Want to get a good sense of what a culture is like? Using your five senses is a good place to start. 

I've been learning quite a bit about Berlin culture just by watching. Here are some of my observations in pictures. 

“It’s not the word’s fault,” my German teacher said, as he explained to us why you shouldn’t say the word Führer.

“When someone says it [Führer], this is all we think about,” he said, drawing a toothbrush moustache on his face with his index finger and making the “Heil, Hitler” gesture.

In the dictionary, Führer has many definitions including, driver, guide and leader. Type “our guide” into Google Translate, and it generates, “unser Führer.”

It doesn’t take into account that Hitler used this title to refer to himself – a painfully negative association in the minds of many (if not most) Germans.   

A word is more than just its definition. It has feelings too.

It is only in hearing the word, listening to it, watching where it shows up (or doesn’t) and sitting down and exploring its nuances that I can truly start to understand it. 

I can tell you, for instance, that if you put other words in front of Fürher like Geschäft or Reise that it becomes innocuous. 

And in a very clear context, you might be able to get away with using it alone. I know that the word Leiter is a much safer choice if I want to talk about a leader. 

Now I know the word – at least in Berlin.

Sometimes the same word in the same language can have different definitions depending upon country, or sometimes even region or city.

When I traveled in Ecuador, my colleague Rachel and I wrote a children’s song titled, “Chévere,” which there meant, “cool.” When Rachel traveled to Guatemala, she learned that there, chévere meant “hot dog.” No longer was the song about how cool God was – it was now an ode to the Oscar Meyer wiener! Context is essential.

For as much as I may know having worked in other contexts, even cross-cultural ones, I can’t make assumptions.  I have to treat each one as a different being. A different living organism of people and culture that is complex and constantly changing.

One that bears both scars and beauty marks, bruises and brilliance, fear and hope. One that has a story, or rather many, that I need to hear, understand and feel, so that I can participate in the positive change happening in this city. 

Sometimes, I just need a bag of gummy bears to put me in my place.

It was the first time I was doing any significant shopping in Berlin. I was in the German version of Wal-Mart, otherwise known as Real. It was one of those shopping trips where the weight of the basket on your arm tells you it is time to leave. 

After grabbing laundry detergent, kitchen essentials and 20 other “essential” items, I make my way to the checkout, hoping that this would go quickly and smoothly.

Just as I am about to put my items on the belt, a young Berliner with her mom starts talking to me.

 I pick out the words, “bezahlen” (to pay for) and “Haribo” (the name for delicious German gummy bears). She holds up the bag of Haribo, and I assume she is asking me if I want to buy them.

I know that they are on sale, and I even grabbed a bag of a different variety. I don’t really need to stockpile gummy bears, so I tell her “nein” (no).

She looks at me with slight disbelief. “Nein?” she says back to me.

I shrug and start to put my items on the belt. I even toss a bag of Brussels sprouts over the gummies I was buying, lest she see them and take offense that I didn’t want her gummy bears.

Then I put the little divider down, and the girl behind me puts her bears on the belt. It is then that I understand…that I definitely misunderstood!

She was asking if she could go ahead of me because she was only buying gummy bears, not because she was trying to pawn them off on me. No wonder she seemed a bit shocked.

Here I was, looking like I might be a normal, polite Berliner, and then I won’t even let the girl with her mom pass in front of me to buy a single bag of candy. I must have looked like quite a jerk.

I rush out of the store, now very embarrassed, but not even knowing how to redeem myself. My German vocabulary won’t allow me to find the girl and tell her that I was sorry for being rude.

Then it dawned on me. That was grace. Neither the girl nor her mom glared at me. They didn’t say a single unkind word or start talking to the other customers or cashier about my faux pas.

I’m sure they were slightly annoyed (or very annoyed) to have to wait. But they didn’t say anything. They didn’t treat me as my actions deserved.

My goof became grace.

I never want grace because it means that I have to be undeserving. It means I have to screw up. And that’s not very comfortable.

I want to deserve what I receive. I want to be good enough. I’m not.

Living on this earth, I have learned not to expect this undeserved kindness from other humans. When I do, though, it is a reminder of the divine grace – the grace that is essential to my faith in Jesus Christ.

To the gummy-bear girl: Thanks for the grace memo. I hope that next time I won’t be that person in front of you in the checkout line. 

Ich wohne in Berlin. 

Translation: I live in Berlin. 

Now that my residence is registered, I can officially say that I live here.  Berlin is a large city with 12 districts. In my almost three weeks here, I have only really taken in a few cross-sections of the city. There is still so much to learn and get to know!

I started language classes the day after my arrival, and the website I am working on for the team needs to be launched by the beginning of March. So to say that it has been (and will continue to be)  a whirlwind might be an understatement. 

Snow has fallen multiple times since I arrived. I really wasn't missing the cold of North Dakota. The temperatures don't get nearly as frigid, but latitudinally I am four degrees farther north than where I grew up in Minot, ND. The latitude is almost on par with Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Berlin is very international, and this is more reflective in food choices than when I was in France. There are restaurants serving cuisine from all around the world. There are also plenty of German restaurants serving wurst, schnitzel and beer. 

My German doesn't go too much beyond basic questions and answers, but I am understanding more everyday and starting to get a handle on the three German genders of nouns (masculine, feminine and neutral). 

My new colleagues have been welcoming. I got to meet everyone during our all-staff meeting in my first week. We don't see each other all the time, but I have enjoyed getting to know them and the city better in everyday situations as they have invited me into their lives. 

It's hard to really sum up everything that I have been taking in. For now, I am trying to savor taking in a new city with new eyes (and ears, mouth and nose). First impressions are important.

"Home" is no longer a place. It is people. 

Minot, ND is home because my family lives there. Fargo-Moorhead is home because my community and church live there. Toulouse, France is home because some people I dearly love live there. I hope Berlin, Germany will also become home.

I got to visit a couple of my homes for the holidays. My travels took me to Fargo, ND; Minot, ND; Grand Forks, ND; Moorhead, MN; Minneapolis, MN (briefly); and Chicago, IL.

Sometimes you don't realize how much you miss people until you are there with them again. There is nothing that can quite replace the tangible presence of a loved one. Hugs. I had missed them.

I can't put into words how much it meant to be with all of you in the United States. You took care of me. You listened to my stories and my heart. You encouraged me. You fed me.  You brought me where I need to go. You believed in me. You gave to me. You prayed with me. You sent me revived and refreshed. Thank you!

Here are a few photos from my time with all of you:

I'm leaving on a jet plane, or rather, several, from the USA to France to Germany.

I will depart the U.S. on Jan. 10. I'll arrive in France on Jan. 11 to play my last clarinet ensemble concert (and repack my bags).  The next morning, Jan. 12, I will fly to Berlin. 

The transition is going to be pretty fast and furious, but I am ready to embark on this next adventure (or at least I will be in a couple weeks :)). If you want to know more, contact me.