Jason's Daily Notes

In the hostel, the guy above me was snoring very very loudly. Obnoxious American Jonny drunkenly returned around 4am and was loud, waking me up for a minute. I fully woke up at 8am and went out to shower. Jonny was obnoxious and still drunk. I was barely making a rustle but he loudly said "you're making a lot of noise"! I was laughing on the inside, but wasn't sure if he was sarcastic or not.

I got ready and went downstairs for the free breakfast - bread, cheese, müsli, coffee, etc. - I sat with Derek the Canadian, and Christian and Paola the Argentians. Naturally, we complained about our roommates. Derek and I tried to organize our rides with mitfahrgelegenheit (Derek was stranded in Frankfurt because his friend was evicted from his place near Dortmund).

Back at the room, I couldn't find my coat, nor could I find my room key. FUCK. Am I really that stupid that I just let my things get stolen?! I should have seen it coming - Derek had his spare change stolen the night before. There was really no sign of my coat anywhere, nor of my key. So I had to get a new room key from reception.

It was also essential that I have a coat in this snowy weather. And I bundled up, wearing 2 shirts and my scarf, then headed out, walking directly to the shopping street (Zeil). I could actually handle the cold, as long as I kept my hands buried in my pockets. The roads were covered with snow and slush - I kept having to jump over puddles for fear of getting my shoes wet. I went to Urban Outfitters, where there was nothing. Then to Galleria Kaufhof, which only had coats over €150 - no way. I then spotted H&M, where I found a decent and warm jacket for €39. Deal - I had a coat.

I then walked around, trying so see as much of the city as I could on this one day. I walked around the old Opera, past the big Euro symbol near Willy-Brandt-Platz, then past the Goethe Haus and back to the Ziel. I had a bit of hunger, so I went to a café (Ziel Café) and ate a flammkuche. The news was on the TV - discussing the travel chaos caused by the snow (a 100-car pileup near Frankfurt yesterday) and the anticipation as the college of Cardinals convenes in the Vatican to vote for the next pope.

All this time, I was refreshing my email; I had asked Jon to contact me again regarding the status of my job offer, but still nothing. I was starting to worry. Did I fuck up the end of our meeting (regarding my expected salary)? I hate being kept in limbo like this. I began to feel homesick.

After lunch, I walked onward to the Zoo (nothing to see there) and south to the river. The clouds had parted and allowed the sun to shine brightly. This resulted in the views across the river being quite stunning. In the sunshine, it felt good, not warm but not as bone-chilling as in the shade. I walked onto some bridges, in the old town, and along the river, taking plenty of pictures along the way. There were a couple of other tourists around, but in general the city was empty.

I got a WhatsApp message from Kayleen - Demi had told her that he would be paying back the deposit today! YES!

I returned to the hostel. Derek, Christian, and Paola had already left and their beds were made. I called home - my mom was getting ready to leave for the Philippines in a few days. I met my new roommate, Arisa from Japan, who is doing a round-the-world trip for 14 months! Japan, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, India, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, and now Germany! Then, onward to Amsterdam and South America - wow! I also met Humberto, from Brazil, who owns his own renewable energy (solar/water) company and is in Frankfurt for a convention.

In the hostel room, Jonny came back, introduced himself to me (he's a basketball player in Germany, originally from Detroit) but he returned now with two friends who had a dog with them (Kyra). They hung out for a while and often left us with the dog! The dog was cute, but Arisa and I wanted to get some food! So we eventually left, leaving the dog with them as they smoked up in the bathroom, and got some Vietnamese/Chinese food at the restaurant just across the street. It was good.

We returned to the hostel, chatted with Humberto (Jonny and his friends were gone) and we all went down to get dinner. There, we sat with a girl whom I had helped to open the door (the doorknobs in the hostel are weird); she was named Cecelia and was from Argentina, visiting her boyfriend who had been studying in a small city in Thüringen.

During dinner, we found out that there was a new pope - Jorge Mario Bergoglio, from Argentina! (Now Francis I.) Very cool! We kept chatting and eventually retired to our rooms. I showered, then chatted with Mike, who was busy with schoolwork, and Fernanda, who urged me to go home, before going to sleep.

Martin didn't wake up early like yesterday. In fact, I was awake and getting ready by 9am, when he awoke. Since my rideshare left at 10am, I had to rush through breakfast and say good-bye. I slushed through the ice and -5°C temperatures to get to the U-Bahn station and to Alexanderplatz.

