All the students in my language course were either “freelancing,” receiving unemployment benefits, or doing the same as me, covertly living off their parents while remaining vague about the source of their income. This idleness was a citywide phenomenon and was part of the strange, disorienting social fabric of Berlin. Weekends and weekdays had much the same texture, as the streets were always full of people with no place to be and nothing much to do. People did not discuss their work, or lack thereof, as both the rich and the poor were scared of being exposed.
