And yet another week begins

It’s the start of another week. It’s now week 4 for me here in Berlin.

I had a wonderful, wonderful weekend, so much so that my body was aching when I woke up this morning. My arms and legs felt as though I had run 4 marathons. All the walking, climbing of stairs and taking pictures finally took their toll! Lol! But it was worth it.

The staff at the office are at their staff planning meeting for the next two days, so it’s only the legal trainees who are here. Doesn’t feel like there’s much difference coz it’s always quiet anyway. I spent the whole day going through a case. It was only 12 pages and yet…!

The sky looked cloudy when I was at the bus stop this morning but I saw the sun peeking through the clouds. However, as soon as I reached the office and got settled, it started raining! Sighs…it was raining all morning and even through lunch.

I managed to chat with my family during lunch today. J But of course this time, the soundcard wasn’t working properly and both sides sounded like aliens. Lol! Still…it was nice to be able to chat even if it was for a few minutes.

Also, I have learnt 50 German words so far! Not bad I should say, even if 17 of those words come from the days of the week and the numbers 1 – 10. :p Still trying to string my first sentence but I don’t know anything about the rules of grammar in German. Hmmm…

I left the office early today. I only found out as I was leaving that there were only 3 of us in the office as some trainees decided to work from home; while others came and left early. Maybe I should do that tomorrow; after all, there is this cinema thing on Wednesday that only starts at 7pm and God knows what time that will end, as the director of the movie (Abortion Democracy) will be there as well.

Anyway, I went to the second hand bookshop and browsed around. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the book I was looking for; neither did they have any interesting books. I’ll have to go to the other one on the other street.

Today I visited yet another museum: the Jewish Museum. The outside of the building was impressive. But honestly, besides the part of the museum that showcased the Holocaust period, I personally found it quite boring as it gave such a detailed account of the Jewish history. One room that I found really impressive was actually an empty room, with no heating or light. You entered the room and closed the door and let your imagination go wild. It was designed by the artist for a free interpretation of the room, to let you experience (or not) how the Jewish people felt while in concentration camps. That room evoked all negative feelings; fear, despair, anguish, loss, for me at least.

One funny thing that happened: a worker in the museum asked if I could speak French or English. Then he asked me what country I was from coz he couldn’t decide between Malaysia and Indonesia. When I said Malaysia, he was still skeptical coz he said I have the Indian look and asked if I could speak Hindi or Gujerati. Lol! And apparently…I have an accent when I speak English. I also minted my own coin and found out my name in Hebrew!!

We headed home after the museum as it was already late and we had yet to eat dinner. I had my first doner kebab today!

The only thing left that I REALLY want to see is the Berlin Wall. That is something that MUST be done before I leave, else I would not have ended my trip properly.

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