The agreed-upon meeting place was the "Europcar corner" at Alex. I thought it would be easy to find, but no! I walked back and forth, asking people where it was. The first woman had no idea; the second pointed me in the completely wrong direction. I was 5 minutes late. I got a call from Heide (the driver) asking if everything was ok - I told her where I was (the complete opposite side of Alexpl.) and she told me to walk to the tall hotel. I did, and I found the car (she had gone walking to find me).

After I apologized for the delay, we were off. The other girl in the car was Liza, who was moving to Mainz to start her studies (in film and something like anthro/sociology) but first look for a place to live. We were off, through Berlin and off onto the Autobahn. The windshield was continuously icing up (not a problem with the de-icer in the wiper fluid). We were conversing entirely in German, first about my story and then about couchsurfing and their lives. Heide worked for the climate change ministry, and she ended up talking for maybe 45 minutes about various issues related to climate change mitigation and renewable energy. I did my best to keep up, but I could only really understand maybe 60% of it.

We didn't have a GPS with us, so we relied on Heide's memory (which took us down a longer road, not wrong but not the fasted way), slightly on her phone which was running Waze (which I researched for my dissertation), and the road atlas she had in the car. I fell asleep several times. Snow flurries were falling. We passed Kassel.

Heide was in a bit of a hurry, because she was driving to pick up her boyfriend (who she met in South Africa), who was flying into Frankfurt airport from California (via London). On the radio, we heard an announcement that the entire airport at Frankfurt was shut down due to the weather. So much for the weather.
Around Gießen, the entire road came to a standstill. We were at a complete stop for 20 minutes, then inched forward and stopped again for another 15-20 minutes. Then, we started inching forward some more. We took the first exit and starting going on small country roads through nice little towns. Since I was sitting up front, I was naturally the copilot and navigator. Heide's boyfriend was now flying into Stuttgart on a later flight, but at the rate we were moving, she still wouldn't make it to Stuttgart in time, so she arranged for her sister to pick him up at the airport.

Finally, we arrived in Frankfurt. I navigated us to the Hauptbahnhof, where we were dropped off and parted ways. Snow was falling, and the streets were completely covered in piles of snow. Luckily, the hostel was just a block away. I checked in, dropped my stuff off in the room, where I met Rasan from Palestine.

I went through my things and found that I was missing my electricity adapter. (I always forget something in each city!) This was essential, so I walked over to the Hbf and bought one at a gift shop. I also got some food - a feuerwurst in brot, and a cup of blueberry yogurt. There was a technical malfunction at the station, so none of the display boards were working.

Back at the hostel, I met Derek from Saskatchewan, Canada (who studied engineering in Virginia and worked in Toronto before leaving to travel South America and now Europe) and Christian from Argentina (who had just finished studying I.T. in Dresden). I showered and then we had dinner together (the hostel offers free pasta to its guests every night. I tried a bottle of Apple Wine, which tasted like watered down cider. Back in our room; I didn't get wifi on my phone so I just lay down and surfed the web on my laptop for a while. Before I knew it, I had passed out. Around midnight I was awoken by a loud obnoxious black American named Jonny who was directly accosting each person in the hostel room ("Why are you all in bed?" "Are you that boring?" etc.). I was half asleep and just proceeded to just act asleep. He left, against the advice of his friend. Whatever - I was completely asleep.

Martin left for work around 8am; I woke up with him, and he gave me the key. I had some bread (schwarzbrot) and cream cheese throughout the morning. I arranged to meet with Jess for dinner.

I went to the nearby Netto (discount supermarket) and bought some juice, sliced cheese and salami. I considered getting some chicken from the nearby City Chicken, which looked good and popular (and reminded me of Zankou). In fact, I went inside, but they were busy serving someone else, so no.

In the afternoon, I walked (wanting to avoid riding the U-Bahn without a ticket) around Hermannplatz, which isn't too far away. Everything was snow-covered, cold, and icy. Back at the house, I waited for Martin, who said he would be done around 5pm. He didn't show up until 7:30pm.

At that time I got a call from Jess, who had arrived early and was already waiting for me. So I walked to her at Hermannplatz. Her boyfriend, Arthur (the Canadian) arrived too. I told them my story and they told me theirs (having traveled together in China; Jess now studying neuroscience and Arthur working in online/Facebook advertising). We walked over to the nearby Italian restaurant, Masaniello, which was known for having good (authentic) pizza. They greeted us in Italian, and I responded in German, Arthur and Jess in English. The languages were confusing! We all ordered the same thing - a simple tomato, cheese, and basil pizza. It was saucy and thin. We chatted for a while - I gave them some advice for their upcoming visit to Amsterdam, we discussed life as an expat, etc.

