Even the anti-social can make friends.

This past Friday, Suzanne and I received a package from New Jersey. According to the German rule of package delivery, if you are not home to meet the parcel, then the carrier finds a neighbor to care for it until you return. Luckily, the two packages we received and protected for our immediate neighbor within the last month payed off as he provided refuge for our box. We are so starved for mail, that even receiving a box of our own things brings us a happiness that most cannot imagine. I can only liken it to Christmas morning. We received jackets (necessary for the recently plummeting temperatures), Crocs and travel mugs as part of a direct shipment from our storage facility in Morris County.
That night we went to our friends, Kevin and Jérémie's house in the suburbs. They live about an hour away by train and their house is on the edge of the forest. As an added bonus, they have a fenced in yard. We were excited about this. Jenks was very excited. One thing made us nervous... their roommate has a dog. If any you out there know our dog at all (and if you haven't met her, you really should), then you know that she occasionally has trouble getting along with others. Well, figuring that if they didn't get along then she could cruise the backyard, we decided to bring her along. When we got there the other dog was not home yet. Jenks had the run of the place, prancing around the backyard like Alex Rodriguez. Even with the cold temperatures she was set, thanks to the Tartan given to her by her friend Ashley (big ups from the Jenks, Ash!). As it turns out, the other dog, a Husky puppy named Indiga, came home a couple hours later and Jenks had a new friend. They got along famously.
Saturday, we went for dinner with our Icelandic friends. They are hilarious and constantly describe everything as "So American." Well, where did we go to dinner, you may ask? An American burger restaurant called the Bird. The place is owned and operated by two guys from New York state and features the biggest hamburgers in Berlin. The tables have baskets of peanuts and the beers just keeping finding their way to the table. One of the owners came over to chat during the meal and our friends introduced us as Americans (as if it weren't obvious enough). Suzanne told him she was from the Jerz, and he hit came back with the standard, "I'm sorry" and "What exit?" jokes they teach every tristate area schoolchild.
After some drinks Sue harnessed some much needed bravery and walked up to the bar to inquire if they were hiring. The owner asked how good her German is. She replied, "Sucky." He asked her to come into work the following day. So far she has worked there 2 times and is going back on Saturday. Always the breadwinner. The irony is just too fantastic. And to think she thought her days of food service were over. So it's pretty much a crash course in German restaurant terms, but you gotta learn somehow.
We also went to see the Matthew Barney/ Joseph Beuys exhibit at the Deutsche Guggenheim. We went with our French friend Kevin. I think he summed it up best when he told me in French that Matthew Barney and Bjork were "in the trees". What a fabulous term for crazy.
Class update: German is freaking hard. Why the 5 million ways to say "the"? Really now.