Host family, happenings, classmates.

Well, my host family is really great. Their names are Elvira (ell-veer-ah) and Walter (vahltah) Hanemann. They have 2 children that now live on their own: one is a 26 year old boy who studies architecture at the Frei University of Berlin, the other is a 21 year old girl who studies Philosophy at Humboldt University (yeah, the one Marx and Einstein went to). I haven't met either of the children, but Elvira and Walter are as sweet as can be. They have hosted other students from the US, Italy, and France. It seems that their best experience has been with Americans - that was a surprise to me!

They own a bookstore nearby, and from what I've gathered they have done so for at least a decade, maybe longer. Their apartment is modest but very charming. They have one television set which is underneath a large bookshelf that is full of hundreds of vinyl records and CDs and a stereo with a record player. Other than that, their house is littered with books.

Walter knows less English, it seems, than what German I have learned in 2 days. So we haven't done much talking. But Elvira is pretty good with her English and apparently it is their daughter's best language. Since I have been so busy and haven't had much time around them, I don't even know the names of their children. Hopefully I can get a chance to meet them and have them show me some of their friends and favorite places around Berlin.

Yesterday we went to the Jewish Museum for the Kulturprogramme. That was very interesting, but we were crunched for time so I ended up having to skip the last 2/3 of it at least. I did not get to experience the axis that puts you into a tight space where you feel the anxiety of a Holocaust victim. But apparently it's free on Thursday nights, so me and some other students might be going back. Tonight we are going to a concentration camp for a tour. I can't remember what the camp is called, but I guarantee that I won't forget it once I've been there.

My classes at the Goethe-Institut are fantastic. I sit next to a 23 year old girl from Milan named Alice who speaks English, Italian, and French. She doesn't wear deodorant. Next to her is a 31 year old girl from Mexico who speaks a little English and Spanish. Then there's a girl from Belmont who sits next to me who is constantly nagging me during class. Much could be said about my frustrations with this person, but I will refrain from saying more about her (or anything at all about the other girl from Belmont in our class). But here is a list of the other students in our class:

Irina - Russian, forty-some years old, doesn't speak much English, doesn't really know what is happening in our class at all. I feel bad for her.

Ermanna - Italian, 31 years old, speaks Italian, Spanish, English, French. Brilliant lady.

Belén - Spanish gal, late twenties, speaks Spanish and English. Always smiling and laughing - therefore fun.

Jose - Spanish guy, 33 years old. Kind of quiet, but he's doing ok. Speaks a little English, Spanish, and Italian.

Jess - Harvard grad student, 30 years old, getting her PhD in Yiddish and Hebrew. The rest is obvious (she's brainy).

Laura - cute Italian gal. Not sure exactly how old she is. My best guess is mid-20's. Speaks English, Italian, Spanish. Surprise.

Nina - cute Spanish gal. Not sure how old she is either, but I do know that she is in her third year of college studying Biotechnology - yeah, Biotechnology. Apparently she still is not sure exactly what it is, but she loves Biology. Speaks Spanish, Italian, and English all with a very attractive accent.

Trevor - Canadian dude. He looks like Harry Potter with skinny jeans and a plaid shirt. He's 26. He is also a grad student at Harvard, getting his PhD in Art History (Kunstgesischte in Deutsch, haha). He speaks French and English. He's a very nice guy.

Didi - 18 year old gal from Jamaica. She's incredibly quiet, but very cute. Apparently her dad is from Germany and her mom is African/Indian. Her brother and sister are here with her and they all three look like Latin American models. Part of that has to do with the fact that their dad is an orthodontist and they all have immaculate pearly-whites.

I may have forgotten one person. But it's probably because they don't speak up much if at all. But I feel pretty confident that I would have only left out one person.

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Daniel