What's the point of a blog?

Seriously. I should've written this earlier. What's the point of my blog?

Peter R. put it well, it's a 'diary' or maybe in grown-up terms (meaning it's no longer pink with a little gold lock and key on a purple ribbon), it's a journal.

Yeah, that's what it is. A journal of my time and experiences in Berlin (and all of the other places I will be visiting). And since I think alot, and imagine a lot, and eat a lot wherever I am, I'll stick that in too since that's part of my time here in Berlin. I also tend to travel a lot, both for work and for pleasure, so I'll include that too. I think it is more about a TIME than a place, really. Know what I mean?

When I think about a foreigner's impression of a new country, I can't help but be a bit annoyed at the trite observations I've heard (and possibly said) before:

'They drive on the wrong side of the street there!'

'ooh I just love their cute accents. It makes them all seem so hot!'

'Did you know they EAT dogs there?!'

'Everyone has a gun in New York City'

You get the picture. I am going to try to keep the stupid, obvious stuff to a minimum, and try and write about the stuff that I didn't know and that I don't think my friends or family might know or have experienced or observed. Sure, the exchange student who spent their Junior year in Munich might think 'no duh,' please remember that the first time I came to Germany was in 2001, and that I have never studied German culture or language. So I'm a virgin. A German virgin.

Speaking of virgins, I probably won't discuss sex here. Or drugs. Maybe other people having sex and doing drugs (separately, or at the same time, or together with each other). But I won't talk about my own love life or the amazing ____ (insert drug/drink/23 year old's name here) I had last night. That's not for your consumption, dear reader.

Some people use Jesus as a guide (WWJD?) for how to conduct their lives. Here, that's irrelevant. I don't think Jesus would've moved to Berlin in his 30's. He probably would've been married to his high school sweetheart with 2 kids already. And I don't think he would tell me what he'd do in the first place. He'd probably say 'you're Jewish? You don't LOOK Jewish!' and get distracted and off the subject and then I'd never find out what he would do in my situation anyway.

I remember reading David Sedaris' Me Talk Pretty One Day and finding it kind of annoying. I loved all of his other books, but this one, about his experiences in France with his boyfriend bugged me. His observations of the French and learning French just didn't strike me as cute, or new or funny. I had lived in Paris for awhile, and had a wonderful relationship with a Parisian for several years, and fancied myself a Francophile. I had learned to speak French really well and had made French friends. I just found the book, comment dit-on? trite. So that's the filter I am going to use. If it seems too David Sedaris circa MTPOD, I will not publish it. Please keep me to this.

So that's the gist of it. That's my reason for blogging. Sometime soon I'll think of a mission statement, a goal, an RTB, a benefit, a role, and a target group for this thing.