berlin, the beginning

In order (for myself and for others) to keep track of all my experiences while studying abroad, I decided to start a blog. However, as a late bloomer in the blogging world, I will have to sum up my past two weeks into one blog.

    After a very difficult goodbye with my mom and sister (I really had to try hard to hold it together) I boarded my plane and was off to Berlin. Previously, I was panicking about this trip but with no one saying, "WOW you're going to be in another country for FOUR months BY YOURSELF?!?" I was able to calm down and simply accept this awesome fact that I was moving to Europe for four months. When I arrived at Tegel Airport I breezed through security (surprisingly, no customs) and followed the signs for the bus I was supposed to take which would then bring me to the subway. My first challenge....getting down about 45 subway (S-Bahn) steps with a 79 pound bag and a 33 pound carry-on. Luckily, a man whom I am extremely grateful for offered me help and I gladly accepted. He then showed me how to buy a ticket and what stop I needed to get off at. I remember smiling as I sat on the train, thinking about how wonderful my first experience with a Berliner was.

I arrived at my program (IES) which is located in Mitte or Central Berlin. (Berlin has districts, similar to the boroughs in NYC but less spread out.) I then met the staff and student assistants, all of whom are incredibly warm and friendly. I then went through the awkward getting-to-know-you dance with everyone in my program (18 people, including myself) but lucked out again because everyone happens to be pretty damn awesome. I thought this semester was going to be comparable to my freshman year of college (0r sophomore year, considering I transferred) but I have found that it is much more relaxed. Everyone is 20-23 years old and, I think, a lot more comfortable with themselves, which has made these past two weeks especially fun and easy.

After filling out a ton of paperwork, I finally met my host mom. She is in her early 30s and is a teacher....she is also awesome. Some people in my program are living with families and so they are much more integrated with their hosts...since I am living with a younger woman, everything is much more independent, which I like. My host is sassy and open and very friendly, all of which makes me feel very comfortable in the apartment. AH, and for the apartment--- it is massive! I live in Prenzlauer Berg (formerly East Berlin; it is the say Williamsburg of Berlin, almost too trendy) and was expecting the apartment to be miniscule. I have a huge bathroom with a shower and a bath (also a hottub!) a large bedroom, decent sized kitched, and huge living room. EVERYTHING in Germany is Ikea so that can give you an idea of the decorations (clean, white, bare essentials). The doors are also beautiful, I open my front door with a skeleton key...how cool is that?!

the treaty!

My first few days are a blur of ice breakers, museums, bus tours, random orientation stuff. We went to Alexander Platz (where the world clock is), saw the TV tower (famous in the Berlin skyline), went to the Brandenburg Gate (probably the most famous German monument)

Brandenburg Tor

and went to the German History Museum. Getting through the tour of the museum was slow torture at first; we were exhausted and on our last wind. However, we ended with seeing a real copy of the Treaty of Versailles (!!!!), original Nazi propaganda, and pieces of the Berlin Wall. We then toured the Bundestag (German gov't building) which was known as the Reichstag during Hitler's time period (think, third reich).

An interesting little fact about this building is that an entirely glass cupola was attached on top of the building. Tourists and Germans could go up to the cupola and have an incredible view of Berlin.
 
 From inside the parliament room, one could look up and see, through the glass, the tourists and Germans walking up the cupola. I later found out that the reason for this fairly new cupola (80s i think) was to evoke transparency. The cupola makes sure that the members of parliament are constantly reminded that they are only in office because people like the ones above them voted for them. It is the people that they are working for.....anyway, I liked that idea a lot and I thought it was a sincere approach on behalf of the Germans to acknowledge their past. The one thing I haven't extensively seen yet is the wall and Checkpoint Charlie/Chaz...but I intend to do that this weekend.

the upper portion of the cupola