BERLIN BOUND

To get to where you need to go, the journey might not always be an elegant one. At times you will fall back on your sleep hours or forego food in order to ensure you are on time. In my case, it meant both. No food. Until I arrived at the airport. No sleep. Not one single wink. That is until I sat on the first plane to Houston. I feared if I slept even two or three hours it would be more difficult to awaken from a deep slumber.

On the flight from Houston to Newark, I intended to sleep the entire flight. Thirst and hunger cried out for me to quiet their desperate pleas. The Texas-sized currant scone I bought at the Austin airport was still in my pocket, on its way to dissolving into crumbs. It was a far cry from the scones at lovecrumbs in Edinburgh. But it was the only food I had with me other than a banana I brought from home.

Since I was now in a temporary state of awakeness, I turned on the screen on the back of my seat instead. I wondered if there would be anything interesting to watch on this short flight as watching movies on long flights is something I tend to do in lieu of sleep. The title of one movie intrigued me due to my destination: "A Coffee in Berlin". What fascinated me most was the fact the movie was shot entirely in black and white. Stripped of colour, the story showed more depth, more soul, more of what is behind the eyes staring back at us from the screen.

"A Coffee in Berlin" (originally titled "Oh Boy") follows the story of Niko - a young man trying to figure out a life where he doesn't quite fit in. The substory is his never-ending pursuit of a cup of coffee, the ensuing disappointment of which is well-woven throughout the movie. The movie starts by him being dumped by his girlfriend. It moves on to his being harassed by two men pretending to be subway ticket agents. Then he was confronted by a former fat girl turned skinny girl - yet still psychotic. He dropped out of law school to "think" for two years, whilst his father kept sending monthly tuition money. The story is nothing close to a Hollywood movie. There is no happy ending. No perfect wrapping up of the storyline as there really is no storyline. It is everyday life and the black and white aspect of it is a perfect choice.

So begins my quest. My pursuit of the next chapter in my strange but interesting life as I get ready to board my third plane...the one to Berlin.