Unlike Maccaully Caulkin, I don’t have a constant stream of robbers to keep me entertained while living alone. I also do not have internet either – bummer. But there are perks, beyond the fact that I go from bed to desk in three minutes flat. I am in the pulse of Wuppertal, which incidentally is not saying too much. Nobody gets antsy or offended when I walk around without my T-shirt on. I get to cook my own food, and I can also have friends over whenever I want. Because both of my neighbors are old and hard of hearing, I can rock the guitar as loud as I want, as late as I want – I really should have gotten a drum set instead. So basically, since February I have been living the dream, of every 12 year old. It is not all candy and cake though. Buying anything perishable dooms me to eating it ad nausea until it is gone, for fear it will spoil. Salads have lost their appeal, because I usually end up eating them twice a day for three or four days until all the lettuce and other ingredients are gone. But on the upside, I have a cleaning lady the company pays for come every Wednesday. She vacuums and cleans all the counters and surfaces. Totally sweet.

This weekend is another blind-booking excursion to Rome. After that, everybody in the program is meeting up for a week in Berlin. May has thus far turned out to be a radical month, and can only get better.