Bears, Scares, and History: Adventures in Berlin

As I mentioned in my last post, I went to Berlin for three days during fall break. I went with Sarah, Nina, and a friend (Janina), and yes, we drove the whole way. We began our trip before the crack of dawn (roughly 6:00am) and we arrived in Berlin six, long hours later. 

Day One:

Driving into the city, I did what any person who lived most of their life in a small town would do, and gawked at the tall buildings, flashy signs, and the shear masses of people. My host sisters and Janina pointed out famous Berlin landmarks as we drove past them such as the German Opera of Berlin and the Berlin Victory Column. 

We checked into our hotel which was conveniently located next to the Berlin Hauptbahnhof (main train station). Nina and I were in one room together and Sarah and Janina were in the other. Our hotel included passes that we could use on any train in Berlin, which made navigating the city a breeze. I think it's funny that I was so impressed with the public transportation system in and around Wetzlar when I first arrived in Germany, because the Berlin train system is way more intricate and on a much larger scale. 

The Berlin Hauptbahnhof

After getting everything settled at the hotel, we did what any group of girls in their teens (or early twenties) would do in one of the largest and most important cities in Europe, filled with tons of history and culture... we went shopping! We went into so many stores I can't even count them. The retail therapy was much needed considering how little clothing it seemed that I was able to bring with me to Germany. 

One thing that I'd been anticipating on our trip to Berlin was being able to go to a Dunkin Donuts since I'd been missing their coffee. So when I spotted a Dunkin I gleefully ran in and order a vanilla iced coffee (unfortunately, my first choice of hazelnut was not an option). The coffee was good, but nothing like in America, which almost made me a bit sad because I'd built up so much anticipation. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my little cup of America simply for the novelty of it.

mmmm... Dunkin

That evening we met a friend of Nina's and went out to a pizzeria/Italian restaurant for dinner. We all ordered our own personal pizza. After deciphering the menu and deciding what kind of pizza I wanted, I felt comfortable enough ordering on my own, especially since all I had to do was tell the cashier what number pizza I wanted. Here's how that went:

Me: Nummer einundzwanzig, bitte. 

Cashier: Okay, two euros and fifty cents.

Me: *hands cashier the money and thinks, "What the heck?! How'd he know I speak English?"*

Sarah: *seeing my disappointment* Auf Deutsch! Sie muss Deutsch lernen."

Cashier: *hands me receipt and explains in German that he'll call my number when the pizza is ready.*

We ate our pizza and then sat around and talked for awhile, and by "we talked" I mean "they talked and I pretended to understand German."

Afterwards we went back to our hotel for the night. Also, starting then, I made it my mission to take my picture with as many bear statues as possible while in Berlin. There are many of these "Buddy Bears" all over Berlin and they're all painted differently.

So after a long day and lots of walking, we were all ready for a good night's sleep. However, our hotel had something else in mind. In the middle of the night I was awaken by the wails of a siren coming from within our room. Just as quickly as the noise had started, it had stopped. I checked my watch; it was roughly 4am. I was about to go back to sleep when Nina sat up and said,"Did you hear that? I think it was a fire alarm." We were quite for a moment and could hear some commotion in the hall and a voice coming from a loudspeaker in the distance. I knew Nina was right. Shit! A fire! It all hit me at once. We both jumped up from bed and grabbed or coats and whatever important things were close at hand; I was thankful that I had place my purse with my cell phone, iPod, money, ID, etc. right next to my bed. As I was pulling on a pair of jeans (I had only been wearing pajama shorts) Sarah and Janina began knocking at our door. I didn't have time to put on shoes so I grabbed my flats and followed the other girls as we ran for an exit. As we were running, I couldn't help but wonder what part of the building the fire was in. Thankfully, we were only on the third floor and we made it down the stairs pretty quickly. But when we got to an exit, we could open the door. For a split second I thought,"Shit, we are going to die!" But then I saw a button on the wall to open the door and everything was fine. We walked around to the front of the hotel where the rest of the hotel guests congregated. Fire trucks came. I couldn't see any signs of fire. Finally, a hotel employee came out and announced that the fire had been in the kitchen and everything was under control now. I remember thinking, "There better still be breakfast in the morning." And with that, everyone shuffled sleepily back into the hotel, back to their rooms, and back to bed.

