Off to Amsterdam :)

In just a few hours, M and I will be landing in Amsterdam. I am super excited to be going back to Amsterdam - it is one of the most eclectic and exciting cities I have ever visited. Last time I was there, I biked the city and spent most of my time outdoors; but now that it is winter, public transportation and hanging out inside the coffee shops is how my time will be spent. Per usual, I will record where I go and places I see. Any additional information you (my readers) want, please feel free to send me an e-mail at risssa@gmail.com

I hope this Amsterdam excursion will bring happiness and calmness to my hectic life. I have felt overwhelmed recently - with being in a country that I do not speak the main language, to waking up early to go to an internship where I am not being challenged enough, to just feeling a little sick due to the winter weather. I feel the tides are changing :)

I wish everyone a Happy Winter and to enjoy their time with family and friends.

Updates soon to come!!

BTW, everyone should wish that our plane does not get delayed. Knock on some wood. Throw some salt over your shoulder. Whatever works. The weather conditions are getting me nervous - especially since my plane ride to Berlin never actually landed in Berlin. My plane situations are not the best but I am totally hoping and wishing for the best - hope you all do too!

Triad: the Internship

As of tomorrow and me signing the papers, I will be an intern at the company Triad - located in Berlin. I am super excited for this opportunity. I have been hesitant to find a "real job" but the ones I have been interested in are communication and public relations oriented - this job is in both fields. The job also lets me use the Politics and Philosophy majors I studied.

Since the internship is 3 months long, I will need to look into getting a residence visa. Germany allows USA citizens to stay in Germany for up to 90 days - and I will be in Germany around 2 weeks over the alloted time. It is not SUCH a big deal (I am assuming) but I would rather be safe than sorry. I need to find a real paying job so I can pay rent and food... :(

Real life is harder than it seems. Real life. I thought all life is real but I am finding out that living on your own money is a very different life than living off someone else's money. Anyways I am excited for the internship - although I cannot share details about what goes on during it (contract forbids me to) - and I will try to keep you all updated on how it is going and new things I learn. Tschues! (Bye in German)

Correction

U-bahn not U-bon.

Berlin: Week 1 - 2

Finally back to blogging. I am currently living at Legiendamm in Berlin, Germany - the apartment is overlooking where the Berlin wall once stood. Berlin is filled with so many types of people and nationalities and personalities - old women with bright blue hair, little girls with big nose piercings, teenage boys with multiple holes throughout their face - pretty much there is just a huge eclectic scene of people. Punks, anarchists, musicians. In the U-bon, you will see people from all walks of life - lawyers sitting next to the homeless sitting next to a man playing the banjo sitting next to regular people. There are so many musicians - it is wonderful. Almost every times I am on the U-bon, a musician gets on my section/wagon to play for a few Euro. I love the diversity of music and people. I went to an underground rap battle place - it is called the cypher where people pass around the mic and rap to each other and people around. Once a night, they play battle games. It was really neat. I did not understand every rapper since they rapped in German - but they rap so fast that M does not even understand what they say. I also went to two concerts at Quasimodo (where M works) - I saw SouLive and 55.

This past weekend I went to 2 Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas markets) - heaven for me! Hundreds of different stands selling little trinkets, food, games, and anything related to Christmas. I love trinkets so these markets are the place for me. We went to to Gendarmenmarkt - which is located in a famous square in Germany. Gendarmenmarkt is the nicest Weihnachtsmarkt - and it costs a Euro to enter which is very uncommon for the Christmas markets. There was a stand inside that let you literally try every thing they had (balsamic vinegars, mustards, salsas, and alcoholic drinks) for free. I tried every flavor of balsamic vinegar and mustard, and tried a couple salsas. I was nervous to drink too much of the alcoholic beverages due to my tendency to break out in hives from alcohol. We bought Gluehwein which is a hot red wine - known in Germany during Christmastime - it frequently contains alcohol of choice (amaretto, rum, gin). Yum yum.