Schooling For My Daughter (and why it's kept me awake at night for years....)

 I think it must have started around the time my oldest daughter turned 3: the worries about what to do about school and where I should send her. We already knew we were zoned for one of the so-called "problem" schools in Kreuzberg (I'd rather not get into the details here, but anyone in Berlin will know what I'm talking about. If you read German, this interview addresses the issue very well.) The playground talk of some parents was that the school was improving. Others would shake their heads and click their tongues and then tell a story about the son of poor so and so or how they've heard this and that, the clear message being, Don't send your child there. But what to do?

 We love Kreuzberg and our apartment, so moving wasn't an option. Sending our daughters to even one of the less expensive private schools would still mean giving ps any small luxuries as well as family vacations. But schooling isn't everything. What kind of parents would we be if we made ourselves move to a neighborhood that bored us to tears or got ourselves into a position where we couldn't afford to visit my family in California for the next 6 years? Should we jump on the band wagon and register ourselves at a fake address zoned for one of the "better" schools or hire a lawyer to sue our way in? To be honest, we seriously considered both of these options. But in the end it just didn't feel right. The situation would be different if people didn't use these tactics and I didn't feel comfortable being part of the problem.

But there was more to my sleepless nights than just the issue of public schools in Kreuzberg: my other worry was whether or not I should send my daughters to a bi-lingual school. Although I knew they would learn English eventually in school, I would prefer them to learn to read and write in English early, to become friends with other English-speaking children, to be in a more international environment. But, since we had ruled out private schools (which also aren't exactly around the block...) sending our daughters to a bi-lingual school would mean at least a 40 minute commute through the city not to mention friends who all lived far away (and, of course, they are all very hard to get into....) When I was a child, my school was a 15 minute walk away, but this wasn't true for my youngest brother. I remember how isolated he was during summer vacation, with no friends in the neighborhood. I didn't want that for my girls.

About a year ago, an American friend of mine mentioned that the Carl von Ossietzky Schule near Südstern wanted to open an elementary school next year with a bi-lingual German-English offer (and no Einzuggebiet, so anyone could apply.) We walked past the school quite often on the way to dance lessons in Körtestrasse, so I knew it was a concrete fortress built sometime in the 70s and that some of the teenage students seemed a little rough. But it won't hurt to check it out, I thought, and I'm certainly glad I did. The staff was open and friendly, the building newly renovated, the concept good. They are interested in building up the bi-lingual concept and even working towards making it a true bi-lingual German-English Europa Schule (no guarantee, but there is a fairly good chance.) A school with a bi-lingual offer that is also only a 15 minute walk from our home? Hell, yes! We signed up.

School has been in session for several weeks now and we are still more than happy with our choice. The teachers and staff and great, the school is small (only two parellel first grade classes), and still feels separate even though it's on a much larger campus. The students are a true Kreuzberg mix of nationalities with no one group heavily in the majority. My daughter is happy to go there in the morning and happy when I pick her up in the afternoon.The only slight disappointment I've had so far has been with my fellow native English speakers. I've spoken to several of them who said they were interested and would jump on board once the school is truly bi-lingual. And the friend who brought me to the school in the first place? Her son got into JFK so she'll be sending him there instead. A vicious circle really, because the school won't ever become "truly bi-lingual" unless enough bi-lingual famlies come and say they want it. But I know there are a lot out there who would love to join but maybe just don't know about it yet. Like me, such a school, here in Kreuzberg, would be an answer to their prayers. I've set up this Facebook page to help spread the word, so if you or anyone you know is raising a bi-lingual child, please get in touch or come by the school.

 Worst case scenario? The school stays as it is, with English lessons 3 times a week, a great mix of nationalities, engaged parents, nice staff, and happy kids. Yeah, I could live with that. Either way, I'm definitely sleeping much better at night. :)

One Woman, One Camera, One Love

I had my two babies when I was ready to have my two babies and I've never regretted it. Still, what no one tells you before you get that bun in the oven is that, with small children, it will be several years before your life is truly your own again. If you're breastfeeding forget about going out at night because there's nothing like getting that "Come home now for a midnight feeding," call when you're hanging out in some swanky cocktail bar. Not that you will even have the energy for swanky cocktail bars or, indeed, swankiness of any kind because running after small children all day and dealing with tantrums and wiping little bottoms clean can take it out of you in a way that almost nothing else can...But now that my youngest, Little Li is finally in pre-school and (nearly) weaned, my life finally has some more room for, well, me.


Today I met up with Erica, a good friend of mine who is also an American ex-pat (a Michigander) who has lived in Berlin just a few months less than me (counting in at ten years, baby!) We strolled down Oranienstrasse, my old haunt and still where she currently hangs, where I relived old times.


Oranienstrasse is still in Kreuzberg, but it's Kreuzberg SO36, not Kreuzberg 61 where I live. For anyone who knows San Francisco, the difference between the two areas is like the difference between The Mission and Noe Valley: one is grittier, more intense, younger and quite hipster-filled while the other is a bit older, with organic food loving parents of small children who still want to live an urban life. Although I still go to Oranienstrasse sometimes, I mainly spend my time in Bergmann and Graefekiez, so spending the afternoon there is like visiting an old friend. And with my camera in hand...