This is my "our hotel is on fire at four in the morning" face.

Day Two:

The next time I awoke, was in a much more peaceful manner. Nina and I got ready then met Janina and Sarah and headed down to the Lobby. And yes, there was breakfast. And what a glorious breakfast it was! There were many European and American breakfast foods (they even had mini Nutella packets, praise the Lord!). I filled my plate with croissants, fresh fruit, and bacon and made myself a cappuccino to go with it. I always love when hotels include free breakfast, and this was no exception. 

After a hearty breakfast, we were ready to take on day two of Berlin. First on our agenda was a trip to the Berlin Dungeon, a famous haunted house in Berlin with many affiliates world-wide. Even though you can see the show in English, we opted to see it in German, considering that 3/4 of our group was German and I should speak German. Even though I didn't understand some parts, "scared" is a universal language, and I definitely was at some points. The Dungeon was set up with different rooms and as we were led though each room their was a new story told, sometimes they were funny and somethings they were sketchy as heck. Occasionally, the actors would pick out people from the group to use as part of their skit and they would usually make fun of them in someway. In one room, where the theme seemed to be torture, the actor pointed at me and yelled something in German that I didn't understand; everyone else laughed. Then he beckoned me to come to him and he opened up the door to a cage, the crowd of people parted like the Red Sea and I began to make my way to the cage. Nina shouted to the man,"Sie spricht kein Deutsch!" This prompted another chuckle from the crowd. All the same, he locked me in the cage, said a few things, and left me to choose his next victim. He later told the crowd to move on to the next room but told me to stay. As the people were leaving he came over to me with a few of his "torture instruments" and tried to scare me (and he spoke English), but I mostly just laughed it off. After everyone had left he told me to scream. So I gave my best blood curdling scream and he allowed me to join the others in the next room. 

Nina: Why'd you scream?

Me: *Shrugs* because he told me to.

For the rest of the day we did more shopping and a lot of exploring the city by foot. I popped into a few touristy shops to pick up a few souvenirs; I bought some stickers, a pin, and a post card with Ampelmann (the man on cross-walk lights in East Berlin) and a post card with a piece of the Berlin Wall. 

After Dinner, we went to the Brandenbuger Tor. Being the history-loving-world-traveler that I am, I experienced something magical as I walked up the stairs from the U-Bahn and came face-to-face with Brandenbuger Tor all lit up at night. We spent sometime taking pictures in front of the Tor, and I just simply marveled at the fact that I was standing before one of the greatest symbols of Berlin and German culture.

Absolutely stunning!

Before making the trip back to the hotel, we stopped at the Dunkin Donuts near the Tor and bought a dozen donuts to eat on the ride home the next day.

Day Three:

This was history day. After another delicious breakfast, we set out to see the Brandenburger Tor in the daylight. The experience was just as magical, but a lot more crowded. We figured that we should get a group picture taken so we asked a man that was standing near us. It turns out that he was working for a TV station and he was looking for people to sit in the audience of a talk show called "Inka!" and he asked us if we'd like to attend. We said sure and he gave us tickets and told us to meet back at the Tor in a few hours and someone would take us to the studio. Nina told me that the talk show we'd been invited to was really well known, not quite like Oprah is to America, but still pretty popular. 

After the Brandenbuger Tor, we went to The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (a Holocaust memorial) and the Reichstag building. Once again, the history nerd in me was going crazy. I couldn't get over how beautiful the Reichstag building was! 

