Today we had two really interesting speakers. The first one presented EU- policies on migration and which impact the crises has/ had on this sector. The other speaker raised the important issue of the connection of migration and the media. She is herself a Maltese journalist, who is really critical in the use of mass media and its perception. I really liked that lady!

So, off I go. Have to do some shopping in the city.

I just arrived in Turin some hours ago and I am already loving it . Ah, this city is so alive! There are so many people in the streets on a Sunday evening, enjoying their ice cream while roaming around. I love the Italians- they talk loud supported by gestures, they drive crazy and they are so friendly and helpful (not only men! ).

Ok, most of you, I guess, don´t even have a clue what I am doing here. Well, I applied for a summer course in the field of human rights and migration and I was accepted. So, here I am and tomorrow starts our program  at 9am. Then I will know more what we are going to learn here.

I share a room with two other girls. One is from Italy and the other one half German half Algerian, but lives in Brussels and I think that we fit really well together. The villa, we are staying at, is situated on a mountain, so we have a wonderful view on Turin, which is right below us. Just a minute ago Turin welcomed us with a firework, which was beautiful to look at from above. I will keep you updated and tell you in my next entry, what I was up to in the last three months…

Good night!

Last week I had some new experiences, I wanted to share with you.

Monday, when you start a new week, is the best time for new experiences. So I promised my boyfriend, who is a Buddhist, that I will join him for a lecture by Lama Ole, his former teacher. I worked till half past five, so I had to run to be on time, while I had to fight tiredness. The lecture was at the University of Arts in one of the auditoriums, which was quite big. I assume that around 700 people fit into the room. When I arrived, I had a strange feeling, because it was like entering a society you do not belong to. I saw the people there and thought: oh, so looks a Buddhist!   This is weird, because you cannot see if someone is a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, an Atheist, a Communist, a Buddhist, etc… I thought maybe they will look more alternative, but all kind of people where there. Lama Ole explained the history of Buddhism and what it is about. I realized that I already knew a lot, because we had a very good teacher at school, who taught us the most important things about Buddhism.  (Thank you, Mr. Leptien!) The lecture lasted over two hours and in the end people could ask questions and the whole room meditated. For me, as a non- Buddhist and non- meditating person, it was a bit weird, but also impressing. It has a certain energy, when a room full of 700 people says “om” or “am” or sings a mantra (I think it was one, but I am not sure). It kind of reminded me of a service in a church, when people sing the prayers. During the lecture I always tried to find out if I am interested in Buddhism and if I could be a Buddhist and what it is all about. In the end I decided that Buddhism is something, which is already in me combined with my catholic belief. I realized that the most important thing for many people is to be a part of something and in this case 700 individuals share the same philosophy. In the end we could come to Lama Ole to receive his blessings. I did not want to go, but my boyfriend wanted me, so I went with him together. He said that this is one part of these lectures you should not miss. When it was our turn, Lama Ole blessed us, touched my head and said: sweet! hahaha… He, I am NOT sweet!

The lecture was followed by another new experience on Tuesday: I attended a Yoga- class! Since I have real problems to stretch my limbs, I decided some years ago to attend ballet classes, which really helped and it was always a lot of fun. Here I have a gym contract, where I also can attend gymnastic classes, which I really avoid to do- till last Tuesday. The first hour we were  stretching, which was really exhausting. Because Yoga has a hindusitic background, we did some “meditation”: we had to stuck out our tongue and roar like a lion, we made some breathing exercises and in the end we just lay there and relaxed. After the lesson I decided that Yoga is not made for me and that I better stick to volley- or basketball  and  Ballet. At least I gave it a try…

The Easter holidays I spent in Hamburg, which was very relaxing. To try something new, I decided not to take the train, but look for someone in the internet to give me a ride. My supervisor at work always uses this opportunity and told me that it is totally safe and the cheapest way to travel. I really found a guy, who offered a ride to Hamburg. He told me where and when I had to come to meet him and on Thursday I drove there. We were three guys and me in the car, of which the driver and another one were colleagues and from Hamburg. The third one was from Berlin. I have never done this, so I did not know how to behave: chat or not, can you sleep? In the end I slept and read my book till he dropped me off close to my parent’s house. On my way back I got a ride by a really nice woman and another girl. We were chatting more or less the whole way to Berlin. My conclusion: there are no behavior rules!

In Hamburg I met friends, went to the opera (Rossini: ” Il babiere di sevilla.” – very funny, lovely music) and ate a lot of chocolate. I really enjoyed it with my brothers and parents.

