Bin ich Berlinerin?

Both yesterday and today, I was able to give two different people directions (one in German and one in English)!  I had originally said that one of my goals was to be able to give someone directions, because that means two things:

1. I don't look like a tourist and I look comfortable enough in Berlin that someone thinks I live here (which I do!) :)

and 2. That I know Berlin well enough to be able to give directions (Thus, meaning I *probably* won't get lost as much! - although in reality I rarely get lost because of the awesome public transport system!)

I also said that would mean that I'm truly a Berliner.... But am I?

What does it mean to be a Berliner?  It can't be just living in Berlin, in my mind it has to be something more than that.  Am I a Berliner because when I accidentally ran into the "Oktoberfest" on Alexanderplatz I was annoyed at all of the tourists and "kitschig*"-ness?

I don't really have an answer right now, but maybe towards the end of my journey I will.  Maybe being a Berliner doesn't necessarily require you to live there; maybe being a Berliner has to do with where in your heart you feel the most "at home".  I love Berlin, and in a lot of ways I do feel at home, in a weird on-my-own kind of way.  I think that's why I feel at home at Lawrence as well; because I'm on my own.
Home is a weird concept.  My mom's house in Fond du Lac was definitely home, but was it the house or was it because it was where my mom lived?  Maybe it was both.  Although I feel at home at my mom's house here in Germany, it's not *my* home.  Is my dad's house in Fond du Lac my home, even though I technically haven't lived there since Sophomore year of high school?  Again, I don't really have answers here.  I will say that I use the word "home" interchangeably: When I'm at Lawrence and I'm going to my dad's house for the weekend I say "I'm going home". However when I'm leaving my dad's house to go back to school, I say "I'm going home".  Maybe you can have multiple places you call home - at this point I certainly don't have one specific "home".  Right now my home is in Germany, but come December that won't be the case.

Well...this was not actually a post about what I'm doing in Berlin, but it'll do! Classes started today (I only had one class) so I'm just trying to get used to another new schedule!  I need to read a play before one of my classes next week, so I need to get cracking on that! (It's "Die Jungfrau von Orleans" by Schiller for anyone who cares)

*there really isn't a good translation for kitschig, and I'm pretty sure in Wisconsin we use the German word.  I guess the closest translation would be "corny, tacky, and cheesy"