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

             

That afternoon we went back to the Brandebuger Tor so that we could be brought to the talk show. Two girls led us and other audience members through the city by train and by foot and finally we arrived at the studio. They brought us to a room where we sat for a while. Then they brought us to where they film the show, told us where to sit and gave us a bit of an orientation on how to be a good studio audience. Of course, I didn't really understand much and I was tired from our busy days in Berlin so I yawned. That's when the man talking looked at me and said something in German. I just stared blankly back at him and Janina explained that I was from America and didn't speak German. Apparently he'd said to me that we're not allowed to yawn during the show because it makes us look bored. 

The show began and I only understood bits and pieces, still I enjoyed it and I appreciated the unique experience that it provided. The show was Halloween themed. And although it was filmed a week prior, it did in fact air on Halloween. Here's a link to watch the show. It's in German but if you want to check it out and try to find me in the audience, they show Janina, Nina, Sarah, and I around 38 minutes. Guest on the show include a professional pumpkin carver, an actor, two ghost hunters, and a guy who grew a really big pumpkin.

A few of the "Buddy Bears" that I found around Berlin

Sadly, our time in Berlin soon came to an end. After the show we got something to eat and were on our way back to Wetzlar. 

Fall Break

For the past two weeks I've been on fall break (or Herbstferien). In America we have no such thing as fall break. Sure, we have a few days here and there for Columbus day and Thanksgiving, but TWO WEEKS! Wow this is the best! It's been a really enjoyable and relaxing couple of weeks and I'll be sad to see it come to an end on Monday. First of all, being able to sleep in every morning is such a blessing. Second, there have been a lot of firsts and fun things to do.

Firsts:

• I got my first German haircut. You can read about it here.
• I worked in my host family's butchery. My host sisters and I worked in the butchery a few times to help my host parents prepare for the Gallusmarkt, a market/fair that took place in our town for a few days. The sausage that my host father made was going to be sold there so we had to help package it. Later on, I went to the Gallusmarkt with Nina. We walked through the market located in Alt Wetzlar, rode on the Ferris Wheel (which was USA themed and provided an excellent view of the city), and ate bratwurst from the butchery.

  

  The Gallusmarkt!

  
  

  

  A beautiful view from the top of the Ferris wheel

  
  
  
  
• I was invited to go play billiards with friends from school. This is a two for one; it was my first time being invited to do something without my host sister and it was my first time seriously playing billiards. Surprisingly, I didn't do too badly once I got the hand of it (I once even sunk two balls in one shot!)
• I went to Berlin with my host sisters and a friend. It was absolutely wonderful and I'll write a post about it soon. Edit: you can now read about my trip to Berlin here.
• I met up with my liaison and we got ice-cream. Aside from meeting briefly at an AFS event, this was our first time hanging out. She met me at my home and then we walked to the shopping center where there is an ice-cream place. We both ordered ice-cream that looks like spaghetti (apparently that's a thing in Germany). Afterwards we just walked around Wetzlar and chatted for a bit. In Germany, the AFS liaisons are returnee exchange students so my liaison, Lina, is actually a few months younger than me. I think it's a good thing that we're close in age and that she's been an exchange student, this way she understands everything that I'm going through.

  

  You can't very clearly tell that this is supposed to look like spaghetti due to the fact that it's a bit melty and I chose chocolate ice-cream. However, the vanilla version topped with strawberry sauce is quite convincing. 

In addition to all of these exciting firsts, I also did some other fun things such as go to the fitness center with my host family, go to pole vault practice with Nina, take our dog Fee for walks, attend a few 18th birthday parties, make pancakes, etc.
In conclusion, I have immensely enjoyed fall break. I guess not having school for two weeks in October kind of makes up for the fact that I'll have to go to school on Thanksgiving. And after these lovely two weeks, I feel that I can now return to the upcoming weeks of school well rested and ready to learn! Or at the very least I'll attentively sit at my desk and pretend to understand the lesson. 

