The Red Carpet

So, tonight I experienced my first Red Carpet event (and by this I mean I watched others arrive on the Red Carpet, not arrive on the Red Carpet myself). My friends Michaela and Dan and I went to a place called Potsdamer Platz this afternoon hoping to explore the area a little and see a movie tonight in the theater there that plays movies in English. It's a pretty hip place with really nice, new buildings and a mall with some pretty nice stores. We walked into the movie theater when we first got there to see what times the movies were showing, and when we arrived there were no movie times displayed anywhere! So, we walked up to the desk to ask them which movies were playing and when and they gave us a program and we opened it and there were no movies playing today! And we asked the guy why there weren't any movies playing today and he said that it was just starting tonight and that there would be movies all this weekend and next week. And then we remembered, it's the week of the Berlin Film Festival, called Berlinale. And apparently, they use all the movie theaters in Berlin to show the movies for the festival. So, we were pretty bummed because we were all in the mood for a movie.

So, we walked outside and ended up running into another girl in the program named Meredith, who told us she was going to see all the actors and actresses arrive on the Red Carpet a couple of blocks away. And we had absolutely no idea that was going on. So, we all walked over to the place where they had set it up and staked out our spot right by where the cars pull up (but it was pretty far away from where the stars actually got out and took their photos). It was fun because I've never been at a Red Carpet event or whatever, so that was fun to be one of those people with their cameras craning their necks to see someone all dressed up and glamorous. Unfortunately, we only saw two people that we actually knew/recognized: Tilda Swinton (the White Witch from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) and Clive Owen. We also got interviewed by some news lady covering the action, but I doubt we'll make it on any real footage. She asked us who were excited about seeing and since we didn't really even know who was supposed to show up, we were just like "anyone from the States that we recognize!" Haha, silly Americans.

This morning my class went on a field trip to Ikea to learn furniture names and ask customers what their favorite pieces of furniture were. Michaela and I were super excited that we got to go to Ikea for German class because we were planning on going there on our own for fun sometime anyway. And, I got a pillow to add some extra fluff to the easily deflated feather pillow that came with my apartment. Ikea was pretty sweet and I had fun seeing all of their furniture and decorations. I'm excited that there is one opening in Charlotte!

Last Sunday, I went to a church called Reset, and I really liked it! It was a small church, and they meet in a room that looks like a coffee shop. It's really cozy and they have a bunch of tables and chairs set up and one corner has a screen and is where the band and preacher stand. I liked the worship band, and we sang some songs in English and some in German. I was really excited because I understood a lot more of the German songs than I thought I would. And I learned some new words through them. The sermon was good as well. But what I liked the most was that the people were really friendly! They have a lunch buffet after the service on the first Sunday every month, and so we got to stick around and meet and talk with some people. We met some Americans and some Germans, so it was a good mix! We met one couple that works with the youth group at the church and some of the high schoolers that attend. Aaron is American (from Michigan) and his wife, Miriam, is half American and half German, but she grew up in Germany.

It turned out that they were taping the Superbowl that night and watching it on Monday evening, so they invited us to come. So, Dan and I went over to their apartment to watch the Superbowl and there we met the rest of their Life Group (small group Bible study), which consists of 2 young German couples and a young single German guy. It was fun to watch the Superbowl and talk with them! Unfortunately, the channel that showed it in Germany didn't show the American commercials with it, so I didn't get to see any of those! And let's be honest, I talked more than watched the game. And they invited us to come to their bible study on Friday nights. I felt really invited and welcomed, and I was excited to feel like I could get plugged in and connected without even really trying. I'm really excited about the possibility of experiencing this community while I'm here!

I asked one of the girls in the group, Stefi, if she thought that the churches in Germany were dying and she said they were definitely not dying! The traditional ones, like the old Catholic and Protestant churches, she said were only really attended by old people. But she said that newer churches were definitely alive. It was exciting to get to talk with her about that.

And, in case you were wondering what German television plays at 4:30 in the morning after the Superbowl ends (Germany is 6 hours ahead of the US), I am happy to inform you that it is a television show in which they mounted a camera on the front of a train and it just rides through Europe. There's no music, just an occasional honk from the train. I think it would actually help you fall asleep if you were watching it at 4:30 AM. It was quite mesmerizing and relaxing.