They both had work in the morning, so we parted ways. Jess made snowballs, but it was so cold that the snow was all powdery and wouldn't solidify into a ball. I went to the McDonald's and waited for Topi (who was chilling at Manu's - having had a crazy night at the house party last night). We chilled there for a couple minutes (I finished my hot white chocolate) and then made our way to Mehringdamm, where Manuel (and Eva) were seeing one of his old classmates in a small rap show at the AMP (Artists' Meeting Place). Steffen had already gone back home, so he didn't end up joining. The show was cool; they had an open mic rap series after the show finished. I met Manuel's coworker at Apple, Jack from Australia.

We returned via the U-Bahn. Mustafa's Gemüse Kebap had only 2 people waiting in line, so we did not waste the opportunity to get some great kebabs! We U-Bahned to Hermannplatz, where their connecting train was just arriving, so I hastily said bye to each of them. I bought two Augustiner beers for Martin, who was already in bed.

Got up and chilled at Manuel's place for a few hours.

I moved to Martin's place. There was snow everywhere, which meant that I had to concentrate as I walked over, carrying all my bags with me.

Martin wanted to stay in, focusing on his work.

I went out in the late afternoon to see some of Berlin in the snow (and to use the last day of my travel card). I went to Warschauer Straße and walked along the East Side Gallery, taking pictures of the famous Berlin Wall. It was really cold and the ground was icy and slippery. I then made my way to the Ostbahnhof and took the S-Bahn 1 stop back to Warschauer, and I walked down the street looking for a cheap place to eat. It was my first time in Friedrichshain on this visit to Berlin. I bought some foo( bread from a small Asian market (the only place open on Sunday) and ended up going to a small döner place and having a döner box (meat, fries, and sauce - not very healthy at all!). I then toko the tram and U-Bahn back to Martin's place.

We just stayed in, chilling. I showered then arranged my rideshare to Frankfurt on Tuesday. We made popcorn and watched Django Unchained, which was pretty long and not my favorite. Apparently they are very strict regarding downloading in Germany. Had a smoke and went to sleep quickly on the couch. (Martin had to be up early to go to work.)

Going to sleep at 7am, naturally I would sleep for the rest of the morning. But the crazy thing is, I was up at 11am and couldn't go back to sleep. Stayed in for much of the afternoon.

Manuel returned around 4pm. I made a quick trip to Kottbusser Tor and got a quick snack and bought some hygiene things that I was running out of.

Returned and joined Manuel and Eva for a breakfast at 5pm. They proceeded to fix the washing machine - I couldn't help because I needed to meet David (Nicki's bf) who had my UK phone with him. It was starting to snow. My bus didn't stop at the haltestelle - so I walked all the way to the Columbiahalle (a 20-30-minute walk, made worse by the snow starting to pile up) instead of sitting around for 20 minutes for the next bus to come. I half walked/ran so as not to be late. My hair started filling up with snow!

I met David at a cafe right by the station and got my phone! Then I took the bus back - luckily this time, it stopped and took me back quickly. I stopped by Kaiser's and bought some OJ and bread.

Back at the flat, they were surprised that I wasn't out with David. There was a plan to go out to the C/O, but first Manuel and Eva wanted to do some grocery shopping. I left them to meet Topi at Schönleinstrasse. We got a chicken kebab which was really good. We were going to get wine at Topi's favorite restaurant, but it was full. And we were cheap. So we got some beers from the Späti and headed to Manu's place. We just wanted to chill, but Manu was already hyped up about going out to a house party. I was honestly exhausted, so I just let them go and returned home.

Manuel was still out grocery shopping (?!) as I passed out. Goodnight.

I was up at 10am and gave Jon a call. I left him a message, and then he called me back and we arranged a lunch meeting. So I had to meet him at a restaurant near Potsdamer Platz at 1pm. I rushed to get ready and wear my best clothes (which isn't that much actually) and was a little bit late (3 minutes) but not a big deal.

The lunch went well - we talked about business, our backgrounds and so on. I had gnocchi and he had goulash. At the end of the lunch, Jon told me that he's "probably going to hire me" and will have a job offer prepared for me early next week. What?! Omg, that's right - I GOT A JOB.

The washing machine in the flat is broken. So I couldn't wash my clothes.

I met up with Topi and made a meal (it was around 6pm but was Topi's breakfast) of spinach and tortelloni. There wasn't much else to cook. We chilled for a couple hours at his place. His flatmate Sana was there with her mom visiting from Finland (they were planning to go out dancing - together). The other flatmate, Laura from Ireland, also arrived, drunk and tired.