Brooke's New Look

The other day, I had been out walking my host family's dog, Fee, and when I returned Nina said that she and Sarah were going to the mall to get a few things and asked if I wanted to go with them. Of course I said yes, I had nothing better to do.
At the mall we spent sometime shopping, Sarah and Nina had bought whatever they'd need, and then, as we were walking past a hair salon, the two of them stopped to talk to their hairdresser. They talked for a while, and though I didn't really understand what they were saying, I got a good vibe from the hairdresser (her name is Mareen), and I felt like she'd be a good substitute for my American hairdresser while I'm in Germany.
I'd just been doing what I usually do when others are speaking German around me, pretending to pay attention but beginning to space out, when I noticed that my host sisters and Mareen were looking at me. Then Nina said that Mareen said I needed a "new look" and that she wanted to give me new hair cut and maybe color. I wasn't really surprised by this comment. After all, I hadn't had my hair cut since before leaving for Germany and there were split-ends galore. So I agreed. When Nina asked if I wanted to have my hair done today or in a few weeks, I thought, "What the hey? Might as well do it now."
So they took me into the salon and sat me down in a chair. I was given some books with different hairstyles and told that I could look through them and decide what I wanted. But I really had no idea what I wanted, so I threw caution to the wind and told Mareen that she could do what ever she wanted. After looking at me for a moment she told me (with the help of my sisters translating) that she wanted to give me a bob with the hair in the front being a bit longer than the hair in the back. This wasn't a style that I'd have normally chosen for myself, but I said that she could do whatever and I wasn't going to go back on my word. She also said that she'd like to do something that was translated to me as a "color gloss." Sarah said that it would give my hair more "power!' So I said, "Okay, let's do that too."
So with my fate sealed, I watched as Mareen began to hack off big chunks of my hair. Now, excited for my new hairstyle, I was mentally daring her to cut off more and more hair. Mareen worked skillfully, cutting and trimming until everything looked just right.
For the next phase of my makeover, Mareen applied the color gloss then left me to sit under some sort of heater. While I waited for the color to set, someone brought me a cup of coffee.
After some time, another hairdresser washed the color out of my hair. Finally, Mareen dried and styled my hair and I was in love! It's funny because usually I always want my hair to be longer, but now that it's cut short, I think it's perfect. And when I say "short" I mean "SHORT," like I can't even put it into a ponytail. I really hope that my new haircut will make me look more German and help me assimilate into my new home and culture.
I've always been pretty adventurous with my hair. I like to try new things; sometimes they turn out great, other times... not so much. My motto is "it'll always grow back!" But I can tell you one thing I've learned from this experience, you have not lived until you've told a hairdresser in a foreign country, that does not speak the same language as you, that she can do whatever she wants to your hair.

Before

After!
(check out the lady creeping in the background)

From Deutschkurs to Gymnasium (Part Two: The Hells of Public Transportation)

The biggest challenge that I faced this week wasn't school. It was getting to school. Unlike the carefree days of Deutschkurs when I simply took one bus from Wetzlar to a bus stop just a few blocks away from my class in Gießen, I now have to take both a train and bus, then proceed to walk ten minutes to school. And I have to do all of this by myself since my host sister rides her scooter to school. 

My host mom and sister explained how my commute on Monday would work (it varies from day to day depending on when I have to be at school) but I was still unsure of how it would all work. Monday morning I arrived at the train station on time and made my way to the platform indicated on my schedule then proceeded to wait. It was ten minutes after the time my train was supposed to come that I realized that something was up. Looking at the time-table at the train station, I saw that I was in fact standing on the wrong platform, and I that had witnessed the train I was supposed to be on leave from the opposite track ten minutes ago. That morning, I ended up getting a ride to school with my host mom. 

The next morning, things went only slightly better. Tuesday was the only day that I had a full day of school. That meant getting up at 5:30 to catch a train at 6:30. Being awake before the sun rises has never been one of favorite things, and in the mornings I have one pace: slow. Tuesday morning was no exception. I typically try to be at the train station at least five minutes before my train arrives and I have a ten minute walk to the station from my house, so this means always leaving 15 minutes before my train. I'd been going along at my own slow morning pace when my host sister comes into my room and informs me that I have six minutes until my train comes. I grabbed my bag and my coat, ran out the door, and booked it all the way to the station. I made it in the nick of time; just as the doors on the train were closing, I squeezed my way in. Never had I been so thankful to be a runner.

