Study Abroad Berlin: June 5, 2016

Day 14: Travel day

I woke up today and had to mentally prepare myself to for a grueling day of travel. The day started out a little rough when the S-Bahns were running slow/late due to continuing construction on the tracks. Not only that I had to do a train change at Friedrichstrasse to get to Hauptbahnhof. I finally had enough of it and took a cab the rest of the way to the airport. My cab driver was nice enough to look up the gate that I would be departing from and took me straight there.

I got there a little early so the British Airways counter was not even open yet. So I had to wait a good 45 minutes just to get my ticket and check my bag. Then the waiting really began. The security line was really long because they were boarding two different London flights and two Turkish Airways flights at the same time so the number of people was more than the little airport could handle. The flight to London was short and sweet and I got a really good “sandwich” which was basically a vegetarian wrap. Going through security at London was expected, but it was again another set of long lines.

The flight to Dallas was long and painful. I had an aisle seat in the middle row of the plane, but the little girl sitting next to me drove me nuts. She fell asleep for a grand majority of the flight where she proceeded to kick me consistently for 7 hours despite her mom trying to move her feet every 5 minutes. Hurray for children.

Got to Dallas and was welcomed by more lines, one for passport clearance, one for customs, and security yet again. I don’t think I want to see another security line for a little while. I am trying to stay awake despite me being on Berlin time which means that while waiting to board my flight back home my body felt like it was three in the morning. Also, there were 36 people on standby for El Paso because a flight got cancelled. Those poor souls.

CNN in Dallas talking about the immigration issue of the Syrian refugees. “The Germans did the morally correct thing rather than the wise thing in letting the refugees into the country and helping them out.” Someone on our trip mentioned the importance of Germans being morally correct all the time as it was part of their culture. It is crazy to think that I experienced that first hand only a couple days ago and now I’m sitting in an airport in Dallas reflecting on the truth of that statement. 

Despite the crazy traveling for 24 hours and all the little things I’m sad that this trip is over. Upon reflection of all of this, I realize how much of a blessing this trip was. It opened my eyes to a new country and a new culture. Moving to Europe is no longer just a distant dream of a small child, but a close reality if I am determined to do it. I’m a year away from graduating, and I still have yet to figure out what I want to do with my life, but if I could figure it out while living somewhere in Europe I think it would be a dream. I accomplished my goal of pushing myself to graduate in three years, the next challenge? Live in Europe.  

Side note: My record bowl has survived the trip in one piece!

It's good to be home. 

Study Abroad Berlin: June 4, 2016

Day 13: Packing

Last full day in Berlin. I spent a large part of the day because I feel like I have been going non-stop for the past two weeks which has been great. As this trip comes to a close I realized that there were so many things that I gained from this trip. I made new friends and acquaintances, gained a surplus of cultural education, but mostly I had incredible food. I will definitely miss the variety of food that is available here. I liked the fact that I could eat at a new place every day and have something different every time. Although I must admit I did have to go to Burgermeister and Hello Good Pie twice just because they were that good.

The trip was eye opening to the fact that the Germans are ahead of us in some aspects like renewable energy and communications as well as the fact that their education is very affordable. I did however learn to appreciate free water and the use of restrooms free of charge back home. I felt like I was thirsty 95% of the time on this trip. I didn’t mind the heat too much because you could get used to it, unless you were on the train of the subway, where the heat was the worst.

I won’t bore you with the details of my painful packing process so this post will be short and sweet. I will say, however, on this free day I discovered that Netflix in Germany has better movies available than back home. How disappointing is that?!

Study Abroad Berlin: June 3, 2016

Day 13: Farewell Dinner

Today was a free day so Lydia, Ebony, and I took advantage of this and headed to the Burgermeister for one last delicious burger. Honestly the best burger I have ever had, and I'll dream about it until I can go back again. The little place under the tracks hold a special place in my heart. 

After that we ventured out to the East Side Gallery of the Berlin wall to look at some of the art. None of the art on the wall was the same and it stretched for a really long way, but I only went a ways down because the past couple days have really taken a toll on me. Especially those stairs from the Dome. 

In the evening we met up with Regine to go to our farewell dinner and we got to hang out with her for a little bit in the area before heading over to the restaurant. She has been a really great guide and has gone out of her way to help us out so much. 

We finally headed to the restaurant and when we arrived we were welcomed by little personal menus with the Texas Tech logo inside of it. Quite the nice detail on from the restaurant. It was a great dinner and somewhat sad at the same time because it would be the last time that all of us got together in Berlin. Its definitely been a good trip with lot's of adventures and really great food. This meal had salad in the first and second course....shocking. The main course was veal in some sort of sauce, oddly enough it tasted a bit like my mom's chile colorado. Or maybe I was just starting to get homesick. The dinner ended and the night was chilly as we said goodbye to Regine and thanked her for everything and headed back to the hotel. 

Study Abroad Berlin: June 2, 2016

Day 11: Federal press office, the Renewable Energy Agency, Cathedral Dome

The Federal Press Office was not what I expected it to be. The guy who gave the presentation talked our ears off but like every other tour guide we’ve had he was very efficient. The concept of the press office is actually a really great thing. They have people working around the clock deciphering news and categorizing it for the government to use and for journalists to have an outlet for information.

He tried explaining the concept of a public servant but I think I was still a little confused on the difference between a public servant and a government employee. The one thing that he made really clear though was that as a public servant the job security was really high, but the pay was not as high. In comparison, a government employee had pretty good pay but very low job security. It was a rather rare concept.

