This morning, when my alarm went off at 6:45 I was SO SO SO not happy to be waking up for an 8 am. After a wonderful theater class until 8 last night (I get to go see 6 plays this semester for free!) and a conversation with my host mom about her 3 week trip to Buenos Aires in late October (WhAt!?!?!), the last thing I wanted to do was get out of my warm cozy bed. But alas, I did.
I went to Pop Culture this morning and while the professor is really nice I just don't think I have a great enough interest in the subject. I mean don't get me wrong, I think the whole green hair, think black eyeliner, punk stuff is really cool, just not my style.
Then I went to my German class. As you might recall I placed into the 2nd class which is fine and well but I went to the class today and it was REALLY REALLY easy so I talked to my old teacher and I'm trying to do a switcheroo into the top level. Now, if I switch I'm going to be in WAY OVER MY HEAD. But being the overachiever I am (and considering I came here to learn German), I really would rather be the worst in a class than the best.
And then I had German and Jews which is obviously going to be really interesting. And I'm so excited to be taking a class like this and talk about something more beside the Holocaust. We will obviously spend a lot of time talking about it but we are also going to discuss the relationship between the Germans and Jews long before the Holocaust, the time leading up to the Holocaust, and then finally how the Holocaust has effected the relationship.
So, after class I made a quick run to the Turkish Market with Perry and Juanita and the stangest thing EVER happened on the U-bahn. First of all, nobody talks on the U-bahn. NOBODY. But Juanita was eating some cookies and a homeless man approached her and asked her for one. She gave it to him and he walked away and then we went on with our business. But then, right before his stop we came back and asked for two more. Again, annoying but no big deal. She gave him the cookies and then we here this screaming. There were two guys sitting behind us - one was deaf and the other had down-syndrome. We turned around to see the deaf man getting ready to beat the tar out of the homeless man as the homeless man was shoving the cookie into the little boys face. The train stopped at the next station (sketchy, sketchy Kotbusser Tor) and the homeless man got off. I talked to the deaf man (he had a hearing aid but had some speech impairments so it was REALLY difficult)a nd told hm that the cookie was safe it eat and that it was from us...reading over this it doesn't sound as bizarre and outrageous as it actually was.
But anyway, I bought what felt like everything in sight at the Market and am now sitting down to do homework. I'm still trying to decide whether I want to go to small group tonight. It takes me over an hour to get there and its raining and I have alot of work...but we'll see!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Back in Berlin and the first day of classes!
Well, we finally made it home yesterday after a bit of delay on the train. And I have to admit that I've never been so happy to be somewhere "foreign" in my entire life. After the 5 hour train ride through beautiful countryside and leaves changing colors, I was so ready to return "home" even if it was actually my home away from home away from home.
Yesterday afternoon when I finally got back home I was greeted by 13 bees. They were thankfully all dead but there were more living ones flying around when i woke up this morning...I'm going to have to talk to Aloissia about that! Anyways, I did some laundry and talked on skype and finally got a good nights sleep in my own bed!! It was amazing!
I woke up this morning for my first day of classes which was a mixture of excitement and fear. I was so afraid that I would be lost the whole time but as I expected my classes so far have been absolutely AMAZING!! I still have one more to go (it doesn't start until 6pm) but my two morning classes were unbelievable!
My first class was Portable Roots and we're going to be talking about ethnic and religious minorities in both Germany and Europe. Now I'm sure to most of youth at sounds miserable but couldn't be more excited! My professor is really really cool and easy to understand (which is really the most important thing) and I can't wait to get going with it. My second class today was a German film class which was really cool. It's called German film as refracted history so we wasted no time and watched Der Untertan today which explains the German Empire/Weimar Republic. Now, the movie itself was not my favorite I think the class itself is going to be really neat.
I can not even tell you how happy I am to be starting class. One because I am a huge nerd and two because I finally have a schedule! But anyways, I'm confident that this post is pretty boring (minus the small swarm of bees in my bedroom) but I'm so excited about my classes and I just wanted everyone to know!!
Oh yea, check back in a couple of hours for a picture from the train ride home!!
Yesterday afternoon when I finally got back home I was greeted by 13 bees. They were thankfully all dead but there were more living ones flying around when i woke up this morning...I'm going to have to talk to Aloissia about that! Anyways, I did some laundry and talked on skype and finally got a good nights sleep in my own bed!! It was amazing!I woke up this morning for my first day of classes which was a mixture of excitement and fear. I was so afraid that I would be lost the whole time but as I expected my classes so far have been absolutely AMAZING!! I still have one more to go (it doesn't start until 6pm) but my two morning classes were unbelievable!
My first class was Portable Roots and we're going to be talking about ethnic and religious minorities in both Germany and Europe. Now I'm sure to most of youth at sounds miserable but couldn't be more excited! My professor is really really cool and easy to understand (which is really the most important thing) and I can't wait to get going with it. My second class today was a German film class which was really cool. It's called German film as refracted history so we wasted no time and watched Der Untertan today which explains the German Empire/Weimar Republic. Now, the movie itself was not my favorite I think the class itself is going to be really neat.
I can not even tell you how happy I am to be starting class. One because I am a huge nerd and two because I finally have a schedule! But anyways, I'm confident that this post is pretty boring (minus the small swarm of bees in my bedroom) but I'm so excited about my classes and I just wanted everyone to know!!
Oh yea, check back in a couple of hours for a picture from the train ride home!!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Rubber Ducks, Chinese Fans, and Hot Pink Umbrellas
Saturday, September 27
This morning we departed for the Prague Castle which is set up on a hill overlooking the city. We had the chance to tour the cathedral, the castle, and walk down Golden Lane. It was absolutely gorgeous. We wandered away from the tour guide toward the end which was wonderful and ended up meeting back up with the group later for a wonderful lunch.
While I LOVED seeing the castle, I have to pause to comment on the number of tourists in this city. YUCK! Not just in the castle but EVERYWHERE! It feels like New York City or maybe even Rome. I love love love it here but I’ve spent the last 6 weeks desperately trying to keep myself from being a tourist, so being here and following a Chinese fan that my tour guide’s holding gets annoying. (By the way, the title of this blog is a list of some of the many strange things we saw being waved in the air by tour guides.)
Anyways…After lunch we wandered around/got lost in Prague which was surprisingly fun. When we finally found our way to the Jewish Quarter we ran into Maria and I ended up splitting away from the group and walking with her to buy boots. While I didn’t find any I loved it was fun looking for them and so great to hang out with Maria. We have become pretty close on this trip and it’s amazing how helpful she is with German. Today, for the first time, we finally wandered away from the small talk and had a real conversation about life. While I messed up my German quite a bit, it was so rewarding. And really fun when I said a complicated sentence completely correct without her help. We would celebrate by screaming and clapping our hands…people must have thought we were crazy.
We went to a Czech brewery for dinner which was fun, not the best meal ever but a good time. And now here I am, catching up on the last couple of days of my life after a nice long hot shower before I return to Berlin.
And on that note, I could NOT be more excited about going “home” to Berlin tomorrow. Being away for 8 days and traveling through Eastern Europe has made me realize just how much I love Berlin and just how wonderful it really is. 24 hour, clean, safe public transportation. People who speak a language I speak. A wonderfully rich culture worth visiting by tourists but not flooded with tourists. Uh, I could go on forever but I’ll stop here. I love Berlin and I’m ABSOLUTELY thrilled to be going back.
THRILLED!
By the way, Mom and Dad I’m meeting you in Prague…I’ve got to come back!
This morning we departed for the Prague Castle which is set up on a hill overlooking the city. We had the chance to tour the cathedral, the castle, and walk down Golden Lane. It was absolutely gorgeous. We wandered away from the tour guide toward the end which was wonderful and ended up meeting back up with the group later for a wonderful lunch.
While I LOVED seeing the castle, I have to pause to comment on the number of tourists in this city. YUCK! Not just in the castle but EVERYWHERE! It feels like New York City or maybe even Rome. I love love love it here but I’ve spent the last 6 weeks desperately trying to keep myself from being a tourist, so being here and following a Chinese fan that my tour guide’s holding gets annoying. (By the way, the title of this blog is a list of some of the many strange things we saw being waved in the air by tour guides.)
Anyways…After lunch we wandered around/got lost in Prague which was surprisingly fun. When we finally found our way to the Jewish Quarter we ran into Maria and I ended up splitting away from the group and walking with her to buy boots. While I didn’t find any I loved it was fun looking for them and so great to hang out with Maria. We have become pretty close on this trip and it’s amazing how helpful she is with German. Today, for the first time, we finally wandered away from the small talk and had a real conversation about life. While I messed up my German quite a bit, it was so rewarding. And really fun when I said a complicated sentence completely correct without her help. We would celebrate by screaming and clapping our hands…people must have thought we were crazy.
We went to a Czech brewery for dinner which was fun, not the best meal ever but a good time. And now here I am, catching up on the last couple of days of my life after a nice long hot shower before I return to Berlin.
