Friday night, I U-Bahned down to Kreuzeberg and grabbed a quick curryworst @ Curry 36. Either I was far off the tourist track, or I did not appear too foreign, because no one approached me in English. After walking around the neighborhood and grabbing a beer @ a gay cafe, I U-Bahned over to Charlottenberg to get to the A-Trane jazz bar. Two 12 year old boys approached me in German, and were visably annoyed when I told them "Spreken sie kein Deutsche." The next day, I was back on the clock for MIT, and had an awful encounter with an alumnus. We were talking along fine, when suddenly:
Alumnus: "What are your career aspirations?"
Tim, diplomatically: "Well, I have a great job @ MIT, and I—"
Alumnus: "How old are you?"
Tim: "...38."
Alumnus: "YOU NEED A BETTER PLAN."
Of course, I have a plan, but my role is to represent the school, not myself; nor is it my place to minimize MIT with an explanation of my complex thoughts of the future. I couldn't do anything but nod my head and smile awkwardly in response. The rest of the day was a struggle to be cheerful. But, things looked up as we boarded the MS Frederic Chopin.
1 comment:
Y'know, apart from the circumstances, the more detailed portrait of the kid w/braces is pretty endearing-- kinda like somone you'd see in an updated "Adventures of Tintin," or something like that... and welcome back!
Post a Comment