I peeked in at Bierhimmel, a gay run cafe with an 80 percent gay clientele where I used to spend a lot of time. Just look at these gorgeous cakes they have there. Gooey and decadent but, unlike their American counterparts, none of them will be sickly sweet. If I weren't trying to loose a bit of weight this summer, I swear....;)


Afterward Erica and I headed for Bateau Ivre, a very hip cafe with good coffee and tapas and, also, notoriously bad hipster service (when we asked the waiter for the bill he mutter a very surly "Sure." and then disappeared for at least 20 minutes. Ach, Berlin!) We had lots of good girl talk there...


...and drank some good coffee....


...and did some good people watching through the large window open onto the street.



When I went to the bathroom I took a self portrait in the mirror, a habit that has a well-established tradition for me at Bateau Ivre (the second picture is a self portrait I took in that very same bathroom circa 2005.)









After we had somehow managed to pay the bill at Bateau Ivre (they were lucky we just didn't walk out as we easily could have...) I went with Erica and sat with her as she had a Sushi special, delicious and only 5 Euros baby. Berlin, thank you oh so much for still being so ridiculously affordable....



After sushi, Erica and I wandered down Oranienstrasse which had now transformed itself....


...into Christopher Street Day. The second one this month. This one had the march.
















Happy CSD, happy freedom, happy shutter bugging and to all a good night. ;)

Two Years Berlin

There are basically two types of expats in Berlin: Those who came planning to stay for a certain amount of time (be it three weeks or a couple of years) and end up staying forever and those who do two years Berlin. Doing two years Berlin doesn't necessarily mean you stay exactly two years (though this would be the maximum). It just means Berlin is simply a way station of coolness where you can buy a straw hat and hang out in Mauer Park or cultivate some dreds and strum a guitar on Admiralsbrücke until you go back to where ever it is you come from where you can forever brag at parties that you once lived in Berlin.


Us old time expats can sometimes get a little bit grumpy about the two year Berlin expats. They rarely ever learn more than a little street German and don't really get involved in the culture here (I may complain a lot about German culture, but at least I know what I'm complaining about ;) ). In Berlin you can definitely live in a cultural glass bubble, where nothing you experience really affects you or changes your world view, something that seems all-too-typical with these two-year-ers. Still, we shouldn't be too hard on them. After all, Berlin is pretty damn cool, something I was reminded of last night when I took a little bike ride through Gräfe Kiez and SO36.


It was great to see people on the streets and along the canal, enjoying the warm evening of what had been a very hot and humid day.


I also liked the vibe at Manouche, a French creperie on Grimmstrasse. Cool, arty folks and a great jazz band playing on the street (I read a review online where an American complained that the service had been surly and ridiculously slow, something which is all too common in Berlin. When he complained the waitress said "Can't you see we only have two stoves?!?" He asked for a glass of wine on the house to make up for waiting so absurdly long and she basically laughed in his face. No my friends, in Berlin the customer is most certainly not king!)


To finish off the evening I had a burger and fries at the Turkish run Kreuzburger on Oranienstrasse. Seeing the guy below in a Deutschland t-shirt reminded me of what is starting today: The World Cup! Fussball fieber!!! I am not really a soccer fan, but the World Cup really is fun as it is country against country. I watched a ton of games last time and was really rooting for France. Plus, it makes me feel nostalgic because Miss Mia was a WM baby (Welt Meisterschaft in German, or is it written together? This can be confusing sometimes...), conceived sometime after the Finale. WM 4-ever. Go Germany!

Four Moments to the Left of Admiralbruecke

A couple of years ago I remember seeing a few people hang out on the Admiralbruecke on nice summer evenings to drink a beer, or maybe listen to a jazz band that had set up there. Now, every night, it is packed with people, probably until near dawn, unless the neighbors kick them off before the clock strikes midnight....

I waited there one evening for Jasper when we were first dating, when things were still shaky. Before Mia was conceived. Below are some self-portraits I took before he arrived. Crazy how different I looked then. So much younger somehow, though it was really only three years ago. A lot has happened since then. Births. A death. A marriage....



A few nights ago, after a great time with an old friend on an old street (Oranienstrasse), I wandered home across the bridge down the canal all by myself. Here are four of the things I liked the most.

1. People in Motion

°°°°Everyone going somewhere, no one in a hurry though some of them were fast°°


2. Evening Strolls in Slippers and Gowns

°°°Urban Krankenhaus, a frightening example of architecture gone wrong, is a large hospital right on the water. People hang out and peer over the canal with their i.v.s on wheels and in their robes and slippers. It took me a while before I realized the woman in this picture is one of them.


3. A Spanish Lover's Quarrel

°°°°°°A woman argued passionately in Spanish while people walked and rode on by. Spanish is a wonderfully sexy language even (or especially?) when spoken by someone angry.


4. Finding Beauty in a Baustelle

°°°In such a light everything looks beautiful, even a construction site that has stood there far too long....

One Thing I Love About Berlin

One thing I love about Berlin is, although it is a big city, you are never very far from nature. I took this picture in Baerwald strasse here in Kreuzberg in front of a grey, battered grade school building. But, in front, there is this field of green wild grass and flowers, beautiful but uncared for.

A Spring Day In Berlin-Kreuzberg 61 Told 15 Times Without Words