My German Club Virginity Has Been Lost

As I write this, I would like to note a few things. First, it's 5:20 am and I got home about 20 minutes ago. Second, the adrenaline is still running, which leads me to my third point of why I'm writing this now.

The night started off relatively quiet: I cooked dinner for Nils (my "tandem partner," aka language partner) and my two roommates. It was pretty simple; I just threw together some pasta sauce by adding some garlic, tomatoes, chicken, and some spices. Alex came over but didn't eat anything (she hates tomatoes...Schade!), and we all watched some crazy German TV together. There was this little kindergartner who could recognize single puzzle pieces, so the host of this show just pulled random puzzle pieces and asked him, "What's this from?" It was something you would see on Letterman as a stupid human trick, and all the little boy would say is "Ja." I said to Alex, "Hey, that's like us! Just 'ja' and everything is good!" to which she answered, "Yeah, now I can understand him!" Sad, but true. (Ok, a bit of an exaggeration, but nonetheless, close to the truth.)

Alex, Nils, and I left my apartment at around 10 and went to Cam's housewarming in Friedrichshain. We met some other Americans there (Zoey and Devin came later), a few Germans, and a weird Croatian. This Croatian guy was just all over the place and I know Alex, Zoey, and I just wanted to say, "Dude, chill out...calm down..." Nils left early, and then Zoey and Devin went to a club in Friedrichshain.

I went with Alex to Club 103 in Kreuzberg and met up with some people from my film history class, Julian, this-girl-whose-name-I-really-need-to-see-to-remember, and Julian's friend (a guy, but also named) Alex from Nürnberg. Alex's feet were hurting from the silly shoes she was wearing, so she only stayed for about a half hour before she left. The rest of the night, however, was chock full of dancing to techno and speaking German.

I didn't mind the music selection and I must admit that it grew on me as the night went on. I think the highlight of the night was a techno version of the Kaiser Chiefs' song, "Every Day I Love You Less and Less." It was especially cool because only a few minutes before, Julian, Alex, the girl, and I were talking about how we liked the Kaiser Chiefs. So it made it that much more exciting. Another musical highlight of the night was this techno band (?) of three guys that played a lot of stuff. Can't tell you what exactly it was, but it certainly was very danceable.

We managed to sit down and have a nice talk about various things, ranging from favorite movies to experiencing anti-American sentiments. I think the most interesting topic was when they asked me about 9/11. At that point, I just couldn't truly express what happened due to my lack of vocabulary. I think they understood me, and even so, I think they were really interested in what I had to say. I also found it interesting that they think Germany may be the next target for terrorism, after the bombings in Madrid and London. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

So all in all, I must say it was indeed a very good night. When we left the club at around 4:45 a.m., the music was still going strong, the dancing was still happening, and the drinks were still being sold, but we found ourselves in the crisp, clear night sneaking back home into the warmth of our beds. (Though I'm still not in mine yet) I never thought I would say this, but I really enjoyed clubbing. A lot of dancing was done, a lot of German was spoken (and in my opinion, not too badly!), and a good amount of alcohol was consumed. My eyes are growing heavy, and the adrenaline is coming down, but I will say this: I think a lot more clubbing will be done this year than previously thought.