The City of Many Nations

I finally managed to get myself a handy. I know that might sound a little bit dirty, but the word 'handy' is actually just euro-slang for cell phone. So there's one obstacle overcome. I am living in the western part of an 892 square kilometer city (~344 square miles, while Chicago is ~237 square miles).

I'm typing on an interesting german-style keyboard right now, with a euro-symbol, and umlauts provided. I'm doing my best to avoid typos, but this entry might take a few sessions to correct.

I've noticed an interesting issue with German society with a surprisingly large unemployment rate. A few of my peers here have spoken about the prospect of picking up jobs during their stay, but I expect that might be a little bit of a stretch on my time. I would like to spend most of my free moments exploring the neighborhoods and creating memories. Anyways, the economy here is also quite interesting. The government redistributes wealth to the unemployed so that they can be provided with food and compensation -- and I believe for shelter, as well. The unemployed can still be found begging for money in the subway (U-Bahn) stations. Here I find a moral dilemma. If the economy cannot provide an adequate enough amount of careers to provide for the citizens already living here, it is a great issue of concern to promote Germany and especially Berlin as a multinational city. It is still a first-world nation, and everyone here does well enough to get by, but I wonder if they are just barely holding on. I suppose things are organized much differently here. For example, when I made a visit to the Reichstag building where the German government (Bundestag) meets, I learned that 5 political parties competed for attention and prosperity. This would be compared to the bipartisan manner in which the United States is organised, and I have found this often polarizes individuals with their ideals.

Another problem that has made it's way to the forefront of my mind is acquisition of more cash. The street adresses here in Berlin are not arranged similar to the fashion we are familiar with in America, so I am having trouble making my way to a Deutsche Bank. There is very little order to the numerals, due to the fact that throughout history, larger buildings were constructed without regard for the smaller cafes that were later set up on corners. I'm not exactly certain how it works, but it's all the more encouragement to get myself a compass, because I know North is always true.

It's all part of my curiosity with the navigational systems here in the city of many nations. This morning our small German course was led to explore and determine the location of the Berlin Wall on a map of the city. It wasn't marked on the map we were using, nor had it been labeled on any of the streets that we could remember. For the few weeks unto this point, I had believed that we were studying in the former western Berlin, but I was proven wrong by our teacher, who remembered the original locations. He went on to say that he had been shocked a couple of years ago upon teaching a class of children who had no vivid memory of the wall coming down. But then of course only native Germans who would have been about 5 years old or so at the time would have the capacity to retain such recollections. I was about 4, and I lived in America. Our teacher also claimed that it was an effort of most teachers in Berlin to do away with what he called "Ostalgie," or any remaining loyalty to the former socialist policies of eastern Berlin. This would promote, I believe, a more unified youth who saw themselves as Berliners, regardless of who their parents were or where they came from.

Yesterday, in a tour of the German History Museum we took a brief look at the constitution of the nation, which was written in 1871. One of the lines translates to, "every person is born with freedom." You may say that these ideals, pure though they may be, were lost by the Third Reich, which denied opposing perspectives as it became a single-party totalitarian government. As I watched history unfold at the museum, I observed the foundation of Prussia and a fall into an economic depression. I was able to marvel at how time is able to blur certain facts into historical wonder and ideological theory. It is impossible to predict what the future holds, when a few lines of script are taken down onto a document. With unanimity, almost any document could be called official, and after time it might become holy. Everyone stands and salutes in its presence, as a custom.

You might find it hard to understand what I'm describing here. As countries age, It is better that they act like an individual might. Friendly with neighboring nations, exchanging goods in return for other necessities, and always taking care to be certain you are healthy.

What makes the reputation of a country positive? Could it be modesty to others? Or efficiency? Or is openness the best answer to the patriotic conundrum? The Ideal nation is a difficult thing to discuss, a utopia. I'm not certain it will ever exist, because I don't think we as humans with our silly morals and ethics will ever be able to avoid our desire for the exotic. But that doesn't mean we can't live in peace and cooperation.

On saturday we head off for Hamburg, the main port city in northwestern Germany. This will give me another city by which I might judge Germany, and hopefully, see some saltwater.


"To me, it seems a dreadful indignity to have a soul controlled by geography."
George Santayana