In the middle of… Buenos Aires
Illustration: Marc Herold
Broken glass, rubbish, dog poop: It takes courage to walk barefoot through the streets of Buenos Aires. Juan, the neighbor from the first floor, still dares. One jokingly asks if he forgot his shoes? No, no, says Juan, all on purpose: “I’m enjoying my life!” He worked hard for more than 30 years as a doctor, long shifts, several operations a day. “I was like a zombie,” he says. But now he is retired. “You know, it’s the little things that make life worth living.” A glass of wine, a meeting with friends or, like now, a barefoot walk with your dog: “To feel life.” And while Juan is talking like this, his poodle poops on the sidewalk. Juan doesn’t seem to mind. He says goodbye in a friendly manner and leaves the pile lying around. Should one complain? Oh fuck it. There are more important things in life. Christopher Gurk
In the middle of… Augsburg
Illustration: Marc Herold
History lesson in the 6th grade of a secondary school in Augsburg, topic Middle Ages. I sit in the classroom with the twelve-year-old child I look after as a school tutor and listen to the teacher’s explanations. Life in the castle, Charlemagne, Pepin the Short, various Crusades. Everything was already a topic months before. The Bavarian curriculum envisages an epic long time for the Middle Ages, and it took a very long time, from 500 to 1500 AD. The lesson is already a while late when the school companion asks suddenly and very curiously – probably inspired by my silver mane: “And what did you do in the Middle Ages?” Now neither hyaluron face masks nor a good hairdresser help to get out of the number. Susanne Perras
In the middle of… Munich
Illustration: Marc Herold
On the Marienplatz, people with masks rush in all directions. Some wear them on the crook of their arms, others on their chins, others under their noses. In the hustle and bustle, two people who obviously know each other discover each other, they laugh, wave, and make their way through the crowd. Then they face each other and rub nose to nose, a typical greeting in the Arab Gulf States. Where are their masks?, one thinks. Then: crazy, so close, crazy. A group of teenagers watches the spectacle, they snort, obediently in the crook of their arm. The men didn’t notice anything, they beam at each other and seem to have fallen out of time. Oh, back when Munich was still mask-free… You are grateful for that for a brief moment. And immediately thinks again: I hope they haven’t become infected now. Dunya Ramadan