Informed Tourism

October 29, 2013 0

Beyond Berlin: the Istanbul Connection

Istanbul gives Berlin its baseline. In kind, Berlin is richly integrated into the complexity of Istanbul. For no relationship is ever purely one-sided. And so a Berlin : Istanbul connection, which moves beyond Gastarbeiter music and Fatih Akin films, is what one can find after six days immersed in the shapes and silhouettes of this city of 13 million... [Read More!]
August 25, 2013 1

Rave: Why Remembering the Holocaust is Good for Immigrants

In 2005, Germany officially became an immigration country with the establishment of its federal office for migration. The question - who are the Germans anyway? - has become increasingly important in deciding what to impart to these newcomers set to stay. Expats are good at constructing Germanness for the Germans themselves, often leaving out the Holocaust in such a description of 'German identity', however. Today's Germany - an immigration country - is a republic built on tragic events like the Holocaust, just as France is a country built on colonialism. Everything has a context, and it is this context that immigrants to Germany should learn to understand for the sake of a more complete country - a civic society which respects differences and celebrates them... [Read More!]
August 13, 2013 0

Reviewing the Rave: “We are the We”

We're so used to talking all the time that words tend to lose their effect. Especially when the talking is predominantly happening in one direction, as it so often does in immigration discourse. The Migrantas organization is unleashing an alternate voice within immigrant women in Germany that is arguably just as powerful: their artistic creativity... [Read More!]
August 7, 2013 2

Ramadan with Neighbors: It’s About Showing Up

For those non-Muslims among us, Ramadan is an almost hidden spectacle with mysterious allure: the hot tea, the music, and the platters of food only come out when the sun has turned in for the day or before it has even appeared. We hear the clatter of dishes from our neighbors’ windows late into the night or watch children unpack colorful sweets on Eid al-Fitr, all without necessarily being able to place these traditions in our own line of experience. In honor of the last night of Ramadan, here is a reflection on an event Sophia and I attended last Friday as part of Berlin's festival die Nächte des Ramadan, the Nights of Ramadan... [Read More!]
The Thai Park otherwise known as the Thai Wiese or Berlin's Little Thailand in Wilmersdorf is a spot where Thai women cook under umbrellas and sell their food.
August 1, 2013 2

Happy Weekend: Toi, Toi, Toi, Thai Park

During the summer I'm here almost every weekend, inhaling shrimp summer rolls slathered in peanut sauce, papaya salad speckled with red chili, and iced coffee swimming in globs of cloyingly sweet condensed milk. I may meander the colorful rows for food, but my coffee always comes from the same umbrella: Kaffee Oma's... [Read More!]
June 29, 2013 0

Happy Weekend: “part Korean, part American, part German, all Kimchi”

If the chance of rain deters participation in any of the street events or outdoor markets this weekend, I've got a solution: stuff your face with delicious Korean-fusion. In fact, why not learn a little about Lauren Lee AKA "Fräulein Kimchi" - the proponent of the Korean taco and the Bavarian-Korean cooking course - whose appearances in Mauerpark and Markthalle 9 are bringing in the masses (even if the retelling of my Bimbibap obsession in my Seattle years elicits more often the "Bimbi - whaaa?" than an affirmative nod). This post comes from Jessica Jungbauer of Best Wishes from Berlin, who seeks out the so-called "creatives" of the city, the culinary sort among them, initiating short auto-portraits for an interesting lens into one facet of creative engagement or another... [Read More!]
June 14, 2013 1

Happy Weekend: Breakfast with Korea, Supper with Afghanistan

Tomorrow is the All Nations Festival: an open house to many of the city's embassies, consulates, and cultural centers. Get ready for free food, dance performances, calligraphy workshops, language lessons, and interesting tales to this year's theme of "superstition" from the following participating countries: Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Bolivia, China, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Iraq, Yemen, Korea, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Nepal, Palestine, South Sudan, Chad, Venezuela (and the Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung). It is no coincidence that many of the countries registered have faced bad press or sweeping generalizations as of late, no coincidence that they are opening their doors and hoping to share something with their neighbors... [Read More!]
June 1, 2013 1

Happy Weekend: A Roma (Re)Image

Your perception of the Roma is inaccurate. I apologize for the bluntness, but you and I both know it's true. And I know you and I both know it's true because it's true for me, and I've studied this stuff. Not only have I studied this stuff (e.g. migration, integration, intercultural relations), but I consider myself a beacon of political correctness, yet I've still dressed up as a gypsy for Halloween more times than I care to admit. Why? [Read More!]
May 18, 2013 1

Happy Weekend: Karneval der Kultur(en), Carnival of Culture(s)?

What if the local government wanted to take stock of its cultures, parade its diversity through the city streets – what would you wear to participate? This weekend Berlin’s parade of culture, Karneval der Kulturen, takes over my Kreuzberg Kiez (neighborhood) once again, promising to leave trails of glitter and plastic cocktail remnants in its wake, as well as much food for thought in answering this question of cultural self-representation... [Read More!]
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