Between the renewable energy agency and the federal press office Lydia and I ventured out to the Dome of the Cathedral that is next to Museum Island. The inside of the church is gorgeous and enormous. Truthfully the best part though was the view from the top of the dome out into the city. The two hundred plus stairs to get there was not so easy especially since the higher you got, the narrower the stairs got, but that view at the top was more than worth it.

The renewable energy agency was really interesting. I really liked some of the promotional material that they showed us. I mean they even had a tour book of attractions across Germany that were associated with certain types of renewable energy. I never would’ve thought that they could be made points of interest. One of their volunteers that sat in with us was from Washington D.C. and has now been living in Berlin for the past two years. I think that sounds like something I would definitely want to do, just pick up and move across the pond. 

Study Abroad Berlin: June 1, 2016

Day 10: Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate

Today turned out to be my day of great bad luck. The only thing scheduled was visiting the German Parliament building the Reichstag. Before coming on the trip this was one of the buildings that my brother insisted I visit. So of course with my luck, we had gotten all the way to the main station before I realized that I had left my passport in my room. So I got on the next train back to the hotel. I was freaking out the whole way back thinking that there was no way that they would let me go on the tour if I got there late especially since it is a federal government building. So of course on my way back to the main station the train decides to stop for a good 5 minutes before even getting to the first station. Finally, I get to the main station (Hautsbanof) and of course it takes forever and at this point it was made clear that I would not be joining the rest of the group on the tour, but that maybe they would let me on the roof and the dome of the building. Much to my luck they let me go up to the roof in an elevator full of what looked like diplomats and public officials. I took the audio tour of the dome which was really cool because as you made your way up or down, it would tell you to stop and look out into the city and tell you things about certain buildings or areas. I learned that one of the buildings that was standing tall was actually where they discovered the cause of tuberculosis! Finally I just waked around the rooftop for a while hoping that my group would eventually make its way up to the roof since other small groups had come up to the roof, yet they never came. Turns out that they weren’t event allowed to go up there because of the dinner that was taking place with the diplomats.

After the Reichstag, I met up with Lydia and we headed to the Brandenburg gate where we encountered some sort of concert or rally because there was a large group of people holding up some red flags. There was police all over the place as well so we decided to ask one of the cops what was going on. Turns out it was a protest by Armenians and others about some new legislation that the German government had just passed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a protest, but this definitely wasn’t what I expected. People were singing and chanting stuff that I didn’t understand, but it seemed pretty peaceful. Despite it looking peaceful, you could tell that all the cops were on high alert. We even saw some cops in full body armor and some big assault rifles. Lydia were across the street taking some pictures just because it seemed interesting, then we kept going and walked past the US Embassy and to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. 

Later we met up with some of the people from out group at a beer garden near the spree for a night beer and of course a soft pretzel. I really think I could get used to this lifestyle of spending evenings out at night just relaxing inside a big city. 

Study Abroad Berlin: May 31, 2016

Day 2 of EdelmanErgo

Thomas’ presentation was really interesting. It was about online content development and some of the different platforms that he has used. I was really interested and impressed with some of the ways that he had created content for clients. I will definitely be looking into Facebook canvas to see if I can use that for my independent study. During his presentation I noticed that many of the internet communication strategies that he used also differed from the current popular ones in the states. The social media platforms that they use in Germany are very different than the ones we use. I found it really interesting that politicians were using snapchat to communicate with the public since it is not a huge app, but also because although it is more popular in the U.S I can’t many politicians using snapchat as a means of communication, from what I can tell it’s more of a means of entertainment.

Study Abroad Berlin: May 30, 2016

Day 8: Aldersof science city tour/ Day 1 of Edelman and presentation day

Science City was like entering into a futuristic sci-fi movie. The scientific advancements made in this area were so impressive. The fact that this little area inside of Berlin could produce more energy that it needed using “not so efficient” panels on some buildings was really impressive. I may not be a science major, but I think that seeing the particle accelerator in action would have been a really neat thing to experience. As we walked through Aldersof, we walked next to buildings that were either offices, laboratories, part of the university, but there was also some cool housing. I thought it was really interesting how the blinds were outside of the building and were electronically managed. Our tour guide told us that of course like the rest of the area the housing was really efficient and designed to waste the least amount of energy while still being a comfortable place to live in. Some of the housing was dormitories for the university and I’m pretty sure that they are nicer than some of the ones we have back home at Tech.

The nerves of presenting definitely set in especially when the thunder started booming outside of my window a little while before we headed out to Edelman. Apparently the company had merged with another company that did energy public relations so it was actually called EdelmanErgo. I really liked the presentation that the girl from Ergo gave, although I was a little sad that she was not able to stay for our presentations. I was also intrigued that she worked with both renewable energy as well as some fossil fuels. I don’t know if it is because it seems contradictory to the renewable energy clients, but I guess it helps to be well versed in different types of energy.

I think that we could have gotten more out of Edelman if it had been a bit more personal and interactive as it had been at Navos, but you could tell that they dynamic at both companies was very different. Overall I think our presentation went pretty well and now that it’s over I think I can breathe easy. Also I had to reward myself with some delicious schnitzel for dinner. For those of you who don’t know what schnitzel is, it is simply breaded pork. So like a chicken fried steak, but it’s pretty good.After dinner, Mary, Ian, Kady, Kaleigbach, and I got caught in the rain on the way back to the hotel, but nothing could put a damper on my mood because we had gotten presentation day over with! Kady's hilarious poncho was a plus!