Ted: Welcome back to Speaking of Berlin, a podcast that introduces you to the city we call home, while helping you learn German along the way.

Berlin is a city full of stories, and today, we’re going to hear another one – in German, of course! I’m Ted, and in this podcast, I’ll bring you along as we explore Berlin through the eyes of someone who lives here.

Did you know that we’ve got a transcript to help you out? You can read along while you listen, making it easier to understand more of the story! Head over to babbel.com/podcasts to find it!

Moulud came to Germany with her parents after fleeing Afghanistan when she was a young girl. Years later, her aunt joined them in Berlin. But what would she think of this wild city after spending most of her life under a repressive government? Let’s hear from Moulud and find out!

Moulud: Anfang der 90er Jahre kam ich aus Afghanistan nach Deutschland. Ich musste mit meinen Eltern flüchten.

Ich war damals sieben Jahre alt. Die Sprache habe ich schnell gelernt! Wenn ich zurückblicke, weiß ich: Ich hatte großes Glück. Ich bin mit zwei Kulturen aufgewachsen.

Afghanistan ist ein Land mit vielen Völkern, und mit vielen Sprachen und Traditionen.

Ich liebe afghanische Musik und hmmm, das Essen … In Deutschland schätze ich die Chancen und die Sicherheit.

Ted: Moulud was just 7 years old when she and her parents fled Afghanistan and came to Germany. She didn’t have much trouble learning German, since she was so young. When she looks back on her childhood, she realizes she had a lot of luck – Ich hatte großes Glück. She got to grow up with two cultures simultaneously: German and Afghan. She loves the Afghan food, and she really values the opportunities and security she has here in Germany.

Moulud: Meine Tante Negin kam auch nach Deutschland. Aber viel später. Sie war Anfang 30, als sie nach Berlin kam. Wir hatten uns fast 20 Jahre nicht gesehen.

Ich wusste nicht viel über sie, weil wir wenig Kontakt hatten.

Ich wusste nur: Sie war eine liebe und offene Person. Und sie hat ihr Leben lang in Afghanistan gelebt – einem konservativen und muslimischen Land.

Ted: Years later, Moulud’s aunt Negin also came to Germany. Negin was in her early 30s at this time, and Moulud hadn’t seen her for almost 20 years. Ich wusste nicht viel über sie, weil wir wenig Kontakt hatten. “I didn’t know much about her because we’d had little contact.”, Moulud says. She only knew that she was a loving and open person, and that she had spent her whole life so far in Afghanistan, a conservative muslim country.

Moulud: Negin und ich lernten uns kennen: Wir tranken zusammen Tee und kochten afghanisches Essen. Wir verstanden uns sehr gut, weil sie nur ein Paar Jahre älter war.

Sie erzählte mir von Afghanistan … Von der schönen Landschaft … Und wie das Land früher war: frei und bunt. Doch der Krieg hatte alles verändert. Danach war das Leben sehr schwierig für sie.

Sie durfte nicht zur Schule gehen, weil sie ein Mädchen war. Und sie durfte nur aus dem Haus gehen, wenn ein Mann dabei war.

Sie war sehr froh in Deutschland zu sein. Und ich wollte ihr alles zeigen. Wir besuchten Einkaufszentren und die Berliner Parks. Und viele Restaurants.

— Zwei Flammkuchen, bitte schön!

Wir probierten Essen aus der ganzen Welt.

Meine Tante war immer begeistert! Also wollte ich ihr noch mehr zeigen. Von dieser bunten Stadt.

Ted: Before long, Moulud and her aunt got to know each other. It was easy, Moulud tells us, because Negin was only a few years older than her. In their conversations, Negin told Moulud about Afghanistan – about the beautiful landscape, or Landschaft, and how the country was free and colorful before the war, and before the reign of the Taliban, who repressed the people, especially women, with their strict enforcement of sharia law. For example, Negin had to stop going to school because she was a girl, and she was only allowed to leave the house if a man was with her, wenn ein Mann dabei war.

But now she was in Germany, and Moulud wanted to show her how life was here! They visited the beautiful Berlin parks, shopping centers, and tons of restaurants. In Berlin, you can eat food from just about anywhere in the world, and they did just that. Negin was always super excited about everything, and Moulud wanted to show her even more of this colorful city!

Moulud: Es war Sommer. Und bald: Christopher Street Day oder Berlin Pride! Über dieses Event hatten wir noch nie gesprochen.

Ich wollte sie darüber informieren, weil es ein wichtiges Thema ist. Und weil konservative Familien oft nicht darüber sprechen.

Ich erzählte ihr von der Parade. Und erklärte ihr, warum wir den Christopher Street Day feiern.

Mein Farsi war nicht mehr perfekt. Und viele Wörter kannte ich auf Farsi nicht: Wörter wie “Homosexualität“, “Gleichstellung“ oder “Diskriminierung“.

