The Separation of Berlin | Johanniterstr. While I still remember (with a micro essay call)

"Hi!" The men on the steps were sitting or standing, with a cup of warm and smoking beverages in their hands, and greeted me loudly as I walked by quickly. In the silent winter night, it was very loud. Turning to look at them, smiling, nodding, another group of young girls, travelers, right? I was a little panicked, and passed me quickly, picking up the pace.

When we first moved to this street, the small bungalow was rented to the kindergarten that was being renovated across the street. There was a lot of noise. After a few months, the children moved back to their original location. The house was empty, and it stayed there until the winter.

One night, the small bungalow was suddenly brightly lit, and it went on like this for the entire winter. A group of homeless homeless people gathered here, brought their only belongings, and came to the small bungalow for the night. Only later did they realize that the normal city always Worrying about homeless people losing their temperature on the cold streets, public units will cooperate with fixed idle spaces to set up temporary shelters with heating, sleeping bags, warm wine and a strong human touch.

The homeless people who usually have their own side, gather here, it is indeed a little embarrassing and worrying for passers-by who do not know, but for the residents living in the apartment behind the small bungalow, this is the case year after year, knowing how There is nothing to worry about, after all, there is no data to show any dangers of homeless people.

What about me? For me, who was always worried that I would die suddenly and silently in a bachelor apartment during the winter, sometimes, I would rather squeeze in among them than be so lonely in Berlin on a gloomy winter day.

One night, a man who seemed a little too young to be a homeless came out and called out my name! I thought I heard it wrong, I smiled and nodded at everyone, and was about to walk forward when the man rushed out and said: Are you the YZ in German class? My God, he turned out to be my German teacher!

When I first came to Berlin, I fell out of love unexpectedly. I had no relatives and no reason. The only thing I could count on was the time I spent playing with my classmates from the language school on weekends. The teacher in this class was only in his 30s. He came to Berlin from the countryside in eastern Germany alone. Lonely, but also follow us in the night carnival.

What is he doing here? Because of the layoff of language schools, he started with the young teachers who were still calculating their hourly wages. He lost his job. He did not expect that even though the Berlin language schools had sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, he could not feel the unemployment wave of a large number of liberal arts graduates, and it would be difficult to find them again. Decent job, no savings soon, no money to pay rent, no home soon, but unwilling to leave Berlin, he became a bum.

This is only a year and a half of the scene. (Smile knowingly, who doesn't have a story?)

And he is still very spirited to say hello, hi! Just as distant starlight travels through millions of light-years to reach our event horizon, the original planet may have long since fallen, although it once dazzled, like a portrayal of all the temporary inhabitants of the shelter.

In the past few years in Berlin, I always returned to Taiwan before Christmas, and returned to Berlin after the Spring Festival. When I came back, the cold winter was over, and the homeless people who kept warm also dispersed. In such a big city, these people disappeared without a trace. track until next winter. As for the German teacher, I've never seen it again, or maybe we've struggled so hard in this lost city that we forgot each other's faces and names and never recognized each other again.

I always say to those who come to Berlin with great joy, the best time in Berlin is over. But there is always the same thing: a small bungalow that seems to be only used in winter all year long, except for the occasional weekend when it is rented to second-hand dealers to sell things, it is quietly squatting on a street corner in a residential area, Existing for decades before I moved here, I always compliment visiting residents about Berlin's social assistance, a world that's just for the homeless to get through the winter in peace.

And those greetings, smiling faces that raise a glass, look very humble in the dark, very humble, and occasionally tremble coldly, so weak, but it is the light in the long darkness of Berlin, which warms my heart.

 [Postscript] In 2016, the value of the small bungalow could not match the rising housing prices and the influx of new residents into the city. It was torn down and turned into a bright new apartment. This star fell, and it took me seven or eight years to see its shimmer, the power it once gave me. I forgot when I stopped liking Berlin, and the remodeling of small bungalows is probably one of the reasons.

This is an excerpt from memories and conversations about shelters in Berlin and Toronto , published in 2021.09.02 in volume, in plus writing

City Dispersion - Micro Essay Activity: I Still Remember a City Corner

foreword

I found this activity from last year's draft box. It turned out that I wanted to initiate a community activity but didn't post it. When I was finishing this article, I wanted to say whether I should bring it to the micro essay, but I saw that @Chin was also there before I posted it. Holding an event, I hesitated for a while, should I follow the trend? But as she said: LIKE is not easy to earn, so hold an event to cheer everyone up! Besides, summer is coming again, and we don’t know if the epidemic will have a chance to dissipate. It is very likely that we still have to travel in our memory.

In addition, I happened to see a message from @杨混 that mentioned the phenomenon that the number of readings and the number of comments decreased, so the writing activity only needs to be "messages".

theme

In the city you have been to/have left, is there a corner that you can't forget the most that makes you have an indelible emotion (love or hate) about this city? Why?

Form of publication

1. I am not very inspired to write an article, but there is such a corner in my memory, or if you have a deep understanding of the theme of this article, please leave a message directly under this article. You can enter the competition with more than 200 words .
2. [Or] Post an article, at least 600 words , with or without photos. Remember to link this article and add the tags ' elsewhere ' and 'city corner'.

Activity time

April 24, 2022 at 11:59 Taiwan time.

award

1. The total number of places is about 6, but it will be adjusted on a rolling basis according to the number of participants and my mood.
2. The message board will pick up to three posts and send 30-80Like Coins depending on the level of liking.
3. 3-5 articles will be selected for the whole article. Because I have limited Like Coins on hand , in principle, the reward to the sender is 10HKD. The winner can decide whether to claim it at one time or separately and let me send you two popular articles to earn more Like Coins . (It may also be 80-100Like Coin, I don't want to talk about it at the moment.)

Statement of interest: The reward fund of this activity has nothing to do with the Haowen 166 subsidy of anonymous validators.

Mingren do not speak secret words, welcome to add support activities, I am very grateful to be willing to support, but you can also directly specify the purpose.

Welcome to join / Follow the hearth and leave the city
Please subscribe to track the personal website volume, add in writing
Can also directly swipe the card to support my writing with the actual amount

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