and she's back!
Quick!July + later part of June = Uganda + Western Europe = completely, totally, absolutely worth it.
Sorry I haven't been updating much. It has been an amazing experience that on my last day in Europe, I was filled with much dread at the thought of coming home.
But ah, anyway Berlin -- stayed a bit longer than I thought and didn't make it to Dresden, what a pity but still... I am so glad to have hung out with locals. I did the least touristy things in Berlin and I don't regret it. I will always remember the sunset birthday picnic at Mauerpark, treasure-hunting at second hand stores and weekend flea markets, an impromptu invitation to have a home-cooked meal by an East German guy with a penchant for Cuban hats (the food was good!), the Berlin wall (not the East Side Gallery -- now that was rather touristy), British Council (heee -- well, the European summer heat wave proved too much to me at times and it was lovely to sit and read something in English), being beaten twice whilst playing scrabble in English by Adrian - West German boy, hanging out with Jenny, hearing personal experiences of when the Berlin wall came down but my favourite stories are from the East Berliners describing what their lives were like before the Wall came down... surreal, listening to bad German karaoke, dancing to 90's music in strange German disco, weird German come-ons (he heee), Alster!, Berliner? (not so much), Alster...., learning to open beer bottles with a lighter, chatting with a young homeless guy about life on the streets, who then later gave me his e-mail addresses (not one, but two!!) because he wanted to keep in contact, neked German men in city parks (eeeeeeeeuuuugggh, not so much!), reading Lady Chatterly's Lover in a really lovely Berlin garden, breakfast ritual of yoghurt and fruit in a nearby park where I lived, that hip alternative pub where young Germans in dreadlocks and hemp clothing brooded over large glasses of beer, Turkish food!!...
Gosh I don't think that's all of it and I still haven't gotten to Paris!!..
Oh Paris... oh la.. I loved it so.. Paris deserves its own entry.
It is quite bizarre to be back and feel the reality of home. Uganda, oh uganda especially and my Europe trip feels surreal. Has it already been two weeks since I've arrived?? And already I'm thinking of South Africa.. the destination I had initially planned for this trip but had to miss out on..
I have to go soon -- I just bought a guidebook on SA today!
Hey, you can't blame me for wanting to leave so soon.. the haze has been so bad these past couple of days. And it ain't all the Indonesians' fault! Honestly, people -- wake up and get out of your privileged small city life and into the rural areas, we're causing our own mess -- so stop whining about the Indonesians!
posted by Cayce @ 7:04 PM
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