And on that note, I could NOT be more excited about going “home” to Berlin tomorrow. Being away for 8 days and traveling through Eastern Europe has made me realize just how much I love Berlin and just how wonderful it really is. 24 hour, clean, safe public transportation. People who speak a language I speak. A wonderfully rich culture worth visiting by tourists but not flooded with tourists. Uh, I could go on forever but I’ll stop here. I love Berlin and I’m ABSOLUTELY thrilled to be going back.
THRILLED!
By the way, Mom and Dad I’m meeting you in Prague…I’ve got to come back!
Finally in Prague
Friday, September 26
We woke up at 6:15 this morning which was MISERABLE and had yet another close call at the train station. People just don’t understand the concept of being on time and its so aggravating because we all end up paying for it as we run through the train station franticly looking for our track number. But after a long 5 hour train ride (and an awesome nap) Eric and I finally one the epic game of spades and we arrived safely in beautiful Prague.
After a brief lunch in the hotel we did a tour of Prague which was wonderful. It turns out that last week when we wandered aimlessly through Prague at night we intuitively saw all of the sights excluding the Jewish Quarter and the castle. Pretty sweet! We ended the tour at the Charles Bridge at sunset which made for some excellent pictures and if I could get the internet to post them I would. But alas, I’m stealing a connection from the 9th story of a hotel in Prague. So I guess beggars (or in my case thieves) aren’t choosers.
We rode the sorry excuse for an U-Bahn back to the hotel to grab an extra layer before we went back out to find a wonderfully authentic Czech dinner and Czech beer. Dinner was great and I had the chance to hang out with some people outside of my immediate friend group which was so refreshing! We grabbed ice cream (despite the temperature) and went to bed “early.”
It was a wonderful first day in Prague. I just wish you could see all of my pictures!
We woke up at 6:15 this morning which was MISERABLE and had yet another close call at the train station. People just don’t understand the concept of being on time and its so aggravating because we all end up paying for it as we run through the train station franticly looking for our track number. But after a long 5 hour train ride (and an awesome nap) Eric and I finally one the epic game of spades and we arrived safely in beautiful Prague.
After a brief lunch in the hotel we did a tour of Prague which was wonderful. It turns out that last week when we wandered aimlessly through Prague at night we intuitively saw all of the sights excluding the Jewish Quarter and the castle. Pretty sweet! We ended the tour at the Charles Bridge at sunset which made for some excellent pictures and if I could get the internet to post them I would. But alas, I’m stealing a connection from the 9th story of a hotel in Prague. So I guess beggars (or in my case thieves) aren’t choosers.
We rode the sorry excuse for an U-Bahn back to the hotel to grab an extra layer before we went back out to find a wonderfully authentic Czech dinner and Czech beer. Dinner was great and I had the chance to hang out with some people outside of my immediate friend group which was so refreshing! We grabbed ice cream (despite the temperature) and went to bed “early.”
It was a wonderful first day in Prague. I just wish you could see all of my pictures!
Slovakian Castle
Thursday, September 25
After a late night out, waking up in the 7 o’clock hour was not the most wonderful experience ever but I got a good nap in on our hour bus ride to the castle in the little town of Pezinok.
The Red Rock Castle was stuck on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere so all you could see when standing inside was huge green rolling hills, beautiful trees whose leaves were changing colors, and a small lake/river off in the distance. It almost seemed like a fairytale.
After a humorous tour of the castle (the tour guide didn’t know English but had simply memorized everything) we went and toured the largest cellar in Europe. Kind of cool huh!? They use the space now in movies and for concert venues. We also went up and saw a gurad "tower" and got yet another incredible view of the countryside.
We then went into the small town of Pezinok and had by far the best lunch of the trip. Every meal has been fabulous (even for a picky eater like me!) but this one was a step above. Pezinok is in the middle of wine country so we were served this wonderful wine (that was nonalcoholic) but it was better than any alcoholic wine I've ever tried.
We then met up with a new tour guide and went for a short hike through the mountain Baba whic h was beautiful!! It was drizzling which made it a little less fun (and is probably where I got my cold) but the scenery was again beautiful. I did take the time however to work on my German grammar with Maria and we spent a large portion of our walk discussing the Konjunctiv (the grammar stuff that I'm really bad at, but i think i get it now!)!!
We got back to Bratislava in the late afternoon and a couple of us decided to wander around a little since we still hadn't spent a whole lot of time in the old city. When we made it to one of the squares there wer about 20 people dressed in traditional Slovakian clothing (don't worry I didn't know that, I had to ask). Apparently the last couple of weeks have been a culture celbration for Bratislava and today was the end of it. So what did they do to celebrate... they shot guns off in the middle of the square! It scared me half to death/deaf but it was really fun to see.
I broke off from the group and tried to go see the inside of the big church but it was closed for the day. Bummer, but I stil got an incredible look at another part of the city.
Thinking we were coming back to a relaxing evening with dinner at the hotel, we soon realized that the hotel had no idea we were coming. sweet. So we scavanged for food and ended up at this cute little Itlaian place right across from the hotel with huge, cheap pizza!
We came back and packed up for Prague. One more city to go until we're back to the Motherland.
After a late night out, waking up in the 7 o’clock hour was not the most wonderful experience ever but I got a good nap in on our hour bus ride to the castle in the little town of Pezinok.
The Red Rock Castle was stuck on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere so all you could see when standing inside was huge green rolling hills, beautiful trees whose leaves were changing colors, and a small lake/river off in the distance. It almost seemed like a fairytale.
After a humorous tour of the castle (the tour guide didn’t know English but had simply memorized everything) we went and toured the largest cellar in Europe. Kind of cool huh!? They use the space now in movies and for concert venues. We also went up and saw a gurad "tower" and got yet another incredible view of the countryside.
We then went into the small town of Pezinok and had by far the best lunch of the trip. Every meal has been fabulous (even for a picky eater like me!) but this one was a step above. Pezinok is in the middle of wine country so we were served this wonderful wine (that was nonalcoholic) but it was better than any alcoholic wine I've ever tried.
We then met up with a new tour guide and went for a short hike through the mountain Baba whic h was beautiful!! It was drizzling which made it a little less fun (and is probably where I got my cold) but the scenery was again beautiful. I did take the time however to work on my German grammar with Maria and we spent a large portion of our walk discussing the Konjunctiv (the grammar stuff that I'm really bad at, but i think i get it now!)!!
We got back to Bratislava in the late afternoon and a couple of us decided to wander around a little since we still hadn't spent a whole lot of time in the old city. When we made it to one of the squares there wer about 20 people dressed in traditional Slovakian clothing (don't worry I didn't know that, I had to ask). Apparently the last couple of weeks have been a culture celbration for Bratislava and today was the end of it. So what did they do to celebrate... they shot guns off in the middle of the square! It scared me half to death/deaf but it was really fun to see.
I broke off from the group and tried to go see the inside of the big church but it was closed for the day. Bummer, but I stil got an incredible look at another part of the city.
Thinking we were coming back to a relaxing evening with dinner at the hotel, we soon realized that the hotel had no idea we were coming. sweet. So we scavanged for food and ended up at this cute little Itlaian place right across from the hotel with huge, cheap pizza!
We came back and packed up for Prague. One more city to go until we're back to the Motherland.
Friday, September 26, 2008
And this is where they want me to get CLEAN?!?!?
After another late night of hanging out with the gang, we woke up early to eat breakfast and make it to the train station. Which we barely did! We got stuck in MAJOR traffic and by the time we arrived at the station and found our track number we had 6 minutes to get to the track, get to the front car, and load 30 people. Stressful!
Good News: We made it. Bad News: The adventure didn’t stop there.
Once we were on the train we all had trouble falling asleep and were restless until the cabin started to smell strongly of burning rubber. Wunderbar. So as we began to complain about our stupid former Soviet Union train car the entire cabin filled with smoke. And, to make matters worse, the windows wouldn’t open. So we slightly panic and our teacher (who we lovingly call Cactus) tried to go figure out what was going on. And about 10 minutes later when we arrived at some little train station in the middle of the Hungarian countryside we see about 10 people on the track pointing and gasping at the condition of our car. Again, wunderbar! So it turns out that the breaks were on fire. And quite frankly I’m not even sure how to respond to that.
We all got of the train to take a look but were promptly instructed to get back on because there was, “No Probleme.” Maybe she couldn’t see the smoke rushing from under the train…
But, we finally made it to Bratislava which turned out to be fabulous. A little rough around the edges but fabulous. We arrived at Hotel Kyjev and it felt like stepping into a time warp to the early 70’s. Carpet on the walls, wooden paneling, TVs that haven’t worked since the 60’s. You get the picture. When we got up to our room and inspected the bathroom we decided maybe showering here wasn’t such a good idea after all. Perry’s thoughts, and I quote, “And this is were they want me to get CLEAN!?!?!?”
We had a couple of hours before we had to meet up with our tour guide for a walking tour of the city so I had a long lunch with Maria (one of our mentors) and Cactus (the assistant director to the IES program) which was fun. I took my second successful power nap of my time abroad (and am even beginning to think that I could get used to it) and then met up with everyone to walk through cold and rainy Bratislava.