Hatte sie alles verstanden? Ich war nicht sicher. Aber sie war sehr interessiert. Und, sie wollte mitkommen!

Ted: Every summer in Berlin, we celebrate Pride, or as it’s called in Germany, Christopher Street Day, or CSD. CSD is held in memory of the Stonewall Riots, the first major LGBTQI uprising against police assaults in the United States, which occurred on Christopher Street in New York City in 1969. It’s considered one of the most important events leading to the gay liberation movement in the States. Here in Berlin, we remember the day with a big parade. Everyone dresses up in colorful costumes, drinks a lot of beer (we are in Germany of course), and parties! Now, Moulud hadn’t told Negin about it yet, but wanted to fill her in, because it’s an important topic here, and because conservative Muslim families don’t really speak about homosexuality. She explained the reason behind the celebration as best she could, but her Farsi, the language she and Negin used together, wasn’t perfect anymore. She didn’t know the words for homosexuality, discrimination, or equality – Gleichstellung. Did Negin understand everything? Moulud wasn’t sure. But her aunt was clearly interested, and wanted to go!

Moulud: Am Tag der Parade holte ich sie ab. Wir fuhren zur Siegessäule. Dort wurde es immer voller. Überall waren Menschen. In bunter Kleidung. Mit Ballons und Bier in der Hand. Und Glitzer überall: im Haar, auf der nackten Haut.

Meine Tante hatte schon ganz große Augen. Und da war sie. Die Parade! So viele Eindrücke: Laute Musik von allen Seiten.

Alle lachten, sangen und tanzten. Frauen küssten Frauen, Männer küssten Männer. Meine Tante starrte nur noch … Mit offenem Mund … Und dann sah ich Tränen in ihren Augen. Oh, nein! War es zu viel für sie?

Ted: On the day of the parade, Moulud picked Negin up and they made their way to the Siegessäule, literally the Victory Column, a monument in the middle of Berlin’s “Central Park”, Tiergarten. This monument was originally meant to commemorate a slate of German military victories in the late 1800s, and the 200-foot-tall column is topped with a golden statue of Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory. The landmark has since been co-opted as a symbol in the fight for LGBTQI rights, and is always included in the CSD parade route. There were people everywhere in colorful clothes, with beer and balloons in hand. And of course, glitter, in people’s hair and on their bare skin. People were laughing, singing, and dancing. Women were kissing women, men kissing men. Moulud turned and saw Negin was just staring, and there were tears in her eyes - Tränen in ihren Augen. “Oh, nein!”, thought Moulud. Was all this too much for her aunt?

Moulud: Ich nahm Negins Hand und fragte: “Wie geht es dir?” Da liefen ihr die Tränen herunter.

Aber sie lächelte und sagte: “Mich macht das so glücklich, wenn ich die Menschen sehe. Sie sind so frei!” Da hatte ich auch Tränen in den Augen.

Und dann umarmten wir uns. Wir umarmten uns bis uns die tanzenden Menschen in die Menge zogen. Wir lachten. Gemeinsam liefen wir mit der Parade mit. Arm in Arm.

Ted: Moulud reached out, took Negin’s hand, and asked her how she was doing. Tears were streaming down her face. But then she smiled and said, Mich macht das so glücklich, wenn ich die Menschen sehe. Sie sind so frei! – “It makes me so happy when I see the people. They’re so free!” Now Moulud couldn’t help but cry tears of joy as well. Aunt and niece, with two completely different experiences of the world, hugged each other until they were pulled into the mass of dancing people, laughing and walking along with the parade, arm in arm.

What a beautiful story! I’ll be smiling all day after hearing that. Now, as always, I’ve got a little language tip for you. You may have noticed some phrases in today’s episode starting with the words weil (because) and wenn (if or when). These little phrases are called Nebensätze, or subordinate clauses. The main thing to remember with these weil/wenn phrases, is that the verb gets kicked to the end. Let’s take a quick look at a couple of examples from the story so you can see what I mean: …weil wir wenig Kontakt hatten. – …because we’d had little contact; …weil es ein wichtiges Thema ist. – …because it’s an important topic; and …wenn ich die Menschen sehe. – …when I see the people. 

Why don’t you listen to the story again, trying to pick out some more of these Nebensätze? If you’re up for a challenge, check out the monolingual version, with everything in German! And of course, you can check out our courses in the Babbel app for more practice.

So, faithful listeners, that was the last episode in season one of Speaking of Berlin. We hope you enjoyed the chance to improve your German while learning more about this wild, multi-faceted city. As usual, we’d love to hear what you think about this series, so we’ve put together a short survey for you to fill out. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to complete, and your answers will help us understand what you liked, and where we could improve. You can find the link in the show notes.

Thanks again for supporting Speaking of Berlin! And with that, I won’t say goodbye, but instead see you again, or as we say in Germany – Auf Wiedersehen!