GREETINGS FROM BERLIN

The saying goes that when you have nothing to talk with a stranger, you talk about weather. Well I am writing about weather first because it is dictating my outdoor activities in Berlin. We've got TV now so I am updated about many things. Heavy snow blocked traffic in Hannover, more than 300 accidents in a day. Zugspitze, Germany's highest point recorded the lowest temparature in 100 years and its all happening in just before the official start of the spring. We have seen more snow in the last couple of days than the start of the month. The ice in the balcony melted last week and now its about a feet high. There is a nice lake near our house but we are waiting for the right weather to explore it. And the weather didn't stop us from gowing outside to shop!

Well S's colleagues are very nice and helpful. The public transport system here is well organized and on-time. Within a week we have been escorted to all the big Pakistani and Vietnami grocery stores in Berlin. We could buy stuffs like 'Muri' 'Semai' and believe me you can get almost all desi things here. The Pakistani restaurant at Osloer str. had many kinds of fish from Bangladesh and they probably cater the 300 Bangladeshi families here. My mother-in-law is happy about it but I am not sure wheather everyday I will like to eat and drink the same things we have done back in Dhaka. I would like to explore many things here including cuisine.

We are thankful to Helge, who works at the embassy for his tips and assistance in many things. When he learnt that we were virtually living in an island with no outdoor contacts besides telephone, he lent me his radio and the next day a program list. He is a well travelled guy from East Germany and extremely nice.

My German is picking up and I can understand much more. I can't tell you the actual status but I am being really surprised when I am spontaneously entering into an conversation with the shopkeeper or say the bus driver and completing it successfully. Specially I have surprised some of the embassy staffs in picking the right choice of grocery packing written in German; who after many days of living in Germany, haven't learnt German. Well without knowing the language, you will have to face a lot of difficulties. For an example except for CNN & BBC, all channels are in German language. They show Hollywood & Bollywood movies here and you will be surprised how good actors like Shahrookh Khan speak German. So one should better learn German or miss many things.

There are no internet cafe in the vicinity of our house. I had to walk more than half an hour to find this cafe. I have seen many internet kiosks in the middle of the city. Lets see whether I can find many excuses to go there and be online. Signing off for today.