The walking tour was beautiful! Behind all of this ultra eastern European facade was a gorgeous city. The old city, complete with beautiful buildings and cobble stone was gorgeous and made the trip to Bratislava totally worth it.
We ended the tour at a typical Slovakian restaurant and were served another unbelievably delicious meal. We met the guy who organized our trip and talked to him about Bratilsvala and the time he spent studying in Vienna. We got a list of good places to go out, finished dinner, and then headed back to the hotel.
We met in the lobby later that evening and went out with Maria which was so much fun! I had my first cosmopolitan and danced to a Grease medley and I will survive in a club on a boat in the Danube river until early early in the morning! It was a wonderful night and a great first day in Bratislava.
Good News: We made it. Bad News: The adventure didn’t stop there.
Once we were on the train we all had trouble falling asleep and were restless until the cabin started to smell strongly of burning rubber. Wunderbar. So as we began to complain about our stupid former Soviet Union train car the entire cabin filled with smoke. And, to make matters worse, the windows wouldn’t open. So we slightly panic and our teacher (who we lovingly call Cactus) tried to go figure out what was going on. And about 10 minutes later when we arrived at some little train station in the middle of the Hungarian countryside we see about 10 people on the track pointing and gasping at the condition of our car. Again, wunderbar! So it turns out that the breaks were on fire. And quite frankly I’m not even sure how to respond to that.
We all got of the train to take a look but were promptly instructed to get back on because there was, “No Probleme.” Maybe she couldn’t see the smoke rushing from under the train…
But, we finally made it to Bratislava which turned out to be fabulous. A little rough around the edges but fabulous. We arrived at Hotel Kyjev and it felt like stepping into a time warp to the early 70’s. Carpet on the walls, wooden paneling, TVs that haven’t worked since the 60’s. You get the picture. When we got up to our room and inspected the bathroom we decided maybe showering here wasn’t such a good idea after all. Perry’s thoughts, and I quote, “And this is were they want me to get CLEAN!?!?!?”
We had a couple of hours before we had to meet up with our tour guide for a walking tour of the city so I had a long lunch with Maria (one of our mentors) and Cactus (the assistant director to the IES program) which was fun. I took my second successful power nap of my time abroad (and am even beginning to think that I could get used to it) and then met up with everyone to walk through cold and rainy Bratislava.
The walking tour was beautiful! Behind all of this ultra eastern European facade was a gorgeous city. The old city, complete with beautiful buildings and cobble stone was gorgeous and made the trip to Bratislava totally worth it.
We ended the tour at a typical Slovakian restaurant and were served another unbelievably delicious meal. We met the guy who organized our trip and talked to him about Bratilsvala and the time he spent studying in Vienna. We got a list of good places to go out, finished dinner, and then headed back to the hotel.
We met in the lobby later that evening and went out with Maria which was so much fun! I had my first cosmopolitan and danced to a Grease medley and I will survive in a club on a boat in the Danube river until early early in the morning! It was a wonderful night and a great first day in Bratislava.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Our Goodbye to Budapest
Tuesday September 23
We ended Monday with a trip to a very classy gas station a couple blocks down in order to buy some drink sand ice cream for Eric’s birthday. We came back and played a hysterical game of BS and ended the night with a wonderful conversation. It was the deepest conversation I’ve had with people since I’ve gotten here and it was so refreshing. At 2:30 when everyone decided to go to bed, Perry and I kept the good times rolling with an intense but incredible religious debate that kept us up well into the 4 o’clock hour.
We woke up this morning with a free day in Budapest which ended up being me leading 10ish people around the city to visit the Castle/Museum, the park on that same property, the Parliament building, the Jewish Synagogue (I’m pretty sure it's the second largest in the world), to some incredible shopping (I bought lots of gifts), and then to a church in a cave on a hill. It was great to walk around the city and get to know some more of it. Navigating the public transportation without a map was nearly impossible but kept the day interesting!
One of the coolest things we saw today was the cave church. We walked to the top of this small cliff on the side of the Danube river and found this small cathedral literally carved into a cave in the cliff. After looking inside we walked a little higher up the cliff and got an incredible view of the city of Budapest which was a great way to end a sight-seeing day.
This evening we went to a Hungarian restaurant in the “wine country” part of the city. They wouldn’t let us in until we had taken a shot of schnapps so you can only imagine where the night went from there. As we ate they played typical Hungarian folk music and dancing and even called some of the IES students up to help entertain. At one point I balanced a jug full of wine. Pretty impressive, huh!
As we were leaving they played when the Saints Go Marching In which led to a lot of really awful singing on our part and was later followed up by a sing along all the way back to the hotel. We headed down the road to a small store and then returned for more laughs and card games with our advisor walking around saying, “SHHH. Bitte, Nachtruhe.” But don’t worry we really didn’t pay attention to that.
After a short but good nights sleep, I’m headed down to breakfast and then off to Bratislava where I’m sure the fun will continue. But after a wonderful 3 days in Budapest we’re all asking, “Can ever get better than this?”
We ended Monday with a trip to a very classy gas station a couple blocks down in order to buy some drink sand ice cream for Eric’s birthday. We came back and played a hysterical game of BS and ended the night with a wonderful conversation. It was the deepest conversation I’ve had with people since I’ve gotten here and it was so refreshing. At 2:30 when everyone decided to go to bed, Perry and I kept the good times rolling with an intense but incredible religious debate that kept us up well into the 4 o’clock hour.
We woke up this morning with a free day in Budapest which ended up being me leading 10ish people around the city to visit the Castle/Museum, the park on that same property, the Parliament building, the Jewish Synagogue (I’m pretty sure it's the second largest in the world), to some incredible shopping (I bought lots of gifts), and then to a church in a cave on a hill. It was great to walk around the city and get to know some more of it. Navigating the public transportation without a map was nearly impossible but kept the day interesting!
One of the coolest things we saw today was the cave church. We walked to the top of this small cliff on the side of the Danube river and found this small cathedral literally carved into a cave in the cliff. After looking inside we walked a little higher up the cliff and got an incredible view of the city of Budapest which was a great way to end a sight-seeing day.
This evening we went to a Hungarian restaurant in the “wine country” part of the city. They wouldn’t let us in until we had taken a shot of schnapps so you can only imagine where the night went from there. As we ate they played typical Hungarian folk music and dancing and even called some of the IES students up to help entertain. At one point I balanced a jug full of wine. Pretty impressive, huh!
As we were leaving they played when the Saints Go Marching In which led to a lot of really awful singing on our part and was later followed up by a sing along all the way back to the hotel. We headed down the road to a small store and then returned for more laughs and card games with our advisor walking around saying, “SHHH. Bitte, Nachtruhe.” But don’t worry we really didn’t pay attention to that.
After a short but good nights sleep, I’m headed down to breakfast and then off to Bratislava where I’m sure the fun will continue. But after a wonderful 3 days in Budapest we’re all asking, “Can ever get better than this?”
Monday, September 22, 2008
Eating until I throw-up. And then eating some more.
After a wonderful Hungarian dinner and a great conversation with some of the girls, Perry and I headed upstairs to the room and watched Star Wars Episode 2 in GERMAN! And you thought Star Wars was good in English…you haven’t seen anything yet!
But we called it an early night and woke up early this morning for another wonderful all you can eat breakfast and then we hopped on the bus for a 2 hour ride to the Puschta – aka the countryside. On the way there I listened to John Piper’s first sermon in his “Thinking and Feeling with God” series which was absolutely amazing. It’s a look at the importance of Psalms and scripture as a whole and I absolutely recommend it to EVERYONE! It’s a 6 part series and I’m hoping to make it through it before I return to Berlin.
When we arrived we were greeted with shots of Hungarian schnapps at 10:30 am. We then took a horse drawn carriage to see a typical Hungarian country house that a family’s been living in for more than 4 generations. We took some awesome pictures including us climbing on hay barrels like city-folk and then were served more wine.
Afterward we were served Gluwine (hot wine) and saw a horse show where we saw horses race, lay down, and sit down! And the “cowboys” had these incredible whips which made the loudest popping noise ever. I got the chance to ride Winkel the horse bareback!! And it was so much fun!
We then had what felt like an all you can eat Hungarian lunch complete with a beef stew, rice, potatoes, chicken, schnitzel, dessert (flan-like), coffee, and a lot of wine. (Are you beginning to see the trend of serving us more and more alcohol!Some of the group tried to make the cracking sound with the whop but only Hilly (a girl!!) was able to do it!
We took the long way home weaving through the Hungarian countryside and villages which was gorgeous but nauseating. Which brought us back to the hotel for a nice, hot, (in Perry’s words) de-farm-contaminating shower and then dinner in another hour. The thought of eating again makes me want to barf but I think I’ll survive!
And I did...and then we walked to the gas station for a snack and now we're heading upstairs to celebrate Eric's birthday!! Budapest Day 2 has been fabulous! Love y'all and wish we could talk!!
But we called it an early night and woke up early this morning for another wonderful all you can eat breakfast and then we hopped on the bus for a 2 hour ride to the Puschta – aka the countryside. On the way there I listened to John Piper’s first sermon in his “Thinking and Feeling with God” series which was absolutely amazing. It’s a look at the importance of Psalms and scripture as a whole and I absolutely recommend it to EVERYONE! It’s a 6 part series and I’m hoping to make it through it before I return to Berlin.
