"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few."

- Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki

I'm back in NYC and the question from friends and family is how was the Fill-in-the-Blank Residency? I attempt to fill in the blanks for them and for myself, as I'm surrounded again by familiar people, things, and places, it's taken a few weeks to digest my experiences.

I'm a fan of breaking things down in useful nuggets so here are few tips to create a DIY residency.

1. Do Not Learn the Language*

Berlin is full of history and horrors and people who are not from Berlin, or even Germany. However German is always spoken first and they are proud of their language. I learned enough German to read a menu because I enjoy eating, and a few hello, goodbye phrases. That was all. Because I did not know the language I was able to surrender to the stories in my head uninterrupted. These thoughts informed my creative writing, which I did daily. When people asked me questions or yelled at me (so many rules in Germany!), I chose the ignorant path without guilt:

"Sorry, ich spreche Englisch", and I'd be on my way.

*for short-term residencies, if you're living in another country I recommend learning the local language

2. Do Take Classes

From my Creative Nonfiction City Writing class I discovered the joy of being in school again with no other obligations. We observed the city around us, wrote essays, read them out loud, workshopped them, wrote again, read again, left with almost final pieces. From my Fundamentals of Acting class I discovered that physical movement is often more powerful than words to communicate. Dancing and sweating with strangers from all over the world who I'll likely never see again was completely liberating.

3. Do Follow Signs and Posters

Walking, biking, or traveling on the U-Bahn with my head not buried in a book or smartphone, I noticed posters and signs for things happening around Berlin. Yes, I know these also in New York, but my daily routine prevented me from taking the time to stop, look, and take in the messages. I made travelling from place to place in Berlin part of the adventure process always observing people and my surroundings. I was never in a rush. I discovered flea markets in cozy neighborhoods, new museum exhibits, a circus show in park, and other random stuff that I actually did - not just talked about doing.

4. Do Not (SERIOUSLY!) Get A Smartphone

Once I got to Berlin I suspended my home phone and data plan, found a T-Mobile store and bought a simple mobile phone. Remember those? I used it for calls and simple texts with the T-9 dictionary (which was so frustrating to use I usually called people). My friends and I met up at real places in real-time without

Dear god whatever you do use your smartphone, don't get data plan. Get a paper map or google things before you leave the house and trust yourself to be a capable adult who did once exist before wifi and smartphones. I got a simple phone that could only makes calls and basic texts. The primitiveness of the T-9 dictionary to text forced me to call people (by people I mean my boyfriend only) instead. And it worked, we spoke and met up all without emojis and colored screens.

*Note: Most of these tips don't require you to leave the country or even your town. How to keep the beginner's mind at home? That is the question...

4 Tips to Create Your Own Fill-in-the-Blank Residency