The 2^nd October 2008 was my first day in Berlin. I spent there six months. I didn’t go to techno parties, I didn’t fall in love, I didn’t actively take part in the fun side of the city; I remained an observer for most of the time. It was my loneliest experience on this Earth, but somehow the most thrilling one. Life was new and striking. Its permanent novelty made me exhilarating happy sometimes and exhilarating sad other times. I walked in the woods close to the student residence, in the West part of the city, rich with luxurious houses, but empty with people, in cafes, cinemas and then I walked along the streets in East Berlin. East Berlin is really amazing. The best part is the metro on a Saturday night, riding through East Berlin and taking people from one party to another. It was the most cheerful place on earth. I think it still is. I learnt to live really lonely (it wasn’t without desperation) and later I learnt to enjoy spending time with people that aren’t your friends, but they are the best you’ll get in a certain time and place. I shared an apartment with some Germans in my last month in Berlin. I felt really embarrassed at the beginning, but after a while I got used to them. We didn’t hang out, nor talked a lot, but it wasn’t that important. One of the guys living there told me about two bands which I really liked for a while: Elbow and Cake. Another guy told me about an “illegal party” which was the best party in those six months.

There were a lot of young parents walking with their kids along the streets, there were homeless selling their newspaper in the metro and telling their story, there were old women and men eating cakes in old-fashioned confectioneries near Potsdamer Platz.

I made a friend there, Liina.

I received some visits from Romania, from Catrinel and my other three good friends, Adela, Alexandra and Anca. It was cold and snowing when they visited me.

When spring finally came, probably because it came so late, the change was huge. After months of cold and night, I saw the sun again.