When we arrived we were greeted with shots of Hungarian schnapps at 10:30 am. We then took a horse drawn carriage to see a typical Hungarian country house that a family’s been living in for more than 4 generations. We took some awesome pictures including us climbing on hay barrels like city-folk and then were served more wine.
Afterward we were served Gluwine (hot wine) and saw a horse show where we saw horses race, lay down, and sit down! And the “cowboys” had these incredible whips which made the loudest popping noise ever. I got the chance to ride Winkel the horse bareback!! And it was so much fun!
We then had what felt like an all you can eat Hungarian lunch complete with a beef stew, rice, potatoes, chicken, schnitzel, dessert (flan-like), coffee, and a lot of wine. (Are you beginning to see the trend of serving us more and more alcohol!Some of the group tried to make the cracking sound with the whop but only Hilly (a girl!!) was able to do it!
We took the long way home weaving through the Hungarian countryside and villages which was gorgeous but nauseating. Which brought us back to the hotel for a nice, hot, (in Perry’s words) de-farm-contaminating shower and then dinner in another hour. The thought of eating again makes me want to barf but I think I’ll survive!And I did...and then we walked to the gas station for a snack and now we're heading upstairs to celebrate Eric's birthday!! Budapest Day 2 has been fabulous! Love y'all and wish we could talk!!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Budapest City Tour als eine Deutscher
Sunday September 21 (evening)
We went on a tour of 
(The Square)
One of the coolest parts about 
(Perry and me at St. Mattias Church)
Anyways, so we changed some money and Perry and I spent the afternoon checking out the shopping so that we can buy the most for the least money on Wednesday!! But it was so wonderful to walk into stores speaking German and not English! I swear we get more respect as Germans than Americans!! Regardless, it was fun to interact with people and pretend like we come from this half of the world.
We are now back in the hotel flipping back and forth between Hungarian handball and an American movie dubbed in German. Wonderful! Perry and I are going to take long, long, long hot showers and not worry about the water bill!!! Talk to y’all soon!!
(Me with Budapest in the back!)
Welcome to the former Soviet Union…
Sunday September 21 (morning)
What a day of traveling. Here I am, 9:24 in the morning and we’ve finally made it to
First, it was really weird to be leaving
We left from Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 2:45. Now, none of you have seen the Berlin Hauptbahnhof but its about the size of the Galleria and about 30x nicer. It’s amazing. So anyway, Perry, Dan, Will, Eric, Diana, and I load into our car for the 5 hour ride to 
(Christine and Jaunita on the top perry and I on the middle, and Sarah and Madeline below - and you can't even see those two!)
When we got on the train we realized we had NO room. You can tell from the pictures that there was legitimately just enough room to breathe. We hung out in another car for awhile with the guys and then called it a night and headed to “sleep.” Now, as much as I’m sure Zach would have loved the experience, it was well…very soviet. Every time we stopped you would ram into the wall which was only about 3 inches from your face to begin with…but we survived. Oh yea, and the train conductor jammed the train car doors closed with ladders so the gypsies would come on and take our stuff. 
(oh yea, cause now we feel safe...)
But we finally arrived in
Saturday, September 20, 2008
And now the fun begins!
Friday September 19
Well, I started of the day with a wonderful (cough, cough) German placement test for Humboldt Universität. I realized things weren’t going well when I signed on, the test came up on my screen, and then immediately read:
Meredith Edrington
0
Isn’t that just wonderful! So, I after a minor freak out I had to sign on and take the exam as my teacher. I did pretty well (I think I could have done better) but the way the test works I could make 100 on some versions and a 5 on others. And with a score somewhere in between you can’t get too upset. But now with Intensivkurs and that stupid test behind me I am ready for an incredible 8 days!!
After the test I headed back home, and FINALLY finished Die Dreigroshenoper which is excellent news! Now I don't have to worry about it on my trip! Perry and Eric met me at the Turkish market (duh - it was Friday) and we bought some snacks for the trip while yelling at angry old Turkish women and their carts. Side note: the very first time we went to the market I feel in love with this ring but it was 8 euro and the man would NOT budge. I've gone back twice a week since I got here and its always been 8 euro. I walked up yesterday just for fun picked up the ring and said, "Wie viel kostet?" the reply, "5 euro." So, persistance pays off and I have a new ring!!
I headed home for a wonderful "linner" date with Zach and then went out with the usual suspects (Perry, Eric, Dan, and Jarrod) to this cool bar with couches, pillows, and blankets. Now that's my kind of place!
which brings me to today...Saturday, the day the fun begins! I leave in 3 hours for Eastern Europe and will be spending 8 days in Budapest, Bratislava, and Prague!! And if your couldn't tell I'm SO SO SO SO SO excited!!!! I'm hoping to have internet while I'm there so that I can post some updates and pictures but if not check back on Sunday the 28th for the whole scoop on the trip! Have a wonderful week!
Oh yea, and GO DEACS!!
Well, I started of the day with a wonderful (cough, cough) German placement test for Humboldt Universität. I realized things weren’t going well when I signed on, the test came up on my screen, and then immediately read:
Meredith Edrington
0
Isn’t that just wonderful! So, I after a minor freak out I had to sign on and take the exam as my teacher. I did pretty well (I think I could have done better) but the way the test works I could make 100 on some versions and a 5 on others. And with a score somewhere in between you can’t get too upset. But now with Intensivkurs and that stupid test behind me I am ready for an incredible 8 days!!
After the test I headed back home, and FINALLY finished Die Dreigroshenoper which is excellent news! Now I don't have to worry about it on my trip! Perry and Eric met me at the Turkish market (duh - it was Friday) and we bought some snacks for the trip while yelling at angry old Turkish women and their carts. Side note: the very first time we went to the market I feel in love with this ring but it was 8 euro and the man would NOT budge. I've gone back twice a week since I got here and its always been 8 euro. I walked up yesterday just for fun picked up the ring and said, "Wie viel kostet?" the reply, "5 euro." So, persistance pays off and I have a new ring!!
I headed home for a wonderful "linner" date with Zach and then went out with the usual suspects (Perry, Eric, Dan, and Jarrod) to this cool bar with couches, pillows, and blankets. Now that's my kind of place!
which brings me to today...Saturday, the day the fun begins! I leave in 3 hours for Eastern Europe and will be spending 8 days in Budapest, Bratislava, and Prague!! And if your couldn't tell I'm SO SO SO SO SO excited!!!! I'm hoping to have internet while I'm there so that I can post some updates and pictures but if not check back on Sunday the 28th for the whole scoop on the trip! Have a wonderful week!
Oh yea, and GO DEACS!!
Friday, September 19, 2008
The perfect apple crisp
Thursday September 18
I knew today was going to be a good day when I left my apartment and the street sweepers spoke to me. Let me assure you that that NEVER happens but for some reason yesterday they told me good morning!
With things started off on the right foot I went in for my last day of Intensivkurs which was actually pretty enjoyable. We watched two movies: The Schwarzfahrer and Kebab Connection.
Schwarzfahrer is about an old cranky woman on a bus who complains about all of the immigrants and how they are taking work from the Germans. When the controller comes by to check their tickets, she pulls hers out and the man next to her eats it! Kebab Connection, a much longer film, is about a Turkish movie producer and his German student girlfriend whose pregnant. It's hard to really explain the storyline but it is by far one of the best German films I've ever seen.
I came home after class and read some more of Die Dreigroschenoper (I'm almost done!!), skyped, and learned some new words from my host mom including new, more "adult" words for words I already know.
And then, the apple crisp. I went to Perry's apartment, ready to redeem our apple crisp reputation, and let me tell you...we did! We made the most unbelievable apple crisp (without a recipe)! I had three servings of it!! Pictures to come later!!
I knew today was going to be a good day when I left my apartment and the street sweepers spoke to me. Let me assure you that that NEVER happens but for some reason yesterday they told me good morning!
With things started off on the right foot I went in for my last day of Intensivkurs which was actually pretty enjoyable. We watched two movies: The Schwarzfahrer and Kebab Connection.
Schwarzfahrer is about an old cranky woman on a bus who complains about all of the immigrants and how they are taking work from the Germans. When the controller comes by to check their tickets, she pulls hers out and the man next to her eats it! Kebab Connection, a much longer film, is about a Turkish movie producer and his German student girlfriend whose pregnant. It's hard to really explain the storyline but it is by far one of the best German films I've ever seen.
I came home after class and read some more of Die Dreigroschenoper (I'm almost done!!), skyped, and learned some new words from my host mom including new, more "adult" words for words I already know.
And then, the apple crisp. I went to Perry's apartment, ready to redeem our apple crisp reputation, and let me tell you...we did! We made the most unbelievable apple crisp (without a recipe)! I had three servings of it!! Pictures to come later!!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The sun is shining, the birds are singing...
OK, so maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit but after the last couple of semi-gloomy, semi-homesick days things are (if you couldn't tell by the title) looking up!!
