beav do? Does it give tours like a Duck Boat? And if so, tours of what? Creeks and trees? Are you supposed to eat off your tummy (two points if you got that reference)? I'll be honest there isn't much worth getting on a tour bus for in Leicester even if Ricky Gervais is manning the mic. Perhaps the bus is a single-decker so that it may drive below the branch line (England is very, very green) which would explain it's functionality as a rare sight in a land where anything less than two stories is plain silly really (two more points if you get that reference). Anywho, I'm going to turn Inspector Morris (read: Columbo) on this whole Beaver phenomenon and figure out what the deal is. With my archivist-like knowledge of archaic detective shows (Murder She Wrote anyone?) and the fact that I can stumble into any situation then pull the "I'm sorry I'm just an American!" card, this surely won't take long to figure out. But I'm gonna have to save that episode for another entry as I have simply too much to write about at this juncture!

Back to the whole spiel about idioms... they seem to have bridged our cultures. While some of the things I may say make my British friends laugh and giggle like little schoolgirls checking out the new kid (Charlie & Phil this means you), it's not offensive because most of those things are humorous to me and said in a joking manner as well. And while they might not say (to my dismay) "Care for a shoeshine governa?" I still get my fill of British mannerisms all the time. I suppose most of that doesn't make sense, but what I'm getting at is that our cultures really aren't so different. Perhaps it's because the kids I'm around come from largely the same background as me (minus the whole different country thing... but I digress) but we seem to speak mostly the same and get one another... well aside from Alizter who is pretty much incomprehensible not to mention still has a name which is impossible to spell correctly. This phenomenon can probably be attributed to watching too many American TV shows which, despite what our parents may have told us as children, appears to not be a bad thing. While the content may be gash (2 more points), they do help lessen the gap between cultures.

As a side note. One word the boys like to describe the ladies with is "fit" which just means attractive as opposed to in shape. And after thinking it over the answer, Greg, is no. You are not "fitted" to someone if you think they're good looking. There is no conjugation this word is standalone.

Ok so I'm done being academic. I'm going to talk about music now and not just any old type of 80's cover bands, but England's very own Arctic Monkeys who I was lucky enough to see at a club at Uni (translation: on campus) the other night. Going to concerts might not seem like a big deal back home, but it was the way this concert took place that really resonated with me. See the Arctic Monkeys are huge in England, think of it as like seeing N'Sync, The Fray, 50 cent, and The White Stripes all rolled into one. This is a band which seems to thrive here and with good reason. They're young, catchy, and smart lyrically while spreading their musical flare out just enough to not sound redundant. On top of that, they sing about local things, such as fruitless flirting vs actual desires, which anyone who has ever been attracted to someone else can understand. The crowd ranged from a kid who couldn't have been more than 12 to a group of 40-somethings chain smoking right in front of me. Thousands of people, both different and similar, were crammed into a tiny University club (think of the Iron Cactus with a stage) to watch this globally renowned band play their gig. It was pretty amazing, I'll admit the band isn't my favorite but the atmosphere was made of the same stuff American Gladiators made their reputation off of: late nights, legal or illegal ( depending on your views) substances, and pure unfiltered Nitro (2 more points). To top it off, there was no sign letting you know these guys were coming. No PR team thrusting fliers in your face like the Young Democrat Initiative around election times. There wasn't even a mention in the school newsletter which circulates to every Leicester email address. The only PR this band had was a flier on ONE bulletin board somewhere in The Student Union. Needless to say, it was great experience and something you just can't get at UT. I can't imagine Justin Timberlake (bad comparison) showing up unannounced and playing at Cain and Abel's or something, it just doesn't happen.

In another side note, it is now my quest to see Muse live. After the way they took over ACL this year (or maybe it was SXSW?) and the way they've taken over my iTunes, it's time to see this band in person. So if anyone knows someone with a ticket to one of their shows or a way to get one at a reasonable price, please hook it up. For those of you who don't know Muse, the only way I can describe this band is the Eighties gone right.

Anyways that's about it. I recently got Skype which is quite possibly the best thing ever invented. And I know what all the female audience is thinking and the answer is yes, even better than hair straighteners. So that's about it, stay up. (3 points if that makes any sense to you whatsoever).

PS - Tally up your points and send em my way.

I'm dreaming of a white Thursday?

Most everyone around me has been sick the past three weeks and my body, emphasizing my studly demeanor, has fought off the plague sweeping across Beaumont Hall and the other Uni denizens of Oadby village.... until this morning. I slept terribly last night and my throat has been killing me all day. On top of that I noticed snow cascading across my window in a violent flurry for the second time since my arrival at Leicester. In lieu of all this, I still managed a smashing presentation on the late Howard Hawks in class today which concluded to the cheers and whistles of my classmates (all 6 of them). Winston Churchill would be proud.

