Berlin, I Love You

My first “wow” moment in Berlin was when I took Berlin’s public transportation from Tegel International Airport to the student residence. The estimated time of arrival for the bus and U-Bahn that I took were visible and spot-on accurate. I’m not sure that I’ve ever had that happen to me in NYC or in my hometown of Chicago. My second “wow” moment, which happened soon thereafter, was visiting Tempelhofer Feld, a former parade ground turned airport turned public park. From my understanding, the park is an attraction for tourists and locals alike. Although that space could be a lucrative spot for apartments or businesses, it now nothing more than an open, public space for fun. I spent my first Saturday afternoon in Berlin basking in the sun at Tempelhofer Feld, reading Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis. That peaceful afternoon of reading and exploring the city reminded me of how different living in Berlin will be compared to New York City. But of course, there are some similarities: public transportation has advertisements for work spaces, smokers are almost everywhere, and there’s no shortage of events happening in the summertime.

First selfie in Berlin!

My third, and most unexpected, “wow” moment in Berlin happened during one of my first days working at my organization, Each One Teach One e.V (EOTO). EOTO is very invested in the community and has staff members and affiliates of all ages. I was able to meet four girls who are around my age who were helping EOTO with their AFROLUTION Literature Festival. We started a long conversation to get to know each other. We talked about everything from our favorite Netflix shows to the ins and outs of EOTO. The conversation took a turn when someone else in the office told me about Berlin’s Black Lives Matter chapter because I thought I would be interested. The mention of Black Lives Matter shifted the conversation to me talking about what it’s like to be a Black person living in America.

“One thing that I don’t understand is that hands up, don’t shoot movement,” one of my coworkers remarked. “Why don’t Afro Americans just move back to Africa? That country hates you.” At this point, I had not told everyone that I am a Black person living in America because my family has been here for generations. My family is from the Deep South, so deep that slavery has ruined both sides of my family to the point where oral histories no longer help me determine which African country I am “from.” I am an Afro-American, if you will.

Just a few minutes before their comment about Black Lives Matter, I tried to navigate (or rather escape) their weird, “Where are you from?” questions. America, I am from America. I am not ashamed to have to say I am from America; I don’t think I should be ashamed of something I cannot control. Black Americans literally built America from its infrastructure to setting cultural trends. We continue to do so today and will do so in the future. Their honest questions and comments transported me back to reality: I was a Black American amongst Black people living in Germany who probably have not spent a lot of time with Afro-Americans. (In fact, I found a guidebook for German teachers who are teaching about the experiences of Black people living in the U.S. in the EOTO library. I will definitely make note to skim this book later in the summer…)

Smaller “wow” moments have also happened in the past week. While walking on the street with three other Black people from EOTO, a White man stopped in his tracks and waited until we passed him instead of moving out of our line of direction. Surprisingly, everyone I have encountered so far—whether it’s my EOTO colleagues or a random White person in the street—assumes I speak German. When I tell them I literally only know a few words, they seem to be shocked. I am sure they are wondering what reason a Black American could possibly have to be in Berlin.

On my way home the other day, I walked with a coworker to the train station. I am still getting my bearings around Berlin, and was not sure what district EOTO’s office is in. When I showed a White acquaintance of mine who has lived in Berlin for a year the location of the office on the map, she could not tell where it was. Her reasoning was that any district north of Mitte (which literally means “center” or “middle”) and Kreuzberg (district where NYU Berlin’s dorm is) are easily forgettable. My co-worker confirmed that the office is in Wedding, an area north of both Mitte and Kreuzberg. The coworker explained that it is sometimes forgotten because it is a district of immigrants. Gentrification has not yet reached Wedding, and for everyone’s sake, I hope it stays that way.

I love Wedding. It’s relatively affordable compared to lunch in New York, and the food is authentic (to me at least). I haven’t brought lunch to work because I found no reason to where there’s an array of ethnic restaurants around. Lebanese, Chinese, South African: you name it. More importantly, Wedding the home of EOTO and Afrikanisches Viertel. As next week gets closer, I am beyond excited to see AFROLUTION 2019 come to fruition. Since I have arrived at EOTO, working on the catering team and doing other logistical tasks has occupied my days. It is shaping up to be amazing!