Marian Söderholm at ufaFabrik, Berlin
Today I took my bike to work for the first time. I say my bike, it’s actually my housemate’s mountain bike, which I have borrowed and on which I managed to acquire a puncture on during my first ride in Berlin. But I didn’t let that stop me. After a relatively long snoozing-session this morning, I got up earlier than usual, poured some strong coffee down my throat and set off in the chilly wind. I turned up 20 minutes early to work, red-cheeked and vitally energised. Berlin is a very cycle-friendly city, and I have a feeling there will be more cycling adventures for me in the near future. I have been promised a tour to the lakes in Western Berlin accompanied by my good friend Andy and a thermos of hot soup this weekend. Let’s hope it doesn’t rain.
Today I will be conducting my first two interviews on the theme ”ecology in the ufaFabrik”, which is quite exciting. Not only will I be practising my interviewing skills, I will also get to sit down with a lot of people in the organisation that I usually wouldn’t get the chance to talk to, and find out more about their work and ideas on how to develop their ecological and environmental impact on a day-to-day basis. This is a perfect task for me, I think, because of my interest in the topic and the chance to do my own research and brainstorm about how to improve the ecological aspects of a cultural organisation. In June this year there is a conference/workshop weekend in Paris about this very topic; sustainability in cultural centres. I hope I can go, because I think it would be an amazing experience, and also exremely inspiring, not to mention the possibilities of networking with cultural types from all over Europe who are interested in the same subject.
Speaking of international travel and meetings, it turns out I will be going to Budapest together with my supervisor for the Trans Europe Halles meeting in May, which I am extremely excited about. I wanted to go last year, when I was at the TEH office, but I didn’t have the funds. I am glad to have the possibility to go this year, and I expect it will be a joyous and very interesting event. Sadly, I will be travelling back to Sweden straight from Budapest. It dawned on me the other day when I was discussing having a goodbye party at ufaFabrik with my supervisor, that time is speeding past at a crazy rate. The Budapest meeting and my impeding return to Göteborg seemed so far away in the beginning; after all, four months is a long time. Now that my final weeks here are closing in, I am determined to make the most of the time I have left. I think it’s been going pretty well so far.
I’m in the office at the moment, listening to German radio. Morrissey is singing; Burn down the disco, hang the DJ, and I recall my sweetly rebellious teenage years. On the topic of time flying, this bout of nostalgia seems somehow appropriate. I’m all grown up now, going on diverse adventures in Europe all by myself. Who would have known? Well, I think I always did know somehow, but now that I’m here the whole situation feels wildly surreal yet strangely familiar at the same time.
P.S. My German homework this week is to find some funny German jokes. Got any up your sleeve? My brother has warned me about the Germans’ terrible sense of humour. Email me at mariansoderholm[at]hotmail.com and prove him wrong!