Class was, well as class always is, thrilling. Ok, another lie. But i learned alot of new words today and have OFFICIALLY mastered Kunjuctiv 2 (ie - If I had brought my umbrella yesterday I wouldn't have gotten completely soaked) and future (ie - My mom will look like a tourist when she visits Berlin) which is SO SO SO exciting! And I can prove it to you because I had an hour long conversation with my host mom today and got complemented on my Kujunctiv 2 and future grammar! And while I'm on the subject, my host mom is fabulous. We shot the breeze today after school and she is so patient with my German. And while my German classes have really helped, I credit most of progress to her.
Anyways, after class (and Weiner Schnitzel at the Mensa) we met all of our professors and they gave us a quick summary of their classes. It was great to finally have an idea of what the next 3 months are going to look like. I now have a face to put with a name and have my AWESOME classes to look forward to! The only sad part about it is that I'm registered for one to many classes and I can't decide which one to drop...decisions decisions!
Anyways, life here is picking back up and the sun even came out today to celebrate! I leave for Budapest, Bratislava, and Prague on Saturday so the blog may be silent starting then but at least for now you know I'm in high spirits and loving my German life!
Class was, well as class always is, thrilling. Ok, another lie. But i learned alot of new words today and have OFFICIALLY mastered Kunjuctiv 2 (ie - If I had brought my umbrella yesterday I wouldn't have gotten completely soaked) and future (ie - My mom will look like a tourist when she visits Berlin) which is SO SO SO exciting! And I can prove it to you because I had an hour long conversation with my host mom today and got complemented on my Kujunctiv 2 and future grammar! And while I'm on the subject, my host mom is fabulous. We shot the breeze today after school and she is so patient with my German. And while my German classes have really helped, I credit most of progress to her.
Anyways, after class (and Weiner Schnitzel at the Mensa) we met all of our professors and they gave us a quick summary of their classes. It was great to finally have an idea of what the next 3 months are going to look like. I now have a face to put with a name and have my AWESOME classes to look forward to! The only sad part about it is that I'm registered for one to many classes and I can't decide which one to drop...decisions decisions!
Anyways, life here is picking back up and the sun even came out today to celebrate! I leave for Budapest, Bratislava, and Prague on Saturday so the blog may be silent starting then but at least for now you know I'm in high spirits and loving my German life!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
A walk through Berlin
One of the most wonderful things about Berlin, and Europe as a whole, is public transportation. The fact that I can get around a city the size of Berlin with nothing more than a piece of paper is fantastic! The downside to it though is that you don't get to see the city. All of my commuting is underground which prevents me from seeing Berlin. So this afternoon, after finishing my homework at IES, I decided to walk home. So I walked down Friedrichstrasse from Oranienburger Strasse to Hallesches Tor which, with all of my breaks, picture taking, and window shopping probably took a little bit more than 90 minutes. I can't exactly explain what led me to walk these 4 km on my coldest day in Berlin but I guess I'm starting to realize that (a) it's not getting any warmer and (b) I'm not going to be here forever. The last two weeks have been stressful and full of work and to some extend I've let it get the best of me. But, as I approach my one month mark, I've realized that I want to enjoy every little nook and cranny of this city. Which today translated to walking instead of riding!
(I found this random sculpture on my walk...I would have never found it taking the U-Bahn)
This morning instead of going to a typical day of class at the wonderful Humboldt Universität we met up at Maxim-Gorki-Theater for a "workshop." So, we got to act all day in German! And let me just say, regardless of the prompt or topic, it was HYSTERICAL! At one point I was playing a pregnant 15 year old who was in love with two boys, didn't know what to do so she killed herself. Uplifting, I know! But in all seriousness it was great German practice because we didn't have the chance to define words or prepare for our little sketches so we got to speak (and mess up) German for real! After my walk I met up with Susie and Joe who are here in Berlin for 2 days with the IES Freiburg program. We had the most authentic German meal I could have EVER dreamed up and had a great time hanging out, talking about Wake, and catching up on each others lives. I didn't realize how much I missed my friends until they came. I almost forgot what it was like to have a conversation with someone who already knows everything about me. Not having to constantly clarify something about my school, my friends back home, or why I say y'all was excellent! And to top it all off I came home to find Marti on Skype which was just the cherry on top to a Wake-filled day!
(I found this random sculpture on my walk...I would have never found it taking the U-Bahn)This morning instead of going to a typical day of class at the wonderful Humboldt Universität we met up at Maxim-Gorki-Theater for a "workshop." So, we got to act all day in German! And let me just say, regardless of the prompt or topic, it was HYSTERICAL! At one point I was playing a pregnant 15 year old who was in love with two boys, didn't know what to do so she killed herself. Uplifting, I know! But in all seriousness it was great German practice because we didn't have the chance to define words or prepare for our little sketches so we got to speak (and mess up) German for real! After my walk I met up with Susie and Joe who are here in Berlin for 2 days with the IES Freiburg program. We had the most authentic German meal I could have EVER dreamed up and had a great time hanging out, talking about Wake, and catching up on each others lives. I didn't realize how much I missed my friends until they came. I almost forgot what it was like to have a conversation with someone who already knows everything about me. Not having to constantly clarify something about my school, my friends back home, or why I say y'all was excellent! And to top it all off I came home to find Marti on Skype which was just the cherry on top to a Wake-filled day!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Roughing it in Berlin
So the painters came today to paint the windows. And what does that mean...I'm missing a window, in 50 degree weather. wunderbar!
In other news I'm wearing my long underwear and I think tomorrow I'm going to wear my pea coat. Yes I realize yesterday I swore I wouldn't but I was cold all day. And not that fingers and toes cold. I was cold to my core. It's pea coat time.
I had Intensivkurs again today and we are nearing the end. Finally! Although I do have to admit that my German has gotten much better. I'm understanding so much more and my spoken grammar is improving like crazy!! I'm currently reading "Die Dreigroschenoper" by Bertolt Brecht which is funny and fun to read but is giving me the biggest headache ever!!
We also visited the Deustch Geschicht Museum (German History Museum) today which was really interesting. Out tour guide spoke really really fast in German so I used the tour more to better my listening comprehension and less to learn information. But as a result, my brain legitimately switched into German today for almost the whole day which was wonderful and I even had a hard time reading some of the information in English at the museum!
And after a long day my host mom surprised me with homemade pizza which was wonderful...and now my head hurts worse...and I can't figure out how to talk in either language...I'm going to bed...Gute Night!
In other news I'm wearing my long underwear and I think tomorrow I'm going to wear my pea coat. Yes I realize yesterday I swore I wouldn't but I was cold all day. And not that fingers and toes cold. I was cold to my core. It's pea coat time.
I had Intensivkurs again today and we are nearing the end. Finally! Although I do have to admit that my German has gotten much better. I'm understanding so much more and my spoken grammar is improving like crazy!! I'm currently reading "Die Dreigroschenoper" by Bertolt Brecht which is funny and fun to read but is giving me the biggest headache ever!!
We also visited the Deustch Geschicht Museum (German History Museum) today which was really interesting. Out tour guide spoke really really fast in German so I used the tour more to better my listening comprehension and less to learn information. But as a result, my brain legitimately switched into German today for almost the whole day which was wonderful and I even had a hard time reading some of the information in English at the museum!
And after a long day my host mom surprised me with homemade pizza which was wonderful...and now my head hurts worse...and I can't figure out how to talk in either language...I'm going to bed...Gute Night!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
I will not wear a peacoat in September. Punkt!
Well, as you might have guessed from the title it's cold here in Berlin. Really cold. The high today was 54. 54's not bad you say...not bad in late October. BUT ITS SEPTEMBER 14TH!!!
Anyways, I woke up this morning not being able to feel my fingers or my toes because the landlord won't turn on the heater until it gets colder. just wonderful. so i put on my long underwear which definitely made me warmer, but led me to the question "if I'm wearing long underwear in September what in the world am i going to do in December?"
Today was another uneventful day. I read Bertolt Brecht's "Three Penny Opera" most of the afternoon. And I have to admit, when you come across a word you don't know in German and then you translate it to English and then you have to look up the word in English it makes for a long and discouraging day.
This afternoon I went to church which was wonderful as expected. We sang "How Great is our God" in English which was AMAZING!!! Who new Chris Tomlin was such an international superstar!?
And then I've been back at my desk defining words in German and English, chatting on Skype, and wondering how I'm going to stay warm for the next three months! And while sitting here being oh so exciting I realized that you guys don't know what my room looks like which is weird. really weird. so here she is...my humble abode!
Anyways, I woke up this morning not being able to feel my fingers or my toes because the landlord won't turn on the heater until it gets colder. just wonderful. so i put on my long underwear which definitely made me warmer, but led me to the question "if I'm wearing long underwear in September what in the world am i going to do in December?"
Today was another uneventful day. I read Bertolt Brecht's "Three Penny Opera" most of the afternoon. And I have to admit, when you come across a word you don't know in German and then you translate it to English and then you have to look up the word in English it makes for a long and discouraging day.
This afternoon I went to church which was wonderful as expected. We sang "How Great is our God" in English which was AMAZING!!! Who new Chris Tomlin was such an international superstar!?
