Your boy holding down the East Side Gallery, a painted section of the Berlin WallAs I was walking out of the grocery store this evening, I was beckoned by an old man who was standing in the same place I had seen him when I first got there. As I approached, he mumbled something to me about food, rubbed his thumb and forefinger together in the symbol for cash, and generally gave the impression that he needed something to eat but didn't have money. I told him I couldn't help him and started walking to my bike which was about four meters away. In the few seconds it took me to get there, I had a massive internal debate, and instead of unlocking my bike, I pulled out a twenty cent roll and a thirty cent banana from my backpack and walked back to the man. I handed him the food, and he said something to me that I couldn't understand, and then asked if I was sure, that if I had enough for myself. I told him it was fine, shook his hand and walked away.
For those of you have been keeping up on my experiences here, dealing with beggars is a recurring theme in my personal development. My justification for giving him the food that I did is as follows: a) it's food. It's not like he can take it and buy himself drugs with it. b) I gave him about fifty cents worth of food. Even if he was scamming me, I only lost fifty cents c) on the same token, if he really did need the food, that fifty cents went a long way. d) I have plenty of food, and I wasn't going to starve without what I've given out.
Looking at from another angle, I could just be enabling his behavior. I have talked to a few people about this, and my understanding is that Germany has a really good infrastructure for taking care of people who lose their jobs, and that if you're on the streets, it's your own fault. In that grain of thought, I gave this man an opportunity just to continue taking advantage of a system. Even taking that into consideration, I feel as though it's justifiable so long as there's the possibility the man actually needed food.
A ran headlong into a glass door today...it's a divider between the chemistry office and a sideroom where we have a kitchenette and a long table. The door is always open, and I didn't realize that someone had closed until *bam* Jon loses...
Last Friday, my wallet took a suicidal leap out of my pants pocket while I was running across the road. Do to the noiseless nature of the incident, I didn't notice until I was safe and sound in my dorm room, quite a ways a way. The realization of the loss of my beloved traveling companion-- who had followed close to my behind through Liége, Maastricht, St. Andrews, Berlin, and everywhere else I've been in the past few years-- gripped my spine with icy fingers. Jake and I retraced our steps back to the city, but it wasn't to be found. I had lost all of my money and capability of getting money, as will as most forms of identification. I tried not to let it get me too down, which was a bit of a challenge, and went on with the days events, trying to figure out how to live on fifteen euros for the next few days until I could figure something out.
Too my surprise, I got a message on the German equivalent of Facebook from a woman who had found my wallet on the road, intact, with everything still in it. She gave me her contact information, we got in touch, and on Sunday I went and picked it up from her and her husband. I feel incredibly blessed...the probability of that happening is ridiculous, especially considering it's happened to me before, only with my six hundred dollar camera when I first got to Germany. It's really cool that there's such honest people out there.
That's it for now, I'm going to go clean my room. I leave you some pictures of recent events.
Peace!
Jon
For those of you have been keeping up on my experiences here, dealing with beggars is a recurring theme in my personal development. My justification for giving him the food that I did is as follows: a) it's food. It's not like he can take it and buy himself drugs with it. b) I gave him about fifty cents worth of food. Even if he was scamming me, I only lost fifty cents c) on the same token, if he really did need the food, that fifty cents went a long way. d) I have plenty of food, and I wasn't going to starve without what I've given out.
Looking at from another angle, I could just be enabling his behavior. I have talked to a few people about this, and my understanding is that Germany has a really good infrastructure for taking care of people who lose their jobs, and that if you're on the streets, it's your own fault. In that grain of thought, I gave this man an opportunity just to continue taking advantage of a system. Even taking that into consideration, I feel as though it's justifiable so long as there's the possibility the man actually needed food.
A ran headlong into a glass door today...it's a divider between the chemistry office and a sideroom where we have a kitchenette and a long table. The door is always open, and I didn't realize that someone had closed until *bam* Jon loses...
Last Friday, my wallet took a suicidal leap out of my pants pocket while I was running across the road. Do to the noiseless nature of the incident, I didn't notice until I was safe and sound in my dorm room, quite a ways a way. The realization of the loss of my beloved traveling companion-- who had followed close to my behind through Liége, Maastricht, St. Andrews, Berlin, and everywhere else I've been in the past few years-- gripped my spine with icy fingers. Jake and I retraced our steps back to the city, but it wasn't to be found. I had lost all of my money and capability of getting money, as will as most forms of identification. I tried not to let it get me too down, which was a bit of a challenge, and went on with the days events, trying to figure out how to live on fifteen euros for the next few days until I could figure something out.
Too my surprise, I got a message on the German equivalent of Facebook from a woman who had found my wallet on the road, intact, with everything still in it. She gave me her contact information, we got in touch, and on Sunday I went and picked it up from her and her husband. I feel incredibly blessed...the probability of that happening is ridiculous, especially considering it's happened to me before, only with my six hundred dollar camera when I first got to Germany. It's really cool that there's such honest people out there.
That's it for now, I'm going to go clean my room. I leave you some pictures of recent events.
Peace!
Jon
The house where Karl Marx grew up in (Trier, Germany)
The Brandenburger Gate in Berlin
More good looking architecture in Berlin
The thing I miss the most about America, you may be surprised, is not my family, friends, or girlfriend. It is, in fact, Mexican food, which you can't find much of here. However, Jake, Jessica and I found a California Burrito restaurant in Berlin, which ranks among the top ten moments of satisfaction I have had while "studying" abroad. I almost cried. Seriously. Okay, so maybe not more than my family and etc., but you know what I mean...
The sunset as seen through my window as I was making this entry.
1 comment:
...You better have been kidding about missing Mexican food more than me.
[Seriously though, this was a thought-provoking post and one that I could relate to after my own study abroad experiences with beggars.]
Post a Comment