Nearly a week in, the course started.

I was itching to write more on this blog every day, but that would be a rather inconvenient way of updating a blog, and rather unreadable. I've put the picture up from One of the S Bahn stations, Warschauer Strasse, with the Fernsehenturn.

Much has changed from day to day, with a will-I-won't I up and down with various WGs (shared flats), to no particular conclusive home for the year as of yet. In Germany, you often advertise for a flatmate when there is a spare place, and this is WG life (Wohngemeinschaft). I've visited one to find I'd be living with an older landlady, and one who said a bit vaguely they wanted people for longer than a year when I decided to say I'd definitely like the room. Many others don't reply, as they find someone and forget the advert/are snowed under with applications. I have a meeting for a year WG in the pipeline for Sunday, and just today found a 2 person place until the start of October to tide me over. I'm not going to be completely homeless!
Life has consisted alot of WG searching and related activities. I have wandered round alot, finding out the feel of different districts and the like. I've also been to a church last Sunday, who were a really friendly open community. I might be back there this week.Lots of paperwork/contact to sort out too, with the authorities and the uni with my courses.

The Vorkurs (langauge course) has started up, we've had a test and shuffled into groups. Its great to have similar abilities to learn with. We've had a Biergarten social, and other social events to come include Kayaking on Saturday as well as some personally organised events. Its all kicking off now! English is the language that includes the most people (varying German levels), but German is used when possible.

Other snippets include a memorable U-Bahn trip, where the whole train was one long tunnel. It was like you were in a supermarket aisle, but you were under some infulence and it kept curving before you. German words being crammed into English worship - sometimes fine, but 'Unser Gott ist ein maechtiges Gott' (put in awesome for maechtiges) has too many syllables for its tune. Seeing the Fernsehenturn at sunset. The amazing technology that is Skype. Missing people, naturally. Meeting new people. Finding that though I knew baked beans did not exist here, pulses in general are a rarity. I had forgotten golden syrup does not exist (no flapjack). I have really wanted a cup of tea and not had a standard teabaag to hand. 'The tide is high' (original ska-calypso ish) being struck up on the tube by two guys with dreadlocks, a guitar and German accents. Seeing allsorts of people on the tube. A Flohmarkt on Sunday selling lots of old treasures outside the station.

Thats all for now. Kish.