On June 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy gave a speech at the Rathaus Schöneberg, just two blocks away from my homestay. In this speech, as a means to ease West Germans of their fear of an East German occupied West Berlin, JFK assured the West Germans that they should be proud of living in Berlin, just as the Romans were proud to be Roman. In this iconic speech of the Cold War, JFK stated, "Ich bin ein Berliner," to which all of the West Germans felt both pride and humor. While the word "Berliner," in JFK's case, was meant to mean a person who lives in Berlin, but to people who live in Berlin, it was also the name of a beloved donut. Since this speech, the Berliner donut still exists, but the pride in being a person who lives in Berlin also became apparent. During and after the Cold War, West and East Germans were looking for a sense of identity after the trauma of the Holocaust, and for those living in Berlin, "Ich bin ein Berliner" became this identity.
On my first day in the program at IES, one of the Student Assistant's said, "You're all Berliners now!" and later that day when I met my host dad for the first time he said, "I am a Berliner through and through. Born and raised in West Berlin. Are you both excited to Berliners?" And I've taken a lot of time to consider what this means. I am currently in the final weeks of my semester, and I do truly feel like a Berliner. Sure, I have only lived here for 3 1/2 months, but the culture that pulses the streets of Berlin is contagious, and I think has made a great impact on me. In all of my classes this semester, we have at least touched on the culture of the Berliner, and the inclusivity that this has. After many classes and personal reflections regarding my observations of those around me and myself, I am going to categorize being a Berliner into 3 feelings/states of mind: not caring about what anyone thinks, being both timely and patient, and loving Berlin.
The most talked about aspect of being a Berliner is definitely not caring about what anyone thinks. This mindset is multifaceted. It can relate to style, sexual orientation, gender, hair color, skin color, socioeconomic class, employment, and background. The way I see this the most is most definitely in style and how people present themselves. On the U-Bahn, you can see some of the richest people in the city, a girl with a rainbow mohawk, a homeless man, and a middle class family, all sitting near each other. No one is looking at each other, and everyone is minding their own business. Walking around the streets of Berlin, major fashion statements are made on every other street, while some dressed the most blandly walks with them. In Berlin, anyone can be friends with anyone, but there is still a sense that young people have to be cool. In a way, the meaning of the word "cool" seems to change from person to person, group to group, so I still think young people don't care. In Berlin, myself along with others in the program have noticed that they are wearing more daring outfits and often don't feel as though they have to smile at every stranger. As Americans, and especially as a women, we are taught to smile at everyone and not to look mean, but living in Berlin, I have found a way to lose this idea that has been so ingrained in me. It's not that I am mean now, but I am able to let go what others think of me and focus on myself.
The second mindset of being a Berliner is being both timely and patient. As inherent in German culture, the Germans take their time seriously. They are always on time and get very frustrated by lateness. In Berlin, Germans and non-German Berliners have taken up this mindset, but with the importance public transportation in many Berliner's lives, this is sometimes difficult. Around the world Berlin is known for having one of the best public transportation systems, and while I believe this so be true, it is not perfect. Buses, trams, and trains can often be late and run on irregular schedules, and this is where Berliners have had to find patience. In all of their efforts to get somewhere on time, if their u-bahn train decides to stop for 8 minutes in the middle of the track for an unknown reason, there is nothing they can do. When I am back at HWS, I take major pride in my time management and importance of not wasting time. I was so excited to be in a city where this was truly valued. Living in Germany, I have been able to try to be timely, but because I am so dependent on public transportation, I have been late to everything except class. To avoid being late to class I often leave my house 45-60 minutes early for my 32 minute commute. But, for social events I am often at least a little bit late, or almost an hour late. At first, I was really flustered by my lack of control regarding the public transportation, but living in Berlin has helped me let it go. While I still value being on time, being late is no longer the end of the world.
Lastly, all Berliners love Berlin. No matter how stinky Yorckstraße smells, crowded Friedrichstraße Station is, or late the U-Bahn arrives, Berlin is perfect. As I have mentioned before in my blog, I love Berlin because it somehow has all of my favorite parts of my other favorite cities, I just have to look around to find them. All Berliners have a love for this city that will never go away, and I am so grateful to be a Berliner, and have Berlin forever in my heart.
In my poem, there are 2 two parts, the first in English and the second in German. In the first part, I focus on both my first and third aspects of what I think it means to be Berliner. I use the metaphor of fire as a nod to the destruction that has happened in Berlin. The background of the photo is of the Berlin Wall because I think this wall has influenced so much of Berlin culture today.
The second part is a picture out of my notebook. I decided to use this because I think being a Berliner is individual, as is my notebook. Also, I've taken notes for my German class in this notebook so I found it fitting for my poem to also be in this notebook. In my poem I change Berliner to Berlinerin because the -in changes to word from masculine to feminine. I think to think of cities as an extension of Mother Nature, and in the poem I am referring to myself and others, so I thought the change to feminine makes the most sense.
Thanks for reading!
