so i now have picked out all of my classes, yet i'm not sure if i can register for them/how to register for them/if that's even necessary. supposedly online registration is required, but if there are classes for which i am unable to register online, i can still take them i just have to show up on monday. i find this all a bit confusing, but i have faith that it will get worked out. the only thing that worries me is the fact that in germany, i'm pretty sure that deadlines are more real than in america. F.U.'s computer system makes me miss bannerweb in ways i never thought i would. sitting here at my computer, trying to understand the complex cataloguing of majors and areas of study and the differences between classes makes me yearn for the days of freshman year, waking up at 6 am with everyone in the hall blaring music and the sun barely rising, fervently clicking on the classes i want and crossing my fingers that i could work my way into the classes i didn't get. at the time it seemed so unnecessary and dramatic, but compared to this it was a cakewalk.


the night before last i went out with luisa and we found this great club where there was a tribute to lee hazlewood, who is a semi-obscure 70s americana-folk singer whose film footage looked like something out of a burt reynolds movie/1970s western soap opera. it was very fuzzy and there was a long haired blonde woman with light pink lips singing and there were lots of shots of sun filtering through trees. i think it's safe to say that we were the youngest people in this club, and it was really funny to see a lot of europeans wearing vintage cowboy shirts and pompadours. one of the hardest things to get used to is the fact that people study for over a decade here a lot of times. someone could be a 28 year old student, and it's not frowned upon. sometimes people are still completing their studies in their early 30s. the last time i felt this young was probably at my first yo la tengo show, or the time i saw built to spill. i have yet to tap into the berlin 20-24 year old scene, which worries me slightly. i'm not sure if i'm going to like it ... i'm not a big drum&bass fan and i can only take so much techno.


other than that things are moving along steadily. it became clear to me this week that this apartment really is starting to feel like my home, and my bed is feeling like it belongs to me. that is a really nice feeling, and also, it enables me to stay in at night if i really want to. i read an article in this berlin magazine called zitty about how the city is more stressful than any other city in germany, and how part of it is this constant movement and push to go out and be out doing something. i feel like as i stay here and make more friends i will only feel this desire to be outside more and more. its something i've felt my whole life, especially in high school, and i'm starting to think that college was a mini-respite for me. i was always content to stay in at midd, watch a movie, catch up with the party for an hour and then go to bed. at home i hated staying in, and i'm starting to feel that way here.


if my schedule works out, i will have 3 classes on monday and one class on tuesday and then a 5 day weekend. what to do with all this spare time? i haven't really figured that out yet. after i figure it all out, i'd definitely consider applying for an internship, and i'm sure i'll be joining clubs and doing different things. i'm still getting used to how student life works in germany. i also plan on traveling a lot. i bought my tickets to fly to milan in november to see my mother, which is exciting, and there is more travel in the works. i need to get my bank account information back and then get my money transferred to my account and things will get a lot simpler. also, it will be nice once i deal with the ausländerbehörde because i'm dreading it and once it's out of the way i will have conquered the german office nightmare.


last night tim came over and we ate dinner and watched flava of love. i must say, i really didn't watch that show at home but since i've been here it's become a lot more important in my life. any american tv show that has subtitles instead of overdubbing is definitely a welcome source of entertainment. also, the fact that CNN shows an international edition of the daily show late at night is one of the most amazing things i've found since being here. being able to call home for less than one cent a minute is also nice, and the best thing that has happened to me recently - i found 50 euros on the ground in the train station! i want to use it to go to ikea and buy some things for my room that will make it more mine. berlin berlin starting to feel like home (just a little).