Berlin
Monday, September 15:
Number of times in one day: 1
1.
Time of day: 10:30 p.m.
Location: Tucholskystraße in Mittei.
Were you alone? No, my friend Juan Pablo.
Was he alone? Yes
What happened?
The weekly Berlin Couchsurfer meeting was happening at the bar in our building. We were sitting on a bench outside when adrunk, middle-aged Englishman with long hair. asked me for a cigarette, then went on to question me about why Germans smoke French cigarettes (Gauloises) and brought forth his own theories (“They’re more dangerous. You like to seem dangerous.”).
Tuesday, September 16:
Number of times: None.
Wednesday, September 17:
Number of times: 1
1.
Time of day: 8:30 p.m.
Location: In Mittei.
Were you alone? No, I was with a girlfriend.
Was he alone? No
What happened?
Two sleazy-looking middle-aged men in suits were smoking outside the opening of a cinema-turned-art space and shooting looks at the young women around them. “You can forget about the art, but the in-crowd, the in-crowd is here,” one of them said.
Thursday, September 18:
Number of times: None
Friday, September 19:
Number of times: 2
1.
Time of day: 6:30 a.m.
Location: The Tegel airport at a train station in Wedding.
Were you alone? Yes
Was he alone? Yes
Where was it?
What happened? A man in blue-collar work clothes, a mullet, and a big mustache was waiting for the bus next to me and started staring. He stared in a way that wasn’t about looking, but about me noticing. It was aggressive, somewhat resentful.
2.
Time: 7:30 a.m.
Location: Mitte
Were you alone? Yes
Was he alone? Yes
What happened? I was on my bike, and this typical Berlin blue-collar type with an explicitly masculine driving pose was beside me in his car. I couldn’t understand what he was mumbling, but it was clearly directed towards me and I am very sure it was a comment on me riding a men’s racing bike in a white dress. He looked very happy and entertained.
Saturday, September 20:
Number of times: 2
1.
Time of day: Around 1:00 p.m.
Were you alone? No, I was with my friend Aida.
Was he alone? No, there were two men.
What happened? Two black men hanging around in the park called to us, “Hello ladies, what’s up? What can I do for you?” (They were selling weed.)
2.
Time of day: 4:00 p.m.
Were you alone? No, I was with my friend Aida.
Was he alone? Yes
What happened? An older man, Turkish or other Southeast European origin, was just staring constantly at us when we were sitting on the subway. In Berlin staring feels like such a normal thing, I don’t even notice it anymore. My friend Aida just came back from London and she was very confused by it.
Sunday, September 21:
Number of times: None
Monday, September 22:
Number of times: 1
1.
Time of day: 10:30 a.m.
Were you alone? Yes
Was he alone? No, there were several men.
What happened? I left my house and crossed the street with my bike to pick up a parcel at the kiosk and café opposite that’s only open from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. and frequented mainly by the area’s construction workers. Several workers were sitting outside, and one stared at me from the moment I came through my door to the moment I went into the kiosk, and probably when I left again, too. He was heavy-set and much younger than the previous ones, late 20s or early 30s. His resentfully aggressive stare could easily match that of his older peers.