Following the presentation I sat in class (no clue how I woke up in time, but that's another story in itself) just taking the time relax a bit as I slipped off into daydreams. As I stared out the 17th floor window of our classroom, it dawned on me that this was one of those "abroad" moments people grin and talk about upon their return to America. I had a a king's view of a telltale English city in the dead of winter. To the south was the city center bustling with cars and pedestrians, just west of that the redundant allure of domestic English roofs powdered with snow creating a mock skyline like something you might remember from Mary Poppins. Just below my building some teenagers were having a snowball fight in the parking lot of their school while the cemetery across the street sat in stoic idleness. From this view I was able to really study the leafless trees that usually just blend into the fray of brown and red brick buildings. With the clean, white snow holding onto the gnarled branches they rose out of the ground as if they were the veins of the earth.

It was about this time that the lecturer said my name and the similarities of university life at England and back home came out to play. Just like in most every small class no one wanted to answer the profs questions which meant that I was volunteered to be That Guy. You know who, the guy who MUST answer every question just to keep the teacher from flipping out and giving a pop quiz. And since I've been here I've noticed lots of similarities.

• People are people, not matter where you go. Most of my friends here are hardly different from the ones back home. Alastair (I'm never gonna spell his name right) always talk with or about his girlfriend. Charlie is the nicest guy ever which means he gets picked on a lot. Phil is the big friendly giant who's more like a freakishly overgrown child than a soon-to-be lawyer. Craig is the person eager to talk with everyone and get involved. Fev is the funny girl who always has plans and the Americans are... well for once we're the foreigners.
  
• Sports is something people get passionate about no matter where they are. I watched the Super Bowl in a pub amongst an array of Bears fans (Peyton Manning > Rex Grossman... sha) who screamed strange British obscenities towards players at the exact same time as most Bears fans were probably doing back home.
• People never really grow up, their responsibilities just evolve. I've spent some nice mornings talking with a fellow in his late 40's over tea and he still likes to talk about most of the same stuff that kids do. His interests, his family, his friends and himself.
• Drunk people are drunk people in any part of the world. Some are loud, some are reserved, but a fact's a fact.

And some differences....

• Nobody, and I mean nobody, wears baseball hats here. What's up with that?
• Dressing up is huuuuuge. Students in my classes dress nicer than I did to my internship last summer, and that can be saying a lot at times.
• Young people and cars do not go together. I can't really explain distance or the sheer size of America to Brits very well cause traveling by car here takes forever. Imagine I-35 at 6 o'clock on a Friday all of the time.
• DVD's are standardized by regional codes for viewing? That's not cool.
• I don't sleep in here at all. This one is still baffling me.
• They put milk in their tea. I've had a tendency to do this back home... and when I say tendency I mean I can count the times I've had hot tea on one hand.
• Speaking of tea, where's the ice tea? Or to take it another step (academic writing 101) where's the ice? The only ice I've found here is on the ground.
• Clothes fit a person like me better. Being tall and relatively thin, I have a really hard time shopping for clothes that fit well back home. Most of the time I just end up looking like a scarecrow with fabric draped over my torso. As my friend Sean here put it, "Yeah they make clothes for anorexic people in England."
• This one blew my mind. The tap water gets carbonation bubbles in it if you let it sit for too long. Again, I'm still mulling over this mystery.
• Watching TV is a group event. There seems to be only 5 or so channels, so people watch The OC like it's The National Championship.
• On that note, they love American TV here. I think it's funny when the Brit's start talking to me about The OC, Grey's Anatomy, or Lost as if I keep up with all of them regularly. They honestly know more about these shows on a more regular basis than most Americans.
• I don't like walking anymore. In Austin the weather is usually nice to walk to class, here I just traipse around trying to avoid puddles or snow and stay in doors which works in my favor because I'm pale and so is everyone else. And if they're not pale they at least look cold all the time.

So that's about it, I'm randomly going away to Berlin in two weekends so planning that is in full force (in reality Annie is planning in full force). I've rediscovered my love for cooking since I've been here in reaction to the cafeteria food which makes Castillian or J2 seem divine. On a side note, not having a TV and thus something to watch is killing me and totally keeping me out of touch with life outside of Leicester. Hillary Clinton may run for President? The Spurs aren't leading the NBA? It's snowing outside? These are things that blindside me like a Mack truck. But just like all abroad students should, I'll just keep rolling with the punches.