It is my second day. I take a walk out with several tasks to complete, including locating a suitable German language course. Spotting 'Schule' on a building nearby my studio, a brief investigation lands me in the middle of day 1 of a four week intensive language course.
The class group is very small, the teacher very jovial – I like him and instantly feel at ease. The price of the course also, at 183 Euros, is considerably less than the 500 – 1000 I had been advised.
It takes me a while to accept that I could by chance have stumbled upon just what I needed, without undertaking a City wide telephone / website / walking investigation of the many language schools in Berlin I had planned.
Could it really be so easy and still be 'right'?
It is a while since I have undertaken a residency, but I am instantly reminded of the strange mixture of intention and chance unfolding into new work in a new environment. These gentle and happy collisions of fate have in the past lead me into unexptected and fertile collaborations with dancer, writer, musician and actor.
I recall today why I enjoy working in a residential context – the finite framework of time / space / place breeding an intensity of experience quite different to 'being at home' – though at homeness is another set of qualities with it's own insights and rewards.
Time to get on with my homework…
