Traveling to Italy

Tomorrow I head out to a new location with a new 'do.

I'm leaving early tomorrow morning to start my spring break trip to Italy, visiting Rome and Florence, and perhaps even some small towns for day trips. I'll be in Rome from Friday-Wednesday and Florence from Thursday-Saturday, returning to Berlin from Rome on Sunday morning. It will be a nice break, especially since it will be slightly higher temperatures.

Yesterday, as promised, I got my hair cut short. Not as short as I wanted or expected (especially since I brought in a photo) but it still turned out great! I also decided to go a darker shade of brown. The crazy colors that people voted for in the poll will come at the end of the semester. I'm going to keep you all in suspense about what I look like until I put up pictures from spring break, so look out for those.

So until I return from Italy.... Ciao!

The Beauty in Music

On Friday night I had the privilege of going to the Deutscher Oper and seeing The Magic Flute (Die Zauberfloete). It was simply fantastic. There was nothing negative to comment on; the stage sets were colorful and interesting, the singers had truly amazing voices, and the theme of the opera was playful and engaging. It was one of the best performances I have seen.

Often during the opera I would find myself getting swept up in the music and turning my thoughts to pleasant memories and scenes. When Pamina sang, "Ach, ich fuhl's, es ist verschwunden"(Ah, I feel it, it is gone), my heart just flooded over with peacefulness and traces of sadness and my thoughts turned to nothing articulate, just the desire to allow my whole body to feel the music. When the Queen of the Night sang her famous "Der Hoelle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" (The vengeance of Hell boils within my heart), I was, first of all, amazed at the power and beauty of the human voice, and second, surprised at how delighted I found myself.

Leaving the theater I began to muse over why music can take such a hold over us. During the opera I was enthralled, I could barely find the words to describe how the music made me feel but I knew that I wanted that feeling again. I think I have always been in love with classical music, from childhood to my college years. Recently, I remember attending a classical music concert by the George Mason symphony orchestra when Kate was still playing and just allowing myself to feel lost in the music. I haven't often had the privilege of going to hear famous philharmonics, but even Mason's orchestra let me feel the emotion of the music. Perhaps you have felt that before. What makes music so powerful?

In my current art history class we have spent time going over some philosophical writings on art. One philosopher we studied was Arthur Schopenhauer. Schopenhauer wrote that in the world of art, music should hold the highest honors. He explained that music is the highest form of art because the artist (or composer) is able to create something beautiful out of non-material, that is, the purely abstract. He called music "pure art", meaning that it cannot be visualized but can nonetheless evoke powerful emotions.

Music has that effect on me. While listening to the opera I could either watch the singers or close my eyes and the effect was the same: the music was captivating in and of itself. The dramatic highs and lows of the music could give me feelings of mounting tensions or catharsis. Try listening to Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings or Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in A Major (my two personal favs) and not feeling drawn in and surrounded by swirling melodies and emotions. Music allows us to feel a variety of emotions from the comfort of our seats.

This whole experience has made me reevaluate and newly appreciate the beauty and power of music.

Berlinale!

Right now is a very exciting time for the city of Berlin. It's Berlinale!

Berlinale is a world-famous international film festival that lasts almost two weeks. Most of the events take place in Potsdamer Platz, near the middle of the city, and home to numerous movie theaters. International celebrities and directors flock to Berlin to premiere their new films, ranging from documentaries to big-time blockbusters (Like "The Other Boleyn Girl"). Some of the girls in my program started whispering that even George Clooney is going to be here, although we haven't seen him yet. With or without seeing the rich and famous, Berlinale is definitely something to get excited about.

Theaters are selected from around the city to host different international films. There are films from Thailand, Japan, Iran, Sweden, Canada, Mexico, Britain, Egypt, and also some from the US. I have never been exposed to so many opportunities to see films in so many different language. What's even better about Berlinale is that most of the foreign films come with English subtitles. Score! So this event is really open to everyone.

Tickets are not too difficult to come by, although purchasing them usually involves long lines and disappointment when the film you wanted to see is sold out. You can only purchase movie tickets three days in advance of the screening. Ticket prices run between 7-10 Euro, which makes them affordable for poor students like me.

This weekend I got to see a Swedish film about a man being consumed by revenge after his girlfriend's death. This was a "Forum" category film, which means that the director came on stage after the screening and had a little interview and answered audience questions. It was so cool! The movie was alright (a little amateurish, if I may say so, but the director was young), but the whole experience was fantastic. You really can feel the excitement of Berlinale in the air, especially when walking around the middle of the city. People of all ages get into the spirit of the festival and it's contagious.

Today I went again to the ticket office and was able to get tickets to see a film by an Australian director, set in Pakistan, and spoken in Pashtu. It's about a young boy's struggle to determine which path he will take in life: following his father's profession of manufacturing weapons or following his dream of attending school. And this film is also in the "Forum" category which means the director will speak about the film afterward.

This is definitely a very unique experience and I'm so happy to be in Berlin at this time.

Faschingsdienstag

Fasching Tuesday, or rather, Germany's equivalent of Fat Tuesday. Like America's Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras, Germany too celebrates this time before the season of Lent. Carnival is celebrated the week leading up to Ash Wednesday, with the biggest celebrations happening on Rosenmontag, Monday, and today, Faschingsdienstag. The celebrations are the biggest in western Germany, especially the city of Koeln, or Cologne. Everybody dresses in silly costumes and drinks and parties and joins in the city parades. It is definitely a time of revelry and fun before the sobriety of Lent.

I had learned from my host-mom that during the last few days before Ash Wednesday, Germans load up on Pfannkuchen, or those yummy donuts also known as Berliners. They are either glazed or sugar-coated and their filling comes in a variety of flavors (although plum is the traditional filling). Yesterday I started to notice that all the bakeries and cafes brought out their best Pfannkuchens, ranging from the typical plum donuts (Pflaume) to the more exotic pineapple-filled (Ananas). Many of the bakeries even set up outside stands in order to quickly serve the masses of people who flock to buy these donuts in the last days of indulgence before Lent.

As a donut lover, I took it upon myself to eat some Pfannkuchen in order to get a good cultural understanding of why everyone is obsessed with these cute little donuts. And as a cultural observer, I took it upon myself to try different flavors: the traditional plum-filled and also the unusual pineapple-filled. Both were delicious! I think I understand why the Germans will accept any excuse to eat lots of these sugar-coated num nums.