mandy with an m

last week i hosted my first exchange student.
her name was mandy, and boy was she german.
she reminded me a lot of myself when i first went to germany:
eager, pensive, limited and 24.
similarly she took way too many photos.


i showed her the joys of DC eating,
burgers and baseball games (thanks katie!).
she sure did like her salads though.
she also found hard-boiled eggs disgusting.
german!


we went to some museums and saw some art,
drank some pepsi and watched a hot dog being eaten.
i hope she likes american culture!


here's what i gave her when she came to visit:
photo book present, maps, towels and toiletries.
i tried to right all the wrongs that were
done upon me by my previous host family.
i made sure her privacy was maintained!
but nonetheless i have no idea how people host
for an entire year. good luck, mandy!

girl, whatchu think?

here are some obligatory photos of
black women staring at interesting art displays.
check out the (free) national museum of african art,
where circumcisions and head shavings stand side by side.



more info: http://africa.si.edu/

lieblingsfotos: anna

anna is visiting until the end of my time in berlin.
this involves dancing to electro music as often as possible,
drunkenly babbling in bed before sleeping at 6:30 am,
drinking excessive amounts of coffee and enjoying the remaining time.
it's nice to have her here!


brühl outing, short and stylish hair, also drinking coffee...


falafel eating, ridiculous conversations, wide-eyed excitement...


art exhibits, curiosities, more coffee...


and an openness to posing for bizarre photos!
enjoy sleeping in a tent :)

backtrack: one month!

wow.
can't believe it's been one full month since my mom visited!
time to update.


we toured potsdam, spent obligatory time with the host family,
and wandered the berlin streets in the last days of collld.
i oftentimes fell asleep on her bed,
stole breakfast from her hotel's breakfast buffet
(pictured above),
went to work and never went 'home' !!!


we also ate an excessive amount
including this pile of meat dinner from schögls
whatever we didn't finish we packed up
and ate later in her hotel room
after stealing plates and silverware from the hotel kitchen.


my mama knows how much i love almdudler.
also that's the last i'll see of my winter jacket for awhile
(she took it with her with the assumption the weather would soon be nice)
((she was wrong!))


i just think she's so cute.


it was a great trip overall and i miss her a lot!
i've kept myself busy since,
but i'll be seeing her again soon enough :)

bow legg'd comes to visit

for fouad's birthday we had curry pizza
at noodles on the brandenburger strasse.
his jacket got stolen so he's wearing one of mine.
i picked up some poop from my clogged toilet the next day.
the best weekend i've had abroad!