(Re)programmed by Another New City — This Time, Berlin
Let’s talk about cities. I live in Paris; came from Hong Kong,
And discovered Berlin.
The power of a city
It is amazing to see how much power a city has over us, the way we get conditioned by simply dwelling inside — our way of thinking and habits that get bent & twisted. And what’s more, when we transit from one city to another, we expand. What we once thought are facts of life no longer apply. Instead, we experience this strange sensation of novelty that surprises us and triggers chemical change within us.
It is combustion of what-you-know, what-you-don’t-know, and what-you-don’t-know-that-you-don’t-know.
Let’s use me as an example. I came from Hong Kong — a place where everything is about efficiency. It is the city of How. We just to get things done here. On the other hand in Paris, enjoying life is much more important — even as a starving artist. They even have a name for it: la joie de vivre. Work is secondary. Achieving results is not more than a choice of lifestyle.
My move to a new city revealed how my ingrained belief & habits didn’t collide with the new one. Because of Paris, I was pushed to ask WHY instead of HOW (I have written an article about how this Paris city triggered me in 2017 to call for like-minded creatives & entrepreneurs through CO-Happening).
City of WHAT — Berlin
Last October after my two months back in Hong Kong, I leapt over to yet another city: Berlin to discover what value Co-Happening could offer there.
In the beginning, I expected only techno clubs and graffiti arts. But to my surprise, the city offers much more. It is a perfect mixing pot of passionate globetrotters, international artists and entrepreneurs.
In fact, the way Berlin is knit together, almost 70 years after the end of World War II, and 25 years after the fall of the Wall, it has become with its own right, the paradise to connect individuals with diverse interests & missions.
Choosing between an option and an option.
But after a few weekends of dwelling with a local friend in Berlin, I was exhausted. I was overwhelmed with options and possibilities. I clicked yes to every activity available on Facebook, but couldn’t care less to attend. It was as if, missing one gig means there is another one tomorrow.
Imagine yourself spending a week in Berlin:
You arrived on Friday. You went to plant some trees on Sat, and tried tai chi on Sun, fed the homeless the following morning, and then discussed the immigration crisis & rocked up a zero waste solution at night. Then you joined some underground performances on Wednesday and at the end, you got high-fived by some fun-loving tech startups on Thurs to brainstorm the next world-changing app.
The way people interact in Berlin is so different from both Hong Kong and Paris city. Having so many possibilities here, identities & relationships are fleeting. It seems that the challenge of Berlin is not about being stuck in the past, like in Paris, nor being too quick into the future that you have no time to breathe, like in Hong Kong. The provocation from this city is being too much in the moment — it is indifferent to novelty.
Everyone and everything in the city can be your next best friend who happens to be an acquaintance by tomorrow. The result of this?! Well, the city prompts its dwellers to stay at the surface of things. If one project, one relation or one mission doesn’t work, people move on to the next. Like why try harder when you can just try again?
How about you?
How does your city change you?
Note: This article is prompted by our 24th PowWow in Paris: What is your city made of?! https://www.facebook.com/events/428095341074116/
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About
Carrie spent most of her life navigating possibilities & her relationship with the world between cities and continents. She surfed waves of uncertainty that spurred both her failures and successes in both start-ups and corporate environments. https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrieso/
She founded the CO-Happening community in Paris in 2017. It started off as a call out for like-minded collaborators to explore the alternatives of what is “invisible to the eyes”. Since then, over 1.200 people joined and ran over 30 events in cities such as Paris, Berlin & Hong Kong. https://www.cohappening.space/
CoHap Lab emerged out of the community in September 2018 based on the demands to innovate tools & training that enable members to effectively cultivate their ideas, missions & passions to make things happen! https://www.cohappening.space/cohaplab1/
