Open Air Cinema & Salvador Dali

Hello there!
Time here has been flying by. It has been so hard to do everything I'd like to in just two weeks! Plus I go to school from 2pm-6pm everyday.. Went to the Open Air Cinema with two friends last night. We got very lost and took some turns down some etchy sketchy dark streets, but in the end we followed the loud noise and found our way! I have to say it was very much worth all the wrong turns in the end because we made it and it was such a cool experience! The weather was lovely, we cracked open a couple bottles of vino and ate jellybeans. It was definitely one of those self aware moments where I gazed away from the screen, looked at my surroundings and thought, "wow, I am very, very grateful to be where I am right now, with these wonderful people". Going off on a tangent.. I forgot to mention earlier that when I arrived here in Germany they told me I wasn't in the group! Apparently I accidently got deleted from the database-not my fault at all. So now they are working out all the gliches because they only have 29 plane tickets to Milan on Monday yet there are 30 of us! (Me being the child left behind #30) tear... haha. How bad would that have been if they had no record of me being apart of this group? I was like uhm I paid and went to orientation and I'M HEREEE!? (laughs) but it's all working out, they're able to pull some strings and undo the mistake. This morning before class a bunch of us went to the Salvador Dali Museum. I hadn't known who he was until today and now I am obsessed! Not only do I have a fascination with moustaches, but also his talent is remarkable. He was an artist in so many ways-painter, writer, filmmaker, cartoonist, sculptor, etc. etc. the list goes on. I was very much inspired however, I'm sadly not very artistic myself. I have an essay on a scene from a film due Friday I better get off to working on. PS if anyone noticed how I said "the weather is lovely", that is because I was in an organic store yesterday buying a snack inbetween classes and asked the woman working if these vegetable chips were good and she replied with, "Personally, I think they're quite lovely". She said it in such a dream-like voice it sounded so adorable that I've decided to begin using that phrase more often. Haha, laugh at me all you want but it isn't something I've heard often from my own generation and I like it!
Ciao!
-Brittany C.
P.S.S. Eleven pounds of Nutella, baby.

"indie"?

Hallo!
What a weekend we've all had here...
Went to a bar Friday night where I met a fun group of german hipsters and had a great conversation about the differences between America and Germany. The main consensus has been that Europeans see Americans as of course fat, religious, racially biased, stuck up and sloppy! Yahoo... : / Met a British/German guy named Steven who was fun to talk to. We had a hilarious conversation about what being indie means here and it seems to be the same. As he put it.. It is a compliment and an insult at the same time to be called indie (similar to the US I'd say), because it is saying you're cool but at the same time are trying too hard to be cool and unique therefore you inevitably are not unique anymore. He also told me German indies wear colored jeans and tight shirts that have English words on them. Apparently English is "cool" and when you compliment a European on their English they are very happy! I've met many Swedish people here and have noticed they have perfect English. I discovered the reason that is is because they don't dub movies in Sweden so they are in English with Swedish subtitles. So, from hearing English spoken so often through American movies they have developed very good English! Interesting huh? Everyone here watches Friends and How I Met Your Mother! Haha, bring it up and they will go a-wol. Germany is so much more environmentally friendly than the U.S. They don't bag your groceries at the store, you must buy each bag. Also, you must pay a euro for a cart and then you get it back once you're done so that they aren't stolen (laughs). Went to a gay club last night! Had way too much fun. It is refreshing to be able to dance at a club and not have men hitting on you every second. They payed American music the entire time. I often hate on Lady GaGa but I must admit that I see what she has done for the gay community now. Seeing them all singing "I Was Born This Way" and having fun, not having to worry about what society is saying about them was inspiring. I was quite impressed with how all the Europeans in the club new all the lyrics to our music! Saturday we went to an Egyptian museum, it had an eerie vibe to it, lots of coffins! Check the pic. Time to go read more, will upload lots of pictures from the past week onto facebook later tonight.

Rainy Day!

It is pouring rain here! And very windy, but that isn't stopping us from going out and experiencing the city life. Went on a tour of Berlin yesterday, saw so many gorgeous buildings and people. Did I mention how everyone is attractive? Haha! No wonder so many models are foreign... I'm meeting so many people here, and not just people from Berlin, but people who live all over the world from Spain to France to China, etc. One thing I have been noticing the more I meet other people is how we communicate as humans with other people who do not speak our same language! It is amazing how two people speaking two completely different languages can actually understand one another through hand motions, facial expressions, symbols, writing, etc! Thumbs up seems to be a hand motion understandable in most cultures, however a friend told me in some countries it is like their version of the middle finger! Whoops, gotta be careful. I met a couple french boys who said I wrote "like a computer", by this meaning not in cursive. They were cracking up at my handwriting and were so surprised not all Americans write in cursive. Anyways, I keep forgetting I'm here for school and am getting behind on my reading so I better go catch up.  PS TOMS shoes in the rain is a no-go! Felt like I was sloshing around in wet socks all day. haha.

First night in Europe!

Here it is! For all you people who when I mentioned was going to be living in Europe for 5 months said, "ooo make a blog!" This is my first post that I am posting from Berlin, Germany from my lovely hostel. Just got back from a night of exploring the city and am already seeing the differences between here and California. The most noteworthy and obviously important difference, is the shoes people wear! Hence the title "From Santa Cruz to Fancy Shoes". No matter where you look, what the age of the person is, or what you are doing everybody has the greatest shoes! Ha! I mean I was warned that in Europe people look at your shoes before they look at your face, but never have I fully understood that quote until experiencing the taste and class that Europeans present themselves with on every street. Speaking of streets... A prostitute pulled my friends pony tail on the side walk! It's a long story and I am much to tired from the 15 hour plane flight to delve into it right now, but I will try my best to keep this updated and semi-interesting for all my friends and fam. PS a group of new friends and I went out to dinner tonight and they laughed at me for using a straw with my giant 1/2 liter beer! The waiter laughed at me when I asked, only to return minutes later with a purple straw, hence, the picture. Anyway, stay tuned for pictures of the beautiful city and many stories to come.

Guten Tag!
Brittany C.