"Donk-uh?"

It's day four, and I'm beginning to feel a bit more familiar with German, but still uncomfortably inept. I don't like not knowing every nuance of every rule of grammar, pronunciation, and usage of a language, and I really don't like the big cartoon-looking B-shaped letter that actually makes an "S" sound. What is that about? Anyway, today I was able to successfully order "hähnchen mit pommes"  (chicken with fries) at the Hühnerhaus (Chicken Shack), an open-air stand on a corner by the big beautiful park in Kreuzberg. That was a milestone for me, okay? No judging.
This morning, we visited the Institute for Photographic Education to hear photojournalist Timothy Fadek speak about his experience in the field and show us some of his work. His pictures were amazing, just gorgeous and such impressive and evocative content. You can see some of his work on his website. He flies around the world to wherever the biggest conflicts are taking place, and then works as a freelance photographer for whichever magazine/publication/etc is interested, or most financially interested. I can't even imagine the crazy pace and fluctuation of that sort of lifestyle, just catching a plane to Haiti after the earthquakes and then calling TIME magazine. It's so inspiring that he can make a living doing something creative that he actually likes. Some of his pictures are taken in the middle of huge bloody conflicts, like in Cairo between the police and protestors, and when someone asked him about the danger and the death and how he deals with it, he said, "You're a person first, and a photographer second. If you're the only one who can help, you put the camera down." And I liked that a whole lot. I understand that there's no way you can personally provide clean water for millions of people, and that taking pictures to expose these sorts of issues to the world is just another way of helping, but we're humans, and having a camera doesn't exempt us from basic human responsibilities.
Another notable quote was regarding his trip to Syria: "Biggest misconception is that the Arab world hates Americans. Everything you heard from George Bush- complete lie." Residual anger towards George Bush amuses me, and I do sometimes feel like everyone else in the world hates Americans, especially in the Middle East. But maybe they don't. Being here, asking for directions from Germans who can guide us in our native language when we know barely a smidgen of theirs, is leading me to believe that maybe everyone else in the world doesn't actually hate us, maybe they just think we're dumb. I'm not sure which I would prefer.
Photos to come!