Mecklenburg weekend= canoeing + DDR dance party!

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  Neustrelitz, Germany
Friday, October 6, 2006

We spent the weekend in this little East German town in the state of Mecklenburg, up north. It was so lovely, we had these little cottage-like apartments and even though it felt like we were in the middle-of-nowhere compared to Berlin, there was a feast of very yummy pork (I wish I had taken a picture of the pig in the fire pit, it was quite impressive) on Friday night and a dance party on Saturday night in celebration of the history of the DDR (East Germany), quite a lot of townsfolk showed up to! Plus we watched an interesting, to say the least, Dutch movie about a socialist commune and its trials and tribulations in comparison with their "boring" bourgeois neighbors. I found it interesting how our group similarily took part in this communal experience after just watching a film depicting one. Anyways, just a couple of relaxing days away from the city that we all could really use, I'm sure!
My favorite part of the small town was just the incredible ancient feeling, but instead of grand government buildings like the city, it's in the form of cozy little homes and farms. So many buildings and properties try to duplicate this old smalltown Europe feel in America and I have finally seen the original, and it's quite a knock-out of a sight!
My goal is to write much more because my Berlin experiences have multiplied since my last entry, and I never mentioned them! Afterall I've been to my first Europe FOOSBALL game (so much enthusiasm and craziness!!!!), experienced more of the glory of shopping, eats of all kinds, bars of all kinds, clubs in Berlin and in no fewer words, it's been awesome. All this, combined with an intense reading schedule and lectures are giving me such a profound new perspective on my life in the baby of the world, America. People do indeed lead very, very different lives than us here and are doing quite well, and it's astonishing how different they are. And unlike us, to wave a flag for a German is very rare. Also, my continual discovery of how the people of Germany can deal with their shaky past is quite striking and takes on so many forms with the architecture, this has been my favorite aspect of my coursework. I am picking up more German, and talking an interesting half-English half-German talk with the locals I meet. Ohhh, and how I can forget, the American music they play at bars, clubs etc. are hilarious! They're in love with all these hits of the 80's and 90's I haven't heard in ages, and that new song "SexyBack" YUCK. But the German songs are quite beautiful, I'm getting more into the soft-rock variety.
Back to unpacking and "de-weekend'ing!" My roommates and I held a party Thursday night in our place, it was quite the hit, and it gave us to chance to define our space more! I am loving my "home in Berlin" more and more.
Take care! More from me SOON! It's starting to rain! Oh, and there are plans in the works for a trip to Rostock and Dresden, and Scotland's still on.

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Beautiful countryside	Bins of really cheap cigs	Christmas cookies!!	Coming in for a landing
Details	Entrance to our village	Fall leaves	First views of German countryside come into view
Friendly village kitty	grocery shopping	Lindenalle! (Linden = lime tree)	More rustic simplicity of Deutschland
Out on the water	Reviewing pictures	Roommates on the patio	Waiting for the bus

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