So, I'm done with my Sprachkurs and I improved my test score by 10 percent, from 79 to 89. I am now in the highest level class for learning German. That makes me happy.

Theres something else that makes me happy. Nikki Sitzmann. I don't know what the fuck is going on, but we're frightened by each other, but we've already talked about moving in together, because we're together every day and every night. We're going to Amsterdam and Bruxelles on Wednesday. Ich kann es aber nicht glauben, weisst du? And she has given up on the idea that we're not together, she knows it and I know it, and it's scary as fuck because noone has the power, we're just two vulnerable people falling in love. Ich kann es aber kaum glauben.

Yesterday she, Jon, and I went to Potsdam and had this discussion with this bartender for awhile about how americans are so "verklemmt" which means "all tied up" in the sense that we hint at things, whereas as Germans say them blatantly. The bartender told us to stop complaining and vote Bush out of office, and when we said that we didn't know what was to be done, he said, don't you have free speech, voice your opinion. Although I feel that was simplistic, this man just randomly said this to us in Potsdam, it was strange. He said, du bist verklemmt. You're binding yourself. Yeah. Tomorrow Im going with Nikki, Jerome (France), Martin (Slovakia) and perhaps some others to Wittenberg Lutherstadt, the city with the Wittenberger Dom, where Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses to the door, and started the reformation. Im excited

shacks and castles

caitlin, i found the castle. write me your email address so i can write you.

Friedrichshain

So, I have been having an interesting time here. I've been going out almost every night, and getting to know this girl Nikki. Im pretty into her, but shes not to me, but we sleep together and hold each and its schön. on saturday nicht nikki marty shaina and i went out to hear some indian music, but we were too late cuz we stopped for some jäger to drink on the train..... you can drink anywhere you want here.....and missed the tram. so instead we had some sudanese food from an imbiss, (like a taco stand) and then went to Friedrichshain, an older berlin district, and we went to an absinthe bar and had some fun. we then went back and smoked some weed. ive pretty much become an everyday smoker here, (cigarrettes i mean). on sunday we went to brunch in kreuzberg, the turkish district, and then to the flohmarkt (fela market) in Schöneberg, the gay district, where i bought a guitar and then played on the street with nikki for lots of hours. last night nikki and i went to warschauer straße, the "hip" place, and ended up finding the east side gallery, a milelong remaining piece of the Berlin Wall. WE bought some beer, strolled along it, got to the end found nothing near Ostbahnhof, bought another beer, got on the s-bahn, then the u-bahn, to Kreuzberg again, and ate some strange faux mekican food and had a corona with lime. beacuse all the beers were half liters, we were pretty trashed and just sorta slept on the way home. my class is great and i learn a lot. and in about 2 weeks i think nikki and i are going to go to amsterdam and paris, or to warsaw and moskow..... im not sure which, or maybe to halle, this east german town thats still in love with the DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik,,,, former East Germany). I don't know, we'll see. Also muss ich weg, da es so viele wartenden Leute hier gibt. Ciao.

Erkältung, Bier, Hallöchen, Bürokratie

m sick. I got drunk lots last week and fell all over this girl nikki from santa cruz. she didnt go for it, but we laughed about a lot and were good friends. shes however very sick with tonsilitis. im just havin, IVE SMOKED TOO MANY GODDAMMNED CIAGRETTES lung and throat problems compunded by a cough that i got from her. i am almost done with all the bureaucracy. tomorrow i do my Immatrikulation "matriculation" and then next wendesday early my Aufenthaltsgenehmigung..... residence permit. Im gonna find a guitar this weekend hopefully at the Flohmarkt (flea market). todays the first day without beer since horrible hangover friday where i couldnt walk. all ive eaten todayis bread meat and mustard, i feel strong. haha. ,2 Liters of juice costs 1,50 € at this cafe, but for the same price you can get ,3 liters of beer. beer is cheaper here than soda. i cant fucking believe it. ich muss aber jetzt nach Hause, denn meine Erkältung tötet mich. Wie schön.

oh yeah and all the people diminutize everything..... thus "Tschüss" which often is used along with ciao..... becomes Tschüsschen........ or something that will mean more... HALLO becomes HALLÖCHEN......... i love it, its so nice and friendly.

Also..... ciao John

Hohenschönhausen

I am now in my home in Hohenschönhausen, very strange district in Berlin. I pretty mch drink lots of beer and talk alot of German and meet lots of cool people from all around the world. I now eat meat, cuz it's too difficult to avoid it here. I have a Handy, (a cell phone) and the number is 49 170 878 9936. If any of you want to call me you should dial 1010987, cuz then it's only 39 cents to connect and 3 cents a minute after that. I will try to get a phone card to call all of you too. I don't have email yet, I'm at an internet cafe on Heiligestadtenstraße, so I won't post again for a bit. But please drop me a line if you can. I miss you all so much, but I absolutely love it here. I now have my Meldebescheinigung, (green card) so, I'm legal! Germany is better than I could have ever imagined.