Hey 20 Percent!
Thanks to all of you who reached out last week about my pending UntƤtigkeitsklage (suit for inaction) against the Berlin AuslƤnderbehƶrde for taking their jolly old time with my application for citizenship. As one reader, who is also an attorney, pointed out ā I can file it on my own, which is my goal.
But as he also mentioned ā I should just threaten them first. I was travelling a lot last week so Iāll threaten with the suit Monday. Then they have two weeks to respond before I lower the lawsuit hammer.
And if that fails I now have a trustworthy list of attorneys I can turn to.
I really appreciate the responses and was impressed with the 20 Percent community (once again).
Have a good weekend!
Andrew
Indian students receiving poor guidance
The German government is also doing too little to help Indian students who want to study here, according to Tagesspiegel (paywall). The students often fall victim to unregulated agents who connect them with low-quality universities, whose degrees arenāt recognized by German companies. The fees often exceed the fees at public universities, forcing the students to work for equally unscrupulous delivery companies. The UK and US already have proven university recruitment programs and networks as well as local communities to support students. But Indians only recently began coming to Germany in large numbers to study and the government has yet to develop the necessary safeguards ā such as regulating or fining unscrupulous private recruiters.
from our partner
Making real friends in Berlin is hard. Especially for expats in their 20s to 40s.
No one to call in an emergency. No group that truly has your back.
Thatās why we created Inner Circle. A hand-selected group of 8 expats who meet regularly.
You meet the same people and have deep conversations. Over time, you build deep connections with them. They become people you can rely on.
More discount travel options
And for those wanting to actively flee the inaction ā itās getting easier (and cheaper) to leave Berlin. Dutch Govolta now offers discount rail trips between Gesundbrunnen and Amsterdamās Centaal Station on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sunday. The trip is longer than Deutsche Bahnās ICEs at eight instead of six hours but tickets cost just between ā¬19 and ā¬45, including a seat reservation, according to RBB24. And discount rail travel king Flixtrain is also adding more trains to its Berlin-Stuttgart and Berlin-Frankfurt routes, says Tagesspiegel.
The strike next week will be ā¦
Thereās accidental inaction and willful inaction: Berlinās pharmacies will be inactive Monday as part of a nation-wide strike to protest what they see as government indifference to difficult economic conditions, according to RBB24. The fee the pharmacies receive for selling prescription medication hasnāt changed in 13 years as inflation and other costs increased. About 20% of Berlin pharmacies have reportedly closed because of the difficult financial waters.
šŗ š„Ø Germany-wide news š„Ø šŗ
š Who was this Habermas philosopher anyway?
š³ Berlinās HelloFresh isnāt doing well
š· The election in winey Rhineland-Palatinate Sunday
š German comedic actor in off-the-hook sex scandal w/ wife
Factoid
Berlinās isnāt as awash in cocaine as it seems ā the city ranks 38th out of 128 European cities in an annual study by the EU Drugs Agency that uses wastewater to gauge narcotics usage. We also came in 11th in MDMA usage but third in Ketamine. However, the researchers discovered that while most drug use spikes on weekends, cocaine is apparently in use consistently throughout the week in Berlin. The most MDMA is consumed in Amsterdam while Bristol and Middlesborough in the UK lead in Keta and Coke, respectively.
š š š Useful links š š š
šļøThe 20% Berlin Podcast on Spotify
I know youāre explicitly against misogyny and sexism, so please donāt take this as more than a very small comment: your title for the collien fernandes story is a bit unfortunate (āGerman comedic actor in off-the-hook sex scandal w/ wifeā). āScandalā sounds as if they both did something scandalous (she didnāt), and the framing of ācomedic actorā / āwifeā sounds as if sheās some rando - sheās an actress and TV presenter
Indians do not come here to study!!