My German aunt, Jane, lives in subsidized housing in Berlin. It reminds me of the council estates in England or the apartment blocks in Eastern Europe: tiny apartments stacked up on one another with minuscule balconies filled with satellite dishes and dying plants. Lots of graffiti and green plastic carpeting. Rottweilers and German Shepards. Men in parks drinking beer at 8:30 am.

She got us an apartment like hers just south of the city center, walking distance from everywhere. It was small and servicable, and when you walked up the four flights you passed many identical apartments with the smell of German cooking lurking in the hallways.

It was not what you would call glamorous, in any way. Svenja slept on the indoor/ outdoor carpeting at the foot of my bed, Peter on the couch in the living room and Greta kept me up at night grinding her teeth next to me.

But it was heaven. In the mornings, I got up early and got coffee and delicious German buns at the bakery around the corner, served by a heavily made-up Turkish woman wearing a habib. We picked our way around trash, old men peeing on trees, rowdy Turkish kids creating havoc, and scary-looking tatooed security guards at the local supermarket.

How this could possibly be heaven?

I felt totally safe, probably becuase I grew up in the city and this was an immigrant part of town, urban and a bit rough but not scary. My comfort level rubbed off on the kids. I told them to watch for stepping in dog shit (man, I thought us Germans were more fastidious!) and explained the immigrant situation in Germany (tricky to say the least). I speak German, so that helps of course.We walked everywhere. We saw all kinds of Germans — all colors, all shapes and sizes, all ideologies.

Point is, it was exposing them to the real Germany… how people live behind the scenes. And it fet so good to see them being flexible and open-minded, commenting on the strange things around them without being intimidated or feeling as though they didn’t belong.

They are citizens of the world, and I’m really proud of that. It made the trip all the more fun for me.

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