Hope you are fine! Biz Kathi

Mh, what else can I tell you? I have to work every day and I don’t really like it, because my throat does not stop hurting, which is bad when you work  on the phone.  Well, I write applications, read a lot and eat a lot

I planned to come to Vienna, but I am not so sure anymore. I could not get holidays when I wanted and now I am still waiting for the ok…

The weekend was relaxing: Saturday we went to the zoo, because it is quite famous for Knut, the little ice bear. Only that Knut is not so little anymore. The zoo is ok, but far too small and I feel pity for all those animals. They do not have enough space in their cages, because there are too many animals in the zoo.  It was still nice to be in a park and watch all the little kids playing around fascinated by the animals. It is so sweet

In the evening we invited our neighbours for dinner over, which Jesco cooked -  Indian food It was a really nice evening with a lot of wine and yummy food. I like the thought to have neighbours to have a chat with and that you have someone in the house you like.

On Sunday we got even more food- we had brunch with Stefan and Bülent at Kuchen Kaiser. The buffet was huge and only for 10 EUR!!! I ate definitely too much In the evening then we went for dinner with Jesco’s dad (which I met the first time ) and afterwards we went to the Berliner Ensemble to see: “Das Käthchen von Heilbronn”. It was very interesting to chat with Jesco’s dad, because he knows a lot about theatres and history.The play was short, but very good. The actress, who played the Käthchen, represented the 15- years- old girl and you really could see a young girl in front of you- it was well done! Fascinating…

Now, I am sitting at work and I am kind of bored. Today I promised myself to start looking for something proper. Keep your fingers crossed!

Hugs, Kathi

Pascal Mercier: Lea

Joanne Harris: Chocolat

Elisabeth George: A great deliverance

Simon Beckett: Whispers of the Dead, Written in Bone, The Chemistry of Death

Cornelia Vospernik: In China

Movies I watched:

Paul Merton in China (1-4)

Paul Merton in Europe (1-6)

The Horse Boy

Balibo (only half of it)

Today I go to the cinema: Avatar in 3D.

As I told you last week, I will be in Vienna over the weekend. It was sooo great to be “at home”, but I have to admit that I was happy to “come home” to Berlin, too… I left Thursday evening to Vienna and on Wednesday I got ill. Soooo stupid! Well, I had to cancel work for Thursday, because I felt so bad, but I still  had to catch my train. The ride to Vienna is via Dresden and Prague and takes almost 11 hours and I was ill and did not have a bed to sleep in Poor Kathi!

It was so good to see you all again! I learned that many of you in Vienna were disappointed that I left for Berlin so quickly and I am really sorry for that! I know I should have communicated my plans more clearly. The problem is, as you know, that most of my plans change very fast… hehe… Moving to Berlin was a process for me and not just an idea. At the same time, I did not plan to stay here for good, because I wanted to go to China or at least I should have gone there.  I decided against China, because I did not want to be far away anymore.  I know this sounds silly, but it was my best choice. I am happy with my decision and I am happy to be in Berlin. It is a really nice city! I also decided to visit Vienna more often that we can see each other regularly. Next time will be (hopefully) end of April and then end of May. But in the meantime I would be very happy to welcome you here

So, now about my weekend in Vienna:

On Friday I started packing my stuff for Berlin and in the evening I went to Christian’s party, which was really good. On Saturday I helped my brother in his new flat and in the end I was so tired that I had to sleep. On Sunday I was there again and on Monday I met every two hours another friend, which was great! Friday to Sunday I also met many friends and my bunnies. Only my bunnies could not remember me! They fled into their little house and one only showed me her butt, because she could not fit in properly The other one blocked her entrance!!! Actually, this is NOT funny! They don’t recognize me any more- not not good…

Since yesterday my boyfriend is back!!! YEAH!

Have a nice week

Biz Besos Bussi Kisses

As I told you I wanted to go to another concert on Sunday, which was in the Philharmonie in Berlin. Facade and shape  of the building are very modern, but modern in the 90s. I did not like it so much, but the inside is pretty cool. The audience is arranged in a circle around the stage, so everyone has a very good view. I also heard that the Philharmonie in Berlin has the best acoustics in the world (in Berlin?, in Germany?). This caused the problem that you could hear not only the music very well, but also every cough and rustling of the audience. The problem was that the concert was in the afternoon, so I had the impression that there were many people who normally don’t go to concerts. They were so turbulent- AHHHH! Every second someone coughed, shifted in their seats or in two rows further down they were kissing the whole time and cuddling each other! This is a concert, people! I was sooo angry about that… Well, the concert as such was really nice. Barenboim played well and in the end he had to play 4 or 5 encores.

After the concert, we went to a Tibetan restaurant, which was really good. I discovered that my neighbourhood is more or less Asian. At least there are many different Asian restaurants: I saw one Korean, two Tibetan, two Vietnamese and two or three Japanese (Sushi) restaurants. Now the question: where are the Asian people here??? I hardly ever see any Asian looking person, so my conclusion: Asian restaurants are hip in this hip neighbourhood. I further conclude that Austrian restaurants must be hip too, because there are two in one street!

By the way: this weekend I am in Vienna! More updates from there or afterwards.

Hope you are all well!

Bye bye