I don't think I look as wet behind the ears as in this photo. Dave hasn't looked any different since he was 18. Aging-wise that is. Now he's a fashionista. (fashionisto? is fashionista a spanish word??) For those who don't know him, that's my brother Dave. My real brother. I haven't tucked a shirt in since this photo...
Anyway, such an interesting well of emotions inside today. Such excitement to be back in this environment. I think it will be OK. Some people I met think this course will be a breeze, but they are chemical engineers... easy is good.
Basically the course coordinator said that the first semester, the main focus MUST be on the German language, so for me, that'll be what I'll do. There are also other courses that have been suggested as 'good to take' concurrently.
The German education system is totally free in all respects. Financially being the obvious one, but also scheduling. You scarcely have to register for any course. In effect you audit everything, then toward the end of a semester, you can declare on what courses of study you'd like to take an exam on. In theory you can 'study' for years and not write a single exam, making the whole system flexible for the student. One typical side effect is that many 'students' elect to be 'students' for many years, as the lifestyle allows for partying, no money is really 'wasted', since school only really costs €230 / semester, so many people pay this money so to have a student status, but never actually go to school. There are many discounts in Germany for students, and as I'm having to discover, one can live on very little in Berlin. So many people's part time jobs pay their way in a year. When I speak more German I think I will try to go this route. Perhaps take longer to pass my exams, but if I can get by without taking loans, why not?
I'm really getting excited about what the coming years may bring. It's really amazing the number of things a person can CHOOSE to do with their life, and how difficult it can be to choose at all, since you can't go back in time, and regrets lead to unhappiness. So, I have reverted back to an older theory of mine (that I had forgotten, from before the 'Vancouver Hell, before Maggie (the girl, and I suppose the cat)' era) that if there are 'cosmic forces' in the universe (aka God) that speak to us, they must have some language, some form of communication, and seeing as I don't yet have the schizophrenia to hear voices, there must be smaller, more subtle indicators. And so the theory is this - 'God' guides us by providing us lucky paths on which to walk. One can walk on any path they wish, but God provides us a path which gives us an unusual amount of luck, or the feeling of it at least. Follow the luck, and be led in the right direction, even if you don't know where the path leads. Nobody truly knows what the future brings, right?
But first, the future brings winter. Winter is gonna suck in Berlin. It's already getting cold, and they don't have those modern R2000 homes here. We have single-pane windows and poor insulation, and small budgets so to not go crazy on the heaters here. Plus, right now I'm home alone for another week, and wouldn't know how to use the heaters anyway. I'm saying my hands are cold, that's all.
So my 'class' is highly international. I'm the only native english speaker in the class, the next being a cool Israeli guy with a barely detectable accent (he also lived in Toronto, and loves Canada! of course... funny how you have to leave to become patriotic... it's a function with proportionality dependent on how different the language and customs are methinks...). There is also a nice Norwegian guy as well, whose English is good and so he heard all about my newfound love of Norway. We have people from Sri Lanka, Venezuela, Colombia, Russia, Greece, China, Nigeria, and some other countries. The common language is Airport English right now, to be replaced with Immigrant German in 6 months' time. I don't know if it'll be harder to understand the Chinese speaking English or German, but the latter kills me to imagine. Ich liebe dich, kleiner gelb Mensch...
That's it for me today. Hope you're all well. Email me sometime. You folks still readin' this?
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