Transitions....

I LOVEEEE MY CITYYY!!!!! the sun rising over Alexanderplatz above.
(Above) watching the sun rise over the river in East Berlin
Last night in Berlin! Riding the S-Bahn.
Last night in Berlin....going down an East Berlin slide : )
(Above) Last night continued... hanging out in a playground in East Berlin.
Me and my new hipster headphones. Got them as a present to myself for surviving moving and my first day of work : ) .
No idea what that golden egg is for. Gave it a huge anyways.
(Above) the mascot for the public transit tram system in Leipzig. Ahahaha sooo funny.
(Above) - in front of a mural depicting the Peaceful Revolution in the '80s against the Communists.
Pretty medieval buildings in the Innenstadt. (above and below)


My friend Nathaniel and I exploring the city. He is working in Berlin for a theatre company but was in Leipzig for the week for a project they were doing here.

(On the train from Berlin to Leipzig)

Last night, I packed up my life into one ridiculous, HUGE suitcase, one slightly less ridic suitcase currently residing in Neukoln with Evelyn, an overstuffed backpack, a back-breakingly heavy duffel, and a purse. Have been fighting back the tears all morning. Berlin has changed for me from this scary, unfamiliar, cold and snowy city into a wonderfully unique place that I have been so blessed to call home. Looking at myself today, confident in my black jeans, leather jacket, and colorful Euro sneakers, skillfully navigating S-Bahns, U-Bahns, ordering coffee and a schokocroissant auf Deutsch for the road, my stone-cold city face on cause you'd better believe no one is going to mess with me with 3 tons worth of my stuff slung over my back and being dragged through the Hauptbahnhof - I honestly barely recognize myself as the same slightly terrified and freezing newcomer I was back in January. I have grown and changed so much. I have adapted a Berliner directness and a German sense of time. 3 minutes is officially late, 5-10 minutes is obscenely late. Being on-time means being early haha. I have fallen in love with German chocolate, apfelschorle (apple soda), and the satin orange glow of the Berlin sky at 4 am.

I am writing all this as the train is pulling out of the Hauptbahnhof in Berlin, while I am getting this insane urge to jump out the train window and go hide inside Starbucks and pretend I don't have to leave. Ahh I really don't want to leave Berlin. It's my raft of familiarity in Germany. Particulary the Hauptbahnhof (main train station), which is one of my favorite places in Berlin. It is EPICALLY huge, with at least 20 stations where trains come and go at all hours of the day. My weird self used to just come there and chill, particularly on Sundays when nothing else was open. I loved to get a cup of coffee and a pastry, watching people come and go from Berlin. I was the constant then, anchored in Berlin - they were the tourists. Now I'm the one with my life slung over my shoulders and being dragged up those massive escalators.

Leaving is making me hugely reflect on my time in Berlin, particularly spring quarter. The days grew longer and warmer, the grey skies sparkled into blue ones, Bianca and I became even more inseparable when the new kids came. I'm leaving a piece of myself in Berlin as the train pulled out of the station. A part of my heart will always belong to grungy, graffitied Berlin, trapped somewhere between the indescribable energy, fascinating history, and world-renowned nightlife. I think and hope Leipzig will be a good change. I think my mind and body need a bit of a Berlin detox after living such a fast-paced city life. But a huge part of me is mildly terrified about moving. Looking out the window and seeing vast fields pass as more and more space comes between me and my beloved city - I am honestly scared out of my mind.

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(First day in Leipzig)

Alright new German city, bring it. I have clearly been low-key freaking out about both leaving Berlin and moving to a completely new German city where I literally know no one, but after a few calming Skype sessions and the mot amazing pep-talk email ever from Katyrose, I am feeling a lot better. I just have to keep telling myself I can do it, make a few calming and/or inspiring Itunes playlists, and taking things one step at a time. When in doubt, I've stopped thinking about things too much and just kind of kept going. I've been thinking a lot about that quote that courage is not the absence of fear, but being scared to death and moving forward anyways. I can hugely relate to that right now haha. I'm scared to death but have just kept putting one foot in front of the other. No internet, bank account drama (thus no money), roommate that doesn't speak much English.... ahhhh taking deep breaths. All will be ok.

(Second day in Leipzig)

Can't find a Catholic church in this city haha. Apparently Saxony was the heart of the Protestant Reformation aka it is highly unlikely that I will come upon a Catholic church in Leipzig. It's a Sunday and particularly in times of huge transition I like to go to Mass but apparently that's not going to happen today. It's ok though, I am feeling a lot better about everything than I was yesterday. I also had a friend in town and we explored Leipzig together so that was awesome.

I really love the Innnenstadt (city centre). It is really different than Berlin in terms of how it's laid out - a lot like Poland in terms of that actually. Berlin has different pockets of awesomeness - which is cool because there's so many places to go visit but you really need to use the subway to get anywhere. In Leipzig there's a tram system but everything is pretty walkable. The city center is reallyyyy old and goregous and entirely accessible by foot. Once you leave the city centre is gets a lil less epically goregous and a little more Communist looking haha (more high rises and rectangular grey Soviet-style buildings). I have taken to affectionately call my dorm the Communist lego. It is pretty standard, grey and rectangular, but then the tops of it and the rest of the student housing down the street has different colorful roofs. I will include a pic in my next post so you don't need to create that image using solely your imagination haha.

I'm starting to meet some Americans too which is awesome. I've become a big fan of making friends by striking up conversations with random people on the tram who are my age and speak American English. I may come off as a little sketchy sometimes but hey, when you know no one in a city you do what u gotta do. And the American connection in a non-touristy city like this is actually a pretty powerful immediate bond.

Ok, my computer charger decided now as a good time to die but I will update you all more on my life in Leipzig and some more pictures soon. I am working at the University which is beauuttifulll and am really excited to start work!!!!

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(End of my first week in Leipzig)

I ended up going back to Berlin for my first weekend in Leipzig. Some really cool Americans I met randomly recently were going on a group pass for the weekend and they had an extra spot on their ticket. It felt sooo unbelievably good to be back in Berlin but then surprisingly I was ok and ready to come back. A little less traumatic than the last time I left haha. No tears this time, just a huge sense of appreciation and acceptance. I was also not alone in coming back this time. : )

Leipzig is feeling more and more like home. : )