I have been verbally accosted/threatened 3 times in the 22 months we have lived in Berlin. That feels like a lot and it's never not upsetting, but I am getting better at dealing with it. I am always alone when it happens which makes it even more surreal. I wonder, am I a target of some sort? What is it about me that provokes people, gives them a signal- hey let's pick on this lady. It has never happened when I have my camera- that at least I could understand. Usually I'm just a middle aged lady out doing errands.
It's always a jarring reminder that we are not alone in this world. Others are here having their own experience and here in Berlin that often involves yelling. This time I saw the lady coming- an angry woman in her 30's dressed in black with braids and a workers hat. She was aggressively walking towards me at a diagonal- edging me in towards the building. My first thought was that she was going to hit me, but instead in bright day light, on a busy street - she physically blocked me, leaned into my face and screamed at me to give her 5 euro. I said, no. She persisted and got closer and louder. I held my ground, crossed my arms looked her directly in the eye and said-"I'm not giving you 5 euro." She asked me why not- I answered, "because you're rude," wishing I could do better in German. "Wer bist du dann"- she screamed (who do you think you are?) "I'm a lady grocery shopping and now I'm going home," I responded as I moved to pass her. I could now see a young gentlemen heading towards us, He arrived and intervened just as she moved to grab my bag. I walked away quickly continuing on my path towards home leaving him to deal with her. Tears had arrived by then and once safely across the street I turned to look back. The young man was returning to the restaurant he had come from and the woman was walking away. I shouted a tear choked Danke, he waived and went in.. It was a beautiful day in Berlin. It has been a beautiful spring and 10 minutes before this woman accosted me, I was feeling really sad about leaving Berlin. And in all honesty, I am still sad about leaving Berlin. Berlin has placed me outside of my comfort zone in so many ways, and that's good for a person. But now we are headed home back to Maine. We have approximately 9 weeks left here and I will enjoy them. It's a tricky thing to leave a place and it can be tricky to return to one as well. (Neither of the ladies below is the lady who tried to soft mug me.)
1 Comment
Libby
5/9/2018 04:40:10 pm
Oh, no, Megan, that sounds quite distressing, but you managed to react calmly (and in German!), which is admirable. And, you do not look like a middle aged lady.
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