Yo yo yo yo yo. So Im at the Stanford Center now .... and Ive been seriously reading emails and responding etc etc for like 2 hours ... so I'm sort of jaded and sick of the whole communication thing, but I'll suck it up. Well, things are good. I've had 3 days of language class so far ... and I find myself in quite a bind. If you remember ... the head of the language school was like ...I am going to bump you up, you are smart, etc etc. So he deeefinitely did, and I guess the only way I can put it is that at Wellesley we worked through chapter 7 of my boo, and I am now on approximately chapter 13. So the genetive case, subordinate sentense structire, da compounds, subjunctive .... these are things I haven't learned AT ALL and they are like, old news to my class. So, I have two options. I can stick it out ... learn retrospectively ....as in go back and learn it on my own quickly ... and eventually in the end I will get further in my general knowledge of German grammar. But the question is, at what cost?? To know a lot of German but only half well, and with wholes in the general framework of my German? Or I could move down a level, which sounds to be exactly where I left off .... I talked to my teacher Margit .. and she said she thinks its a good fit ..and that I should wait until Friday. And the front desk said I can start my new class tommorow. So yes ... it is quite a decision. I think I will untimately move down, whether tommorow or next Monday. Because now the homework ... usually WorkBook...oder Arbeitsbuch.. excercises....its seriously like a joke. I look at it, realize I really have no idea what it is, and copy the answers from the back of the book. Not so good.

What else .... the Berlinale film fesitival is quickly approaching. Actually, it starts tommorow!! I'm so excited. I have language classes inthe mornings from 9-12...and then most of the afternoons for the enxt 10 days are ust going to be me watching crazy obscure documentaries from iceland. Well, not neccesarilly, but you understand. Our schedules have mostly been cleared, and we have our passes. This is the first year LExia is doing the Berlinale, and I am very glad about that. The Stanford kids are also doing the Berlinale...and they have the super mega ultra passes .. so they can go to special screenings and retrospectives ...basically old movies being shown on big screens ...so they are SUPER lucky. and some big stars are famed to be coming, like will smith and bill murray. I, like most people, am very excited for bill murray ... ill let you know if there is a sighting!

Everything is good with my family - they are super nice. I actually had dinner with them the other night. We are technically not supposed to eat dinner with them ... unless we pay. But there was enough and they asked if I wanted to jpoin. We spea in a sort of half English half German ammalgam. And I always have my Worterbucher on hand! Dictionary for the non German speakers. But my Melanie und Eran sind sehr freundlich. I think we will have a nice coexistance. Its still inda weird though .... like they usually leave right around the time I leave my room to get ready ... and something about me going downstairs to tae my shower, and then walking up the spiral staircase wrapped in a towel makes me feel really weird. So now Ive been waiting for them to leave until I leave and shower. Hopefully thatll wear off.

The people on my group are super nice. Out of the 8 or 9 people I mostly like everyone, and some of them very much. Haha, that sounds weird. We work pretty well as a group, and its actually a pretty nice size. Soemtimes its too big and makes me want to DIE.......well, I guess I have to give an example. there were 9 of us walkking the other night looking for food. And you know it is with groups ...,.. UGH its awful!!! Everyone walks slow ... and then one person finds a restaurant and its like .. ohh .. this looks good to me..anyone else? And its all confusing and no one can decide and when you DO decide there are a million people to seat. So yes .... that really got to me one night.

The food has been pretty good. Ive had some really good food ....mostly with Jesse, he is good like that .... and ive had some mediocre food. Last night was a very German dinner for Jess and I ... some Rotbrautwurst from a guy on the street with an actual grill .... so the outside was burnt and crispy and yumy .. so we got that with brot...or bread .. for 1 euro. And then we got some currywurst a bit later ... for like 1.50. Cheap and delicious.

Ok ... my fingers are tired. But wow, that was quite a long post!! Ive seen some really cool art while Ive been here, and Ive had some nice tours of Berlin auch. I saw the Reichstag, Brandenburgh gate, the Flick collection .....quite controversial because Flicks grandfather was a steel industry owner who used 400000 slave laborers during the third reich. and the grandson flick bought his collection with that money passed down .... etc etc. More on that later i guess

Miss you all!!

Bis spater,
Deb