And then I've been back at my desk defining words in German and English, chatting on Skype, and wondering how I'm going to stay warm for the next three months! And while sitting here being oh so exciting I realized that you guys don't know what my room looks like which is weird. really weird. so here she is...my humble abode!
Right when you walk in the door
My desk
My desk
From the window
The view from my window! Check out the river! There's usually swans swimming by!
2 eggs over easy
Saturday September 13
I woke up on Saturday, after having Skyped with the family until the wee hours of the morning, to find it freezing cold in my room. 53 degrees. no heater. wunderbar. But despite the temperature (and with the help of some hot tea) I had wonderful morning relaxing, catching up on the blog, and making myself a REAL breakfast of eggs and toast (its harder than you would think in this country)!!
I headed out to Neukölln, a district here in Berlin, to meet up with Perry, Eric, Kathleen, Josh, and Jarrod at Dan's apartment. It was so great to hang out with people, laugh really hard, talk in English, and cook like crazy. We ended up referring to the meal as pre-thanksgiving because by the end of it we had steaks, potatoes au gratin, spaghetti, bread, apple crisp (made by me and perry, again with no measurements), and ice cream.
After the feast we sat around in the living room flipping back and forth between HYSTERICAL German comedy central and CNN to see if my house was still standing. Anyways, there's no big story and no big news which might be my favorite part about yesterday.
I woke up on Saturday, after having Skyped with the family until the wee hours of the morning, to find it freezing cold in my room. 53 degrees. no heater. wunderbar. But despite the temperature (and with the help of some hot tea) I had wonderful morning relaxing, catching up on the blog, and making myself a REAL breakfast of eggs and toast (its harder than you would think in this country)!!
I headed out to Neukölln, a district here in Berlin, to meet up with Perry, Eric, Kathleen, Josh, and Jarrod at Dan's apartment. It was so great to hang out with people, laugh really hard, talk in English, and cook like crazy. We ended up referring to the meal as pre-thanksgiving because by the end of it we had steaks, potatoes au gratin, spaghetti, bread, apple crisp (made by me and perry, again with no measurements), and ice cream.
After the feast we sat around in the living room flipping back and forth between HYSTERICAL German comedy central and CNN to see if my house was still standing. Anyways, there's no big story and no big news which might be my favorite part about yesterday.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
The Staatsoper: Is she a man or a woman?
Friday September 12
Well yesterday was Friday so...ya, you guessed it. Perry and I went to the Turkish Market. We got everything we needed, headed back to my place and then made the most delectable quiche. EVER.
Now you have to know a couple things about our quiche before we get any further:
1. We had no way of measuring anything.
2. We had no way of telling how hot the oven was.
3. We couldn't read the label of the pie crust we bought so we weren't even sure it was pie crust.
4. None of that mattered because it was WONDERFUL!!
(The view from my seat!)
(Mike and me at our seats waiting for the show to begin!)
(The girls after the show)
Well yesterday was Friday so...ya, you guessed it. Perry and I went to the Turkish Market. We got everything we needed, headed back to my place and then made the most delectable quiche. EVER.
Now you have to know a couple things about our quiche before we get any further:1. We had no way of measuring anything.
2. We had no way of telling how hot the oven was.
3. We couldn't read the label of the pie crust we bought so we weren't even sure it was pie crust.
4. None of that mattered because it was WONDERFUL!!
But, because our quiche was so wonderful, we lost track of time and ended having to run, and yes I do mean run, to the Staatsoper in our heels. It was quite a sight! But we made it, barely and sat on the third floor balcony for Beethoven's Fidelio. The opera, although in German, was easier to understand than expected because they "sub-titled" the opera in German. Overall, we had a pretty good understanding of it all minus one character who in real life was a woman but in the opera was playing a man only to find out that in the opera she was actually a woman who was playing a man. And now you see why we were all so confused! Here are some pictures from the Opera which is conveniently located across the street from Humboldt University.
(The view from my seat!)
(Mike and me at our seats waiting for the show to begin!)
(The girls after the show)The Jewish Museum
Friday September 12
Today we took a field trip to the Jewish Museum which is only about 10 minutes from my house. The museum is split into two separate sections, the first being a modern art interpretation of the holocaust and its effect on European Jews and the second portion is a history of Judaism from the beginning of time. Now, I understand that the museum is called "the Jewish Museum" and not "the Holocaust Museum" but the Jewish history was pretty boring. The exhibits are all modern and therefore fun to play with but its almost as if the Germans (as they do in most situations) are uncomfortable just leaving something about the Nazi time as is. They almost always feel the need to add something informative about the Jewish people to take the focus off of Hitler. As if to say, "We aren't supporting Hitler and his ideas." Well duh your not! There is a general feeling here that if you have information about the Nazi time you must also include something not about the Nazi time in an effort to prove to the world that Germany no longer believes in the National Socialismus. Furthermore, every synagogue, Jewish museum, and even some Jewish stores are under 24 hour camera surveillance and have Polizei on guard 24 hours a day. I understand that what happened during the Holocaust was terrible. So terrible that you can't really explain it in words. But its also unfortunate that now, 60+ years later, a new generation of Germans is here and is paying the price for something they didn't do. This city and these people need to be able to move on which will be impossible to do while places like the Jewish Musuem are harder to get into than an airport.
(One building of the Museum. Please note the Polizei truck with three or four officers)
And enough ranting for one day. maybe. I want to talk a little bit more about the first part of the museum more for my sake than yours. I don't want to forget some of the exhibit I saw and the way they made me feel.
The Holocaust Tower was the dark room lit only by natural light from a small slit in the oddly shaped room. There is no heating in the tower and nothing but cement. I was in the tower with about 8 other people but you never would have known. Because of the slit in the top of the tower you can hear all of the sounds from the street but they are muffled and confusing. You can hear cars, you can hear children screaming from the school across the street but you have no way of knowing exactly what the sounds mean or exactly where they're coming from.
The Garden of Exile is an outdoor exhibit with 49 tall cement blocks. The garden is on an incline and as you walk through the blocks you lose your bearing and even start to get dizzy. The exhibit it supposed to show how even though many people were able to escape Hitler's regime by leaving Europe their lives were not easy as they were forced to acclimate to a new society, a new language, and the whole time know that their friends and family were back in Germany.
My favorite exhibit (see the picture below) is the Schalechet (Falling Leaves). The exhibit is another oddly shaped room and the ground is covered by the screaming metal faces in the picture below. As you step on the faces they clang together and the sound echoes throughout the room. As more and more people begin walking the noise is almost unbearable but there's nothing you can do to stop the screaming.
Today we took a field trip to the Jewish Museum which is only about 10 minutes from my house. The museum is split into two separate sections, the first being a modern art interpretation of the holocaust and its effect on European Jews and the second portion is a history of Judaism from the beginning of time. Now, I understand that the museum is called "the Jewish Museum" and not "the Holocaust Museum" but the Jewish history was pretty boring. The exhibits are all modern and therefore fun to play with but its almost as if the Germans (as they do in most situations) are uncomfortable just leaving something about the Nazi time as is. They almost always feel the need to add something informative about the Jewish people to take the focus off of Hitler. As if to say, "We aren't supporting Hitler and his ideas." Well duh your not! There is a general feeling here that if you have information about the Nazi time you must also include something not about the Nazi time in an effort to prove to the world that Germany no longer believes in the National Socialismus. Furthermore, every synagogue, Jewish museum, and even some Jewish stores are under 24 hour camera surveillance and have Polizei on guard 24 hours a day. I understand that what happened during the Holocaust was terrible. So terrible that you can't really explain it in words. But its also unfortunate that now, 60+ years later, a new generation of Germans is here and is paying the price for something they didn't do. This city and these people need to be able to move on which will be impossible to do while places like the Jewish Musuem are harder to get into than an airport.
(One building of the Museum. Please note the Polizei truck with three or four officers)And enough ranting for one day. maybe. I want to talk a little bit more about the first part of the museum more for my sake than yours. I don't want to forget some of the exhibit I saw and the way they made me feel.
The Holocaust Tower was the dark room lit only by natural light from a small slit in the oddly shaped room. There is no heating in the tower and nothing but cement. I was in the tower with about 8 other people but you never would have known. Because of the slit in the top of the tower you can hear all of the sounds from the street but they are muffled and confusing. You can hear cars, you can hear children screaming from the school across the street but you have no way of knowing exactly what the sounds mean or exactly where they're coming from.
The Garden of Exile is an outdoor exhibit with 49 tall cement blocks. The garden is on an incline and as you walk through the blocks you lose your bearing and even start to get dizzy. The exhibit it supposed to show how even though many people were able to escape Hitler's regime by leaving Europe their lives were not easy as they were forced to acclimate to a new society, a new language, and the whole time know that their friends and family were back in Germany.
My favorite exhibit (see the picture below) is the Schalechet (Falling Leaves). The exhibit is another oddly shaped room and the ground is covered by the screaming metal faces in the picture below. As you step on the faces they clang together and the sound echoes throughout the room. As more and more people begin walking the noise is almost unbearable but there's nothing you can do to stop the screaming.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Kaufland=German Walmart=Amazing
Thursday September 11
I gave my presentation this morning on the government and on the upcoming election. It was SUPER boring but it went well and Corinna was pleased.
