Changes in the proverbial wind

Parading through Berlin during the "Karnival der Kulturen," Yemeni style. And of course it wouldn't be a parade without a good look at the back of some guy's head.

I feel as though I mention it a lot, but it sure seems like there's always a lot going on in Berlin, if not in my own personal life -- although this past week that certainly hasn't been the case for the latter either. As many of you probably know, my wife is camping out at the hospital for the time being. While this is rather irritating and inconvenient for her, the good news is that there is nothing particularly worrisome afoot. In other words, the perhaps over-cautious German doctors here just want a little more data pertaining to our unborn daughter, who happens to be a bit smaller than most fetuses her age. Presumably they will then combine this data to make a large chart, at which point I imagine that a few of them will look at it curiously before moving on to something more important.

And that's all fine and good, although at first it was something of a shock. It's the sort of treatment that normal people such as ourselves just won't get/can't afford in countries with more capitalistic health care systems (i.e. the United States). Whenever we've been able to get such treatment (routine ultrasounds, at-home visits from a midwife, and now overnight stays at the hospital), it's all been almost completely covered by our insurance with practically no paperwork for ourselves. It's the way health care everywhere ought to be, but because of all my prior experience in America, I keep expecting to get a bill, which apparently is not coming.

The only really bad part of all this is that my poor wife does not like to relax very much. Simply put, she is bored stupid at the hospital, despite the friendly staff there, the lovely courtyard and the multitude of books and DVDs I have delivered to her to keep her occupied. For those of you who know my wife, you probably recognize that she is very active and does not like to be penned up. She has even agreed to play me in chess three times now -- although out of respect I will not reveal the results of the matches. It is kind of sad in a way; I liken it to having a thoroughbred horse that you won't let run faster than a trot. That said, if it's good for our little unborn daughter for momma to sit around a bit, I think that maybe momma ought to take a chill pill. (Figuratively, not literally.)

Outside of the personal drama for me, the weekend here in Berlin has been more interesting than usual. Last night the finals of the German soccer federation cup were held here, which means that a of soccer-happy folks from Stuttgart and Nuremberg were in town to loudly support their respective teams. (Nuremberg ended up winning 3:2 in extra time, which is good because Stuttgart played like a bunch of thugs in the first half.) After walking back from the hospital, I watched the match on TV, while my wife and sent instant messages to each other.

Today after I spent some more time at the hospital with the wife (we played chess and went for a stroll in the courtyard), I made it over to Kreuzberg where the "Karnival der Kulturen" -- a festival celebrating Berlin's rich ethic diversity -- was underway. I met up with a few friends of mine from the Volkshochschule, and after we watched the last few floats of the big parade roll down Yorckstraße, we had a couple of drinks and checked out some of the different bands and dance troupes that were performing on various stages. Quite a nice time, although the weather could have been better -- it's been raining off and on all weekend.

I didn't get home until after midnight; thankfully tomorrow it's a day off -- Pfingsten. That's a Christian holiday that apparently has something to do with the "Holy Spirit" telling the various Apostles to spread the message of Christianity. Fortunately, I haven't seen much of that happening here since I moved to Berlin, although we're all quite happy to have the day off.