Shit. I don't speak German

Don't get me wrong, I knew that before I came here, but I never realized how much I don't speak German until we got off the train in Hannover (a non-tourist area that was our first stop in the country). We stayed the night there in a super cheap hotel with pretty sweet bunk beds, but it was a humbling and frightening experience getting to the hotel, which was about 18 km away from the train station in a very poorly lit area. And by poorly lit, I mean pitch black in the woods, with only a hint of a McDonalds sign peaking through the leaves.

Sure, all the signs in Holland are written in Dutch (which is why I got us lost while on our bike ride) but EVERYONE speaks English. It was foregin language lite. Luckily, here in Berlin, when I ask, "Sprecken sie English?" people say "Not so good," which I feel is similar to when a Spanish speaker asks me if I habla Espanol and I tell them, "mas o menos." They at least know that I want change for a 5€ note, which is more than I can say for all the employees at the main train station in Hannover.

But it's nice to be stationary for a week here in Berlin. I unpacked a little, and actually went to the gro sto just now so I'm able to get my first home cooked meal in a few weeks.

(Special note: The keyboard here is way different. For starters the y and z are switched. Also thez have ö ä ß µ and §. I know what ß is; it's an ess tset, and it sounds like a double s. So Straße is pronounced Strass-eh, and means street to you and I. Look at me, Eich bin ein Berliner.)