We waited for Topi's friend Robby (from Calgary, Alberta, Canada) to arrive and then we headed out together. We had some drinks ad went to Topi's former flat, where the flatmates were just chilling. They left for another house party, and so we left too. Outside, we met Robby's friend Rosaline (Rosie) from England, who is studying for 1 year here as part of her uni course. We all headed to Neukölln and to Manu's place. Manu is Topi's friend from Barcelona, and his flat is right by my place. We had some more drinks there, and then left to get food (kebabs) and then went to the bar on the corner (where Eva and Sariah work) but neither Eva nor Sariah was there! Sadness. But it was a cool bar, with a cinema screening area in the back (and a disgruntled director). We had a drink nevertheless and played never have I ever :)

We returned to my place and chilled, having more drinks in my room and singing along to the guitar. We wanted to go to Kit Kat Klub, and we headed out. The U-Bahn ran all night. We made it to Kit Kat Klub, and wen're sure if we'd get in, but somehow we did - 4 guys and a girl! The club, however, was remarkably empty for 3-6am on a Fri/Sat. And I honestly felt somewhat uncomfortable. I didn't know how to handle myself. I mean, we were missing most of our clothes and with all the space, everyone could see exactly what everyone else was doing. Man, what a night. Rosie was, surprisingly, the most social one of us all. She befriended a guy, Andreas from Latvia with the churches tattooed on his back, and I couldn't tell whether he was gay or straight or bi - he was dancing with everyone. And then there were the two sexy girls, and the one clingy/also short girl whom she was with when I left.

It was 6:30 when I left. I could tell that nothing was going to happen and it was a waste to stay there. The sun was coming up as I arrived at home. Ach!

The warm, sunny weather of the last few days ended. Today was cloudy and noticeably cooler. I still wanted to see something, so after a morning exploration of Neukölln, I took the S-Bahn to the Olympic Stadium and explored the area. It was quiet and somewhat depressing.

I then took the U2 toward the city and made my way to Schloß Charlottenburg. There, I walked around the really nice gardens. I walked all the way to the far end of the gardens, where I caught the U7. I took it all the way to Mehringdamm and decided ("Scheiß d'rauf!") to wait for Mustafa's Gemüse Kebab as long as it took!

The wind was blowing, and I must have stood in line for like 40 minutes. I ordered a vegetarian dürüm, and I took it home to eat. It didn't taste as good as I remembered :(

I transfered and uploaded some pictures from my trip. Finally!

In the evening, I met Lisa M for dinner/drinks at Schönhauser Allee. We catted and shared the difficulties of life abroad and she told me about Australian stuff, blah blah. We had vegan burgers (her first) and then got a drink right across the street, at a cool lounge that was showing football.

I returned home and just rested. I didn't have the energy to go out again. I got an email from Jon saying that he tried to call me to meet up but it didn't work. I found out that I gave him the wrong number! Damnit - am I shooting myself in the foot and sabotaging my work again?

I was up around 11am and woke up Topi before 12. He wanted me to wake him up earlier anyway.

The sun was shining brighter than ever, and the air was not bitingly cold as I opened the window! We were naturally slow to get up and ready, but we definitely wanted to enjoy the day. So I suggested that we go get Vietnamese food for breakfast/lunch somewhere. And so we (including Eva) did - walking to Hermannplatz, where we found a restaurant with outdoor seating. All the tables were full, but we squeezed in tightly next to a woman at the end of one of the tables. The sun felt really good on us as we ate. We also had two vietnamese coffees :)

Then we walked to Tempelhof, the big former airfield which is now a park. Topi and I each had a beer. The park was full of people rollerblading and bicycling. Felt great :)

Returned home. Chilled for a couple hours. I put on some relaxing meditation music and we just laid down. Then, I had to leave to meet Andi in Charlottenburg. Topi decided not to come, instead meeting with his friend Manu just around the corner in Neukölln.

I met Andi at the S-Bahn station and we went to a nearby Thai restaurant. The food was ok; THai curry so nothing to worry about. we then moved to the nearby Schwarz Cafe, which was recommended by Eva. The table we sat at was reserved. So we moved, just at Steffen arrived with his friend. We threw back several rounds of beers. Andi got a little upset when the waiter brought "non-alcoholic" beer (wtf?).

Stefen and his friend left. Andi and I had two more beers before leaving around 1am. I had to take night buses back. I changed at Zoologischer Garten (where I scarfed down a currywurst) and Wittembergplatz and Kottbusser Tor. I then walked back from Hermannplatz. Whew! Needless to say, I passed out :P