After presentations we took a mini-field trip to the Mauergedenkstaette (the wall memorial) which was amazing. We got to see some of the original wall and even better an original Niemandsland (no man's land). After checking out the walls on either side of the no man's land we climbed to the top of an observation tower to look down at it. Really, really eerie. It's incredible to me that in my lifetime there were people in the world who thought that the way to govern over people was to keep them enclosed, trapped as prisoners, by a wall.
After the wall and the Mensa (duh!), Perry and I decided to go on an adventure to find an ironing board at Ikea. Don't ask. Instead of finding an Ikea...we found KAUFLAND, aka German Walmart! It was the most UNBELIEVABLE thing ever! Pilsbury rolls, ramon noodles, and 12 euro hair straighteners!!! We celebrated by splurging on chocolate!!
I gave my presentation this morning on the government and on the upcoming election. It was SUPER boring but it went well and Corinna was pleased.
After presentations we took a mini-field trip to the Mauergedenkstaette (the wall memorial) which was amazing. We got to see some of the original wall and even better an original Niemandsland (no man's land). After checking out the walls on either side of the no man's land we climbed to the top of an observation tower to look down at it. Really, really eerie. It's incredible to me that in my lifetime there were people in the world who thought that the way to govern over people was to keep them enclosed, trapped as prisoners, by a wall.
After the wall and the Mensa (duh!), Perry and I decided to go on an adventure to find an ironing board at Ikea. Don't ask. Instead of finding an Ikea...we found KAUFLAND, aka German Walmart! It was the most UNBELIEVABLE thing ever! Pilsbury rolls, ramon noodles, and 12 euro hair straighteners!!! We celebrated by splurging on chocolate!!
Visit to the Reichstag
Wednesday September 10
After another day of class and a visit to the Mensa we went on a private tour of the Reichstag.
The Reichstag, like everything else in this city, is full of history yet plagued by its past. Throughout the last 100 years various parties have both taken over and destroyed this building in an effort to maintain power.
In February 1933, the Reichstag was gutted by a fire that was allegedly started by an impoverished Dutch communist. His name has since been cleared as evidence has proven that the fire was most likely started by Hitler and his comrades using the communist as a scapegoat.
When the Soviets took over Berlin in 1945 they stormed the building (fighting the Nazi's for quite some time) and drew graffiti all over the walls. That graffiti is still there today. When recreating the building for the current Parliament, the politicians decided to erase only the graffiti that was anti-German and keep the rest as a way of remembering both the building and Germany's past.
I'm sorry for the short history lesson but I think you have to know what happened in the Reichstag before you can really understand how cool of an experience it was. While in power, Hitler sat in this building and called for the extermination of all European Jews. And about 70 years later here I am standing in that same room.
The outer fascade of the building has (shockingly) remained in tact throughout Germany's turbulent past which is what makes this building so interesting to see. From the outside you think you are looking at this 100s of years old building but when you walk inside you see this unbelievably modern architecture. It's mind-blowing.
After our tour we went and did the "touristy" section of the building and went up into the glass dome. You get an incredible view of Berlin and of the Parliament down below!
And then I went home to prepare for my 40 minute presentation on the differences between the German and American government...and now you know why I'm behind on posting.
After another day of class and a visit to the Mensa we went on a private tour of the Reichstag.
The Reichstag, like everything else in this city, is full of history yet plagued by its past. Throughout the last 100 years various parties have both taken over and destroyed this building in an effort to maintain power.
In February 1933, the Reichstag was gutted by a fire that was allegedly started by an impoverished Dutch communist. His name has since been cleared as evidence has proven that the fire was most likely started by Hitler and his comrades using the communist as a scapegoat.
When the Soviets took over Berlin in 1945 they stormed the building (fighting the Nazi's for quite some time) and drew graffiti all over the walls. That graffiti is still there today. When recreating the building for the current Parliament, the politicians decided to erase only the graffiti that was anti-German and keep the rest as a way of remembering both the building and Germany's past.
I'm sorry for the short history lesson but I think you have to know what happened in the Reichstag before you can really understand how cool of an experience it was. While in power, Hitler sat in this building and called for the extermination of all European Jews. And about 70 years later here I am standing in that same room.
The outer fascade of the building has (shockingly) remained in tact throughout Germany's turbulent past which is what makes this building so interesting to see. From the outside you think you are looking at this 100s of years old building but when you walk inside you see this unbelievably modern architecture. It's mind-blowing.
After our tour we went and did the "touristy" section of the building and went up into the glass dome. You get an incredible view of Berlin and of the Parliament down below!
And then I went home to prepare for my 40 minute presentation on the differences between the German and American government...and now you know why I'm behind on posting.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Ode to the FDA
Yesterday (Tuesday) was another wonderful day at the Turkish market. You walk away from the market feeling so good about how much you bought but still how little money you spent. But yesterday I remembered this wonderful thing called the FDA that ensures that the food I eat won't kill me. Needless to say, the Turkish Market is not held to these same standards. And as I chow down on a wonderful piece of naan filled with cheese and spinach, I wonder will this make me sick. I bought this for 1.40 Euro out of the back of a truck (literally).
(Perry and Me at the market!)
(Man breaking every FDA rule ever.)
I also went to my first small group last night which was incredible. Its so frustrating to listen to them and to know that I want to say something but can't because my vocabulary isn't big enough to talk about spiritual things. ugh!
(Perry and Me at the market!)
(Man breaking every FDA rule ever.)I also went to my first small group last night which was incredible. Its so frustrating to listen to them and to know that I want to say something but can't because my vocabulary isn't big enough to talk about spiritual things. ugh!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Eine Sparbüchse!?!? (a piggybank)
Well, my German's definitely getting better. And if it wasn't I'd be paying up. That's right. My professor walk into class this morning with a piggy bank (it was actually a bear but bear bank would confuse us all) and every time you said ANYTHING in English you had to put 10 cents in the piggy bank!!! And to top it all off, she chose to teach the hardest part of German grammar to us. today. in German. with no English. So, as a result I have a throbbing headache. And just so you can understand how difficult the subjunctive is, I've spent the last 5 years of German class trying to understand it and I still have NO idea what's going on. And to make the headache even better, my professor informed us today that its not used at ALL in spoken German and is dying out in written German. ugh!
(This is my German teacher yelling at a student for speaking in English. And the little bear on the table.)
In other news, I went to the Mensa (Cafeteria) today for the first time. It's really intimidating because much like the Pit you can only pay with a card. The only problem is its IMPOSSIBLE to find the place to buy the card which is conveniently located in a dark corner of the Mensa. wunderbar. But we found it, got in line, and then comes the best part of my day. The two girls in front of me didn't speak any German and the women behind the counter only spoke German. So...wait for it... I translated!! I'm no longer that stupid person who has to be translated for!!! It was the best feeling ever. EVER. The cashier would look at me, ramble on in German, and then pause. And I'd turn to the pour confused girls and explain it!
Oh and a similar story: I had to go buy my first book for one of my classes at Dussman (a book department store, if you will) today. And after finally finding the section where my book was supposed to be, it wasn't. So I ordered it. in German. gave the woman the ISBN number. in German. and figured out when to pick it up. in German.
Oh and a similar story: I had to go buy my first book for one of my classes at Dussman (a book department store, if you will) today. And after finally finding the section where my book was supposed to be, it wasn't. So I ordered it. in German. gave the woman the ISBN number. in German. and figured out when to pick it up. in German.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Jesus Blut für dich vergossen.
Jesus' blood poured out for you.
I could really leave my day at just that. No further explanation needed. It was just one of those days when the only way to be closer to Him would be to sit at the table the night before He died.
Some of you may already know this but there is a missionary here in Berlin from my church in Winston-Salem. We were introduced to one another via e-mail earlier this week and I ended up going to her church this afternoon. She met me at the U-Bahn station and we had an incredible time getting to know each other. The service itself was wonderful. I got to praise God in German, listen to the teaching of His word in German, and then take communion in German. The preacher (also a missionary) spoke on the power of spending time in the Word and likened our quiet times to food, drawing the final conclusion that we need to spend more intentional time in the Word. It was a wonderful thing to be reminded of as things start to get more and more busy here in Berlin. After the sermon they "grilled out" (Bratwurst, obviously) and we had a little party. It was wonderful to get to know some real Berliners and to talk to them about my life in America and my relationship back home with my family. I'm going to join one of their small groups this Tuesday which is going to be incredible both for my German and for my faith.
It's amazing what the Lord can do when you step out of the way. I've been here just shy of 2 weeks and I feel as if I am still stuck in the middle of this awful small talk with the majority of the people in the program. Until today I haven't found anyone who understands my life or the choices I make. And after a 5 minute walk from the train station I am having a deep, meaningful, and God-centered conversation with a woman from Winston and then later with a handful of people from Berlin. And that's when you know its Jesus and only Jesus.
