Date: 21 September 2007 22:48:25
Last night, I saw Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) for a second time. I would really recommend it if you haven't already seen it. Whenever I see a film set in the Eastern Europe of pre-1989, I am struck by how grey and drab peoples' lives were. And not just their lives, but their surroundings, too. It makes me appreciate the freedoms I have here.
I remembered that when I was doing my degree, I briefly toyed with the idea of doing my year abroad in East Germany. I can't now remember why I decided not to and wish I could. Back then, unbeknownst to everyone, the regime only had another 5 years to run. In hindsight, it would have been an incredibly unique experience. In the end, I decided to go to Vienna. Quite a contrast. It would be nice to have been able to compare the two places at the time. And oddly, I don't think East Berlin would have come off all that badly in some ways. Vienna was not the sparkling, exciting experience I think everyone imagines it should have been. Whenever I mention that I spent my year abroad in Vienna the reaction is always “Oh! How fanTAStic!” But in many ways, it was one of the hardest years of my life.
I am going back there tomorrow to meet up with some friends who met there (through me. They are now married and have children and live in New Zealand. I'm godmother to their daughter). It will be lovely to see them again after many years and to get to know the children properly. I can't help wondering if Vienna is still the Vienna I knew then - or whether she has changed for the better. I guess that as I will be a visitor this time, she will be on her best behaviour so I might not be able to see beneath the veneer in quite the same way. The whole experience certainly feels as if it was das Leben eines Anderen (someone else's life). One thing is clear: it was over half my lifetime ago. I probably am living someone else's life...certainly not the one I was living then, anyway.
If I'm feeling clever, I'll send a postcard. Otherwise, reports will be filed on my return. Tschüß!