An L.A. Native Adjusts To Life In Berlin

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Clay Lerner opened a new chapter in his life shortly before the end of the year.

The 25 year-old moved from Los Angeles, the city he was born and grew up in, to Berlin.

"Any German here imagines Los Angeles being this wonderful place that nobody should ever leave."

Clay left L.A. in late October. He moved with five suitcases, mostly clothing, his computer, and a deflated basket ball.

"I did think it was a good idea to take a basketball, one of the USA's finest exports. One advantage of moving to Europe- I can finally root for East Coast sport teams, like the Boston Celtics."

Within two weeks, the artist managed to find an apartment in Kreuzberg, deal with a good amount of German bureaucracy, and experience a Turkish barber that almost lit his ears on fire.

"First, I was definitely taken aback as soon as I saw him lighting up this sort of torch. Well, they do it to burn the hair that falls into the ears."

The Turkish barbershop is already part of his Berlin routine. So is getting up late.

For the time being Clay can't complain.

"There is so much stuff going on all the time. These great bars, great DJ's playing every single night of the week, and yet you're totally content staying in, missing all that. Probably because you know that you'll always have another opportunity to take advantage of these things. Berlin is a great place for doing nothing," Lerner says.

Doing nothing would be way harder in a place like Los Angeles, says the American. What helps are the sub-zero temperatures in Berlin.

He's been learning some German though, shouting answers back at his computer. Lerner has been using a language-learning software he downloaded illegally. Apart from that, Lerner says he enjoys food.

"There is way less food snobbery here, which is a big change over L.A. You don't really feel guilty, eating pizza, shawarma, and ice cream and beer as sort of your major food groups."

Lerner had visited Berlin twice before he decided to move to Berlin. Germany became relevant to him while studying art history and fine arts at Art Center in Pasadena.

The connection also came from his grandmother whose native language is German.

When mentioning his family and friends, Lerner says he doesn't feel homesick. There is no reason to because he is always on the online telephone service Skype. He can't help but draw parallels between the neighborhoods of the sister cities.

"Kreuzberg can be Echo Park, and Charlottenburg is Beverly Hills, right?”

He has at least five months to figure that one out. That's how long his first apartment lease is lasts. Looking into the future, the artist imagines by the time spring comes around.

"I'd like to have learned some German by then, substantial German. And I'd like to be able riding the train legally, paying for tickets, to be able to afford train tickets would be great."

The 25 year-old keeps his professional goals a secret. Perhaps he doesn't want to be disappointed, or he regards his time in Berlin as an experiment that can't go wrong.

In any case, he brought his laid-back Californian attitude to a place that embraces easy-going.

"It was very easy to move here, but maybe the difficulties, the real difficulties, still await me." Copyright 2010 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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