Thankfully, the rest of the week I had successful commutes from school and back. That being said, I'm still not entirely comfortable with taking the train. It has occurred to me this week that I'm much better at navigating airports than I am using public transportation. 

This is the logo for the good ol' Deutsch Bahn, an intricate system that both amazes and confuses me.

P.S. For anyone new to traveling on the Deutsch Bahn, may I suggest you check out the DB app (titled "DB Navigator." It is a wonderful, life-saving app that you can use to plan your commute including what buses to take!

The app looks like this

From Deutschkurs to Gymnasium (Part One)

Last Friday, my fellow exchange students and I completed our three weeks of Deutschkurs. We celebrated our final day by having a breakfast comprised of food brought in by each student and out teacher. There were many delicious treats to be had; the typical Brötchen and Nutella was accompanied by some traditional breakfast foods from Venezuela and Turkey, that Adriana and Hazal had so generously prepared for us. I was supposed to bring sausage from out butchery but I left it sitting on our kitchen table. Oops.
But before we could enjoy our smorgasbord, we had to take a final test to see how much we'd learned. The test didn't go as badly as I thought it might, and it wasn't nearly as terrible as the test we took on the first day of Deutschkurs. In the end, I managed to pull a 85%. I'd say that's a solid B. But when you consider the whole rest of the German language that I've yet to learn, I still have a long way to go.

A polaroid taken of our class

After class, the festivities continued. We went to lunch at a restaurant called Dach Cafe (it means Roof Cafe, a fitting name considering that it's at the top of a very tall building). After lunch, some left, while others spent the evening exploring Gießen. Highlights include: everyone buying a kilo of gummy bears at a gummy bear store, sitting on a bench in the middle of the Marktplatz teaching each other to swear in one another's native tongue, and going to see a movie (in English!) with Adriana. By the time Taisy, Hazal, and I caught the bus back to Wetzlar we were "fix und fertig."

I couldn't have asked for an easier first week of school. On Monday I was supposed to have English and biology, but the English teacher couldn't make it that day. In bio, despite the fact that I didn't understand what the teacher was saying, I already knew the content of the topic (cellular respiration) because we covered it last year in my American bio class. Tuesday was the only hard day. I had four classes: math, sports, German, and IB history. And when I say that the day was "hard" I just mean "long." Math was a similar situation to bio; I understood the topic, but not what the teacher was saying. 

I didn't really participate in sports (it was a theory class) or German, but history was nice because it's taught in English. Wednesday was great because I had English (afterwards I went home while my host sister took an ethics test). In English, the teacher was excited to have me there because I'm a native speaker. We read an article about the US government shutdown and then they wanted to hear my opinion on the issue, which was nerve-wracking because I felt like they knew more than I did. On Thursday there was no school because it was Tag der Deutschen Einheit. And on Friday, I once again, had only one class which was math (I was supposed to have sports but that got cancelled). This week I just followed my host sister to her classes. Soon I should meet with the person in charge of scheduling for a time-table of my own.

Since I don't speak much German, I haven't been able to socialize with other students much at school. Which is why I am thankful to anyone who has helped me or had a conversation with me this week. So, shout out to the girl who sits next to me in math class and always speaks to me in very clear, slow German, the girl who sits next to me in English who invited me to check out her Spanish class, the girl who offered to help me find the right bus after school because she takes the same one, the girl who went classroom to classroom with me on Friday to help me find my math class, and to the group of people who invited me to sit with them at a party on Friday after I'd spent most of the night being depressed because I didn't understand what anyone was saying. I don't know if those people even realize the impact they've had on my first week of school. It's hard being in a new place and speaking a new language, which is why I urge everyone out there who knows an exchange, to talk to them, to help them, or invite them to do something. Even the smallest of gestures can brighten an exchange student's day.