First Day of Classes +

Yesterday I went over to the gym "Fitness Center" with some students and signed myself up for a membership. On Monday, Stef had negotiated with the man behind the counter for students to receive a specially priced deal on membership - and I wanted to make sure to get it! The gym is on the 3rd floor (four flights up) of a courtyard building. THe main room is filled with machines and weights, stretching mats, etc. All of the guys are hot. Up a winding staircase are two tanning booths (one for strong, one for light), the locker and shower rooms (very nice), the yoga/pilates/step/etc studio (big, lined with mirrors and a beautiful view of Friedrichshain) and a sauna that is adjacent to a beautiful serpentine tile-walled shower and a spa-style relaxation room. The sauna is women only for some hours on tuesdays, otherwise for both sexes.

You're probably wondering what the view is out the window of my room:

Two shots of the school, yes it's the Nouveau building:


This is a view across the street from the school:

The school is about a 15-minute strassenbahn ride away. Yesterday was the first day for the animation class; everything went smoothly except the projector took some getting used to: it projected an image seemingly 10 feet tall and 15 feet wide! I'm not good with sizes so I may be off by some. The windows in the room are double-insulated, and both sets swing in with handles. I'll take photos next time I go.

The special topics class client is Marcus Ahlers of Takt Gallery. He also runs a residency program. That's where artists come to make art for a certain amount of time, and the host provides housing and whatever other agreed-upon necessities. We're looking forward to his gallery tour, which will take place next Thursday.