Endlich: Ich habe eingezogen!

So I finally moved into my apartment yesterday with the help of Meredith and Alex. (Pic on the left is the view from my window with the U-bahn going by.) I don't think it could've went any easier, either. We took the bus one stop to Schlesisches Tor from Meredith's, then took the U-bahn one stop to Görlitzer Bahnhof. We walked the block or so to where I will be living until April 30th, when I have to move out. The room I am renting belongs to a 30-year-old law student, and I think she is away for the 6 months because she has studies to do of some sort. I'm living with two German guys, Pablo and Christian, so it will be good for using my German. I feel as if within the past two days that I've been here, I've used my German more than the whole month that Alex and I were in the hotel, but even so, it's a bit awkward still since I'm the "new roommate." Not to mention that I've been completely retarded and can't manage to open the damn door to the apartment. It's pretty difficult and I am determined to be able to open it by tomorrow evening on my own. (Yes, Pablo & Christian have both had to let me in, even though I have the key)

The past few days have been relatively uneventful otherwise, to say the least. I went to Ikea with Cam today and bought sheets and a pillow for my bed. I kept telling Christian that I was going to Ikea (pronouncing it "eye-key-ah") and seeing that he was confused, I said, "ee-key-ah?" which solved the problem. Oh, Ikea. No matter where you go in the world, as long as there is Ikea, there is cheap furniture and bedding to be bought. This other picture is of my room, but the furniture came with the room. It's not mine, obviously...But yeah. Ikea went well and Cam helped me pick out which pillow. I never realized that there were so many to choose from, but apparently there is.

I also went real grocery shopping and spent 20€ at Plus. I probably could've spent less if I hadn't bought bottles of shampoo & conditioner, but whatever, 20€ is still pretty good. I still find it really strange to have to bring your own canvas bags if you don't want to pay for another canvas bag or for a plastic bag. Germans are super environmentally friendly, I noticed, with the exception of my roommates who don't seperate their garbage like everyone else. The canvas bag I have says "Schützt unsere Umwelt!" (Protect our environment) with a turtle and a frog kissing under a rainbow. (And this next picture is the living room)

Some random observations about Berlin that I've made within the past month:
1. Everyone at home has a twin here. I've seen numerous people on the street almost thinking that they were someone from home. I'm not sure why this seems to be the case, but seriously. Both of my roommates strongly remind me of students at Middlebury.
2. Berlin is the smallest big city. I see the same people all the time on public transporation (ie: U-bahn, S-bahn), and it's not even at the same time. How is it possible? I have no idea. It's also really easy to run into people you know on the street. Doesn't happen often in New York.
3. People are really cuddly and openly affectionate here. Call me a prude, but I don't want to see people making out on the U-bahn (which has happened lots of times before). Seriously, whether it's a heterosexual or gay couple, there will be a lot of kissing, ass-grabbing, really intense eye contact, etc. involved.

So that's it for now. I've made other observations, but nothing worth writing about. I found these interesting.