[And just so I don't forget, before going to church this afternoon I went to a flea market in Mauerpark which gets its name because it backs into a chunk of the wall. I bought the most wonderful purse ever and a cute pair of sunglasses. and bargained for them both in German. how cool am I?]
I could really leave my day at just that. No further explanation needed. It was just one of those days when the only way to be closer to Him would be to sit at the table the night before He died.
Some of you may already know this but there is a missionary here in Berlin from my church in Winston-Salem. We were introduced to one another via e-mail earlier this week and I ended up going to her church this afternoon. She met me at the U-Bahn station and we had an incredible time getting to know each other. The service itself was wonderful. I got to praise God in German, listen to the teaching of His word in German, and then take communion in German. The preacher (also a missionary) spoke on the power of spending time in the Word and likened our quiet times to food, drawing the final conclusion that we need to spend more intentional time in the Word. It was a wonderful thing to be reminded of as things start to get more and more busy here in Berlin. After the sermon they "grilled out" (Bratwurst, obviously) and we had a little party. It was wonderful to get to know some real Berliners and to talk to them about my life in America and my relationship back home with my family. I'm going to join one of their small groups this Tuesday which is going to be incredible both for my German and for my faith.
It's amazing what the Lord can do when you step out of the way. I've been here just shy of 2 weeks and I feel as if I am still stuck in the middle of this awful small talk with the majority of the people in the program. Until today I haven't found anyone who understands my life or the choices I make. And after a 5 minute walk from the train station I am having a deep, meaningful, and God-centered conversation with a woman from Winston and then later with a handful of people from Berlin. And that's when you know its Jesus and only Jesus.
[And just so I don't forget, before going to church this afternoon I went to a flea market in Mauerpark which gets its name because it backs into a chunk of the wall. I bought the most wonderful purse ever and a cute pair of sunglasses. and bargained for them both in German. how cool am I?]
Potsdam and the Neues Palais
Yesterday (Saturday) IES went on a little excursion to Potsdam, the once beautiful but now recovering city only a half hour train ride fsouthwest of Berlin. You may recognize the name if you paid attention in history (so not you victoria) because it was where the Allied leaders met for the Potsdam Conference which ultimately led to the Potsdam Agreement and the Potsdam Declaration which caused Germany to be separated into four sections. All that to say, there's a lot of history here but once the DDR (German Democratic Republic) took over things went downhill and the capital of the state of Brandenburg is still putting all of the pieces back together.
In the morning one of the Humboldt University professors gave us a tour (in German) of the city showing us the Catholic church of St. Peter, the Holland quarter, and Mozart's house.
But by far the BEST part of the day was our tour of the Neues Palais (again, in German) which was fabulous! Unfortunately, they won't allow cameras in the castle...sad. But my favorite room was the garden room which had a ocean/water theme running through the room. The coolest part: the thousands upon thousands of real sea shells that lined the walls to keep the room cool.
After our tour we headed back to Berlin and I headed to my computer to watch the Deacs defeat Ole Miss!! Enjoy the pictures from Potsdam and have a wonderful Sunday!!
In the morning one of the Humboldt University professors gave us a tour (in German) of the city showing us the Catholic church of St. Peter, the Holland quarter, and Mozart's house.
But by far the BEST part of the day was our tour of the Neues Palais (again, in German) which was fabulous! Unfortunately, they won't allow cameras in the castle...sad. But my favorite room was the garden room which had a ocean/water theme running through the room. The coolest part: the thousands upon thousands of real sea shells that lined the walls to keep the room cool.
After our tour we headed back to Berlin and I headed to my computer to watch the Deacs defeat Ole Miss!! Enjoy the pictures from Potsdam and have a wonderful Sunday!!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
A quick game of catch-up
Wednesday September 3, 2008
After my minor surgery Wednesday night I ate with my host and her son which was so fun. We had a wonderful conversation talking about McDonalds,
Finally a productive German class. FINALLY. The first three days were miserably impossible. I spent the majority of the beginning of the week sneaking a peak at my dictionary under my desk and wondering how in the world I was ever going to keep up. But some how, some way, it all came together today. I understood the words coming out of Corrina’s mouth and am happy to report that my German overall has gotten so much better even in just a little over a week. For the first time in my life I’m saying sentences completely grammatically correct (which if you know German, you know is impossible).
After class on Thursday I came home for lunch and to write a paper. I ended up having a pretty humorous conversation with my host mom as I tried to determine how to say “and then water started flowing for the fountain” in German. I’m pretty sure we never quite made it there.
I headed back to an IES Info session on traveling in 
(Dan and me at the birthday celebration!)
Friday September 5, 2008
Friday we played a detective game in Mitte which lead us to some of the important parts of the city center. One of our assignments was to ask 5 people about the American election and OH MY GOSH, these people know more about the election than I do. And no, I’m not even close to joking!
After staying 40 minutes later than expected at school, I headed back home to listen to Teasley’s sermon (which was wonderful, duh) before meeting up at the Turkish Market and then going to Balzac Coffee. And then, the most wonderful part of my day… Perry and I went on a date! First we perused Galeria Kaufhaus, H&M, and Zara and then went to the most authentic German restaurant we’ve seen yet and order Wiener Schnitzel and Berliner Weisse. And it was wunderbar!
It’s just so funny to think about. Perry is by far my best friend here and yet I’ve only known her for 10 days. It’s just so bizarre to be thrown into a relationship like this. I love it, it’s just so different than anything I’ve ever experienced before!
Well, that’s all I’ve got for tonight. I’ll update you on my excursion to
Go Deacs!!!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Minor Surgery in Berlin: Sea Urchin Update
(Pre-Minor Surgery)
One of the first words I learned when I arrived in Berlin was Seeigel (sea urchin) because how else was I going to explain my slight limp or my swollen, pussy foot. But here I am exactly 2 weeks after meeting my Seeigel, finally figuring out how to get rid of him. After a long walk around Berlin this morning I took my shoe off to find some really cute puss/juice/blood in my sock and that my spines had grown. In other words, the critters were alive and growing inside my foot. vomit.So I took matters into my own hands, emailed my partners in crime (Ellen and Elisabeth) and found out that I needed to peel back all of the skin in that area of my foot and (yes I know this is gross) pop the swollen spines like zits. gross. So I brought out my oh-so-sanitary nail kit and started digging. And after peeling back the skin and squeezing really hard, centimeter long black sea urchin spines shot out of my foot. So after some tears and close encounters with curse words I have pulled out a little more than half of the spines in my foot. Enjoy the gory pictures! And don't worry I've already called ABC and given them the idea for a Grey's Anatomy episode.
(Some of the spines, post surgery)
Just another day in the neighborhood...
The last couple of days have been wonderfully simple. Tuesday I went to another long day of German class and then met up with Perry, Kalen, and a couple others at the Turkische Markt by me house. I tried to bargain with some of the vendors but to no avail and resigned to purchase dried banana chips and Studenten Futtern instead. [Side note: Studenten Futtern translates to Student Feed, as in something you would put in a trough for animals.] Anyways, we headed back to IES for a housing orientation where we discussed nudity, showering habits, and reasons why we should never open the door for people who claim to be mechanics/plumbers/electricians. I went back to the apartment for a relaxed evening of talking on Skype which led to McKinley and I booking our flight back to Berlin from Oktoberfest!! I also worked on my presentation on the NeptunBrunnen (Poisedon´s Fountain) which was harder than expected. I mean seriously, 10 minutes on a fountain...
This morning I actually gave my presentation on the NeptunBrunnen which went really well (minus the part where one of my group members didn´t show up to do her part of the presentation on the Rathaus because she was out until well past 3am on a pub crawl...). I´m at the IES center right now but when I get home I´ll put up some of my pictures of the fountain so you can get the full experience. I´m off to another info session about cross-cultural integration which should be interesting and then probably off to right the short essay I have due on Friday. Tschüs!
This morning I actually gave my presentation on the NeptunBrunnen which went really well (minus the part where one of my group members didn´t show up to do her part of the presentation on the Rathaus because she was out until well past 3am on a pub crawl...). I´m at the IES center right now but when I get home I´ll put up some of my pictures of the fountain so you can get the full experience. I´m off to another info session about cross-cultural integration which should be interesting and then probably off to right the short essay I have due on Friday. Tschüs!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
My first day of school
Monday September 1, 2008
We started our 3 week German Intensive course yesterday and I thought I was going to vomit. I placed into Class 2 but I have no idea whether it's the middle or the top class. I do know however that 4 hours of solid German instruction would give ANYONE a headache! We talked all about German stereotypes and learned a new grammatical structure (as if the German language needs another one) and were assigned about 2 hours of homework along with a presentation due Wednesday. Maybe I’ll be studying here after all… On a happier school related note, the Germans make this beyond intelligent thing called a Schultüte for kids on their first day of school in kindergarten. My professor, Corrina, brought us a Schultüte and in typical German fashion filled it with chocolate. So I guess that means I’ve officially started school in 
We finally finished off the morning with a döner kebap (or kebab, depending on your preference). Perry and I went back for an optional session on
Later that evening I cooked alongside my host-mom and had dinner with her and her son. It was wonderful to hang out with them, talk some more
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