Hi Familia

I'm really glad to hear that your trip was good ma and pa. It must have been great to see dan (a very much missed brother) at Yale... I can't wait to visit. I'm sad to hear about grandma beth's condition, but as long as her spirits are up then I'm happy. Dad, was it great to see your bro?? I can't wait to see the pictures.

Well, on my end of the earth... Ben and I are still getting used to the customs of Berlin, one of which is the operating hours of businesses. They are really strange...really! Markets of all kinds (and most shopping places) are closed on Sunday, a trait of Berlin that easy to forget. Another trait is that people shop daily for their food for freshness, which we practice. Soooo, on Sunday when we got hungry for dinner we walked to the market, and to our surprise it was closed (and I lost our shopping bag, my beloved green getty bag...a sad day, haha). So plan B had to come into play and we decided to head over to a well renowned Berlin restaurant called White Trash Fast Food. This restaurant is owned and run by a former CalArtsian named Wally, who is my teacher Darrel's best friend! 

We went and were happy to find that the place is awesome on the inside,and boasts a sweet menu of affordable organic (the german term is "bio") food. So we sat and watched a Jazz group from the US perform/have a pro-Obama rally. It was a great psuedo-escape back to the states.

Well, I saw Wally... a man walking around in a suit in the front and the back. I had also seen his face in a video Darrell showed me, so I recognized him. I waited for a good opportunity and walked up to him.

I told him who I was (and I delivered a very brief message for Darrell). He seemed really happily surprised! Then I introduced Ben and said he was a cook and he said, oh! im looking for a cook!

Long story short, Ben called him today reminding him of their encounter and Wally asked him to go into the restaurant where Ben met the chef. He is supposed to go in for training on Thursday! We are not sure if this is for sure/temporary/full time... so i will fill you in later... but isn't this exciting!!!

Today I had my second class, which went better than the first. I finally met Ursula who is a quirky older woman. I will be showing my portfolio in two weeks!

Love,

Amanda