Chicken

At some point in your life, you have played the game of "Chicken". I played it often on top of the monkey bars, on a balance beam, or Camp Half Moon on a small dock on the lake. Chicken is the game where two people are walking, crawling, swimming, etc... towards each other. Eventually, one person has to move aside, or else you both will crash. The person who moves is the "Chicken".

Every time that I venture out into the streets of Berlin, I play the game of Chicken with Berliners. More often than not, I am the Chicken. The sidewalks here are rather wide, yet oncoming Berliners find a way directly in my path, even when I am clearly on the right side. No matter how many obstacles I have (bike lanes, dog poop, the side of a building) or how close to the street I am, Berliners do not move over, and it is I that must move, else we crash. This is not an exaggeration. It happens on a daily basis.

Often times, Berliners walk in groups of 3 or 4 people. Rather than form a line or walk 2x2 so that people can walk beside and pass one another, these groups of 3 or 4 people walk in a horizontal line, Charlotte, Miranda, Carrie, and Samantha style. Somehow, these ladies never crash into oncoming people and are able to hold a conversation about their latest sexcapades. However, this is not Sex and the City, and the groups of 3 or 4 people take up the entire sidewalk, whilst I crash into the row of bikes parked on the side of the sidewalk, or the tables from the outdoor seatings of the cafe that I am passing. I'm not invisible...these people can clearly see me, and yet they do not move. I have started to frown at them, saying "Seriously?!" in a rude voice. This has not proved to be effective. One day, I hope to win this game of "Chicken."