"Bist du Jana?"

I stood by the strawberry hut waiting for some girlfriends for our Girl's Night Out in Schanze. Apparently we were not the only ones meeting at "the strawberry" at 9pm on a Friday night. In true German fashion, I arrived early. (It's possible that it was also a touch of "I-need-a-30-minute-buffer-in-case-I-get-lost fashion.)

There were a lot of people standing around waiting in ones or twos for the rest of their group to show up. Some played with their phones and some looked around nervously (me!) to pass the time. Suddenly I noticed a not unattractive blond boy heading my way. He had a nervous smile on his face and uncertainty in his eyes.

"Bist du Jana?"

I smiled and shook my head politely. No, I'm not Jana.

[Make sure you read that with a soft J -- Yana. Go back and try again if you have to, it makes a big difference. ]

He moved over to the other side of the strawberry to wait for his Jana.

***

A weeks later, I found myself at the same location for another Friday evening out. This one included a major downpour that pushed us all away from the strawberry and into the safety of the U-bahn station.

It didn't take long before a young gentleman sauntered up to me.

"Bist du Jana?"

 Again, I shyly answered in the negative.

Why are so many people meeting up with people they don't know? Blind dates? Friends of friends? How popular of a name is Jana? Do I really look like a Jana?

In German class, I was known as Heidi, but I think I've found a new alias.

*You might wonder why there's a strawberry hut in the fall. There's not. I'm just really behind on sharing this little story.