Ich fliege nach Berlin...und alle sind schone

So, after an excruciatingly long flight, I arrived in Berlin! I left on Friday at 6pm and arrive Saturday at 11:30am. I could not sleep for more than 20 minutes on the plane and I really paid for it later on. Luckily, all of my luggage arrived and I found my host family when I walked out of the gate.

The mother Kristin and the 11 year-old Charlotte met me at the airport. They immediately pointed out the amount of luggage I had ( I thought I had packed very well considering I was coming for two months) but after spending only two days here I now know why. EVERYTHING HERE IS MINI-SIZED. We’re talking food, toilettes, towels, ovens, washing machines… you name it, they have it, 10x’s smaller. And I thought I knew how environmentally conscious they were when I came here 4 years ago but WOW. They have a container for plastic, glass, paper, and organic food. Not only in their homes but lining every street. Yup, I have to put scraps of fruit, vegetables, and other organic products in a specific container. And yes, you guessed it, their garbage cans are the size of small bathroom garbage cans you might see at home.

But anyways, I came back to their apartment to find the best surprise of all…I have my own apartment!!!! I live across from them in a little flat with a kitchen, two beds, and sitting area with a couch and a bathroom. I will put pictures up if I learn how. I have a key to their apartment too and I go over there for meals and to hang out with them.

They all speak four languages, one being English, but for my benefit they hardly speak English to me. When they speak slow, I basically understand what they are saying, but there are times they ramble off and they lose me. I think I have a strong chance of becoming fluent by the end of this. If not…that’s embarrassing.

I live in what once was East Berlin. I am lucky because I am in the very heart of Berlin where all the museums, monuments, clubs/bars, and good restaurants are. The first day I arrived here, Kristin and Charlotte took me on a small tour around the area. (Charlotte rode on a Uni-cycle the whole time, which I found extremely interesting but was nothing beyond normal to them). We went to look at a piece of the Berlin wall which is basically in my backyard and she pointed out other sites along the way. We went to a supermarket and again, everything was small. They bought only what they needed which was apparently more than they usually buy because I was visiting but you never would have guessed. The meat was extremely fresh too. The Metzger (butcher) was really friendly and you could tell all of the meat was non-processed and straight from farms.

By the time I got back, I was so exhausted I had to almost physically keep my eyes open while I watched Charlotte and Felix (their 13 year-old son) play Wii. I am the fourth girl they have hosted here but they keep talking about this one girl Ashley. They have pictures of her framed around the apartment and the little girl charlotte is in love with her. So, I have some competition apparently. We will have to see if I can live up to Ashley’s standards.

We had crepes for dinner with Nutella (my favorite, you know Rach) and strawberries. You could also make one with mushrooms and cheese which I tried and liked as well. The husband came home that night (Peter) and talked all about Obama’s visit to Germany. I live with some serious Obama lovers and that seems to be the main opinion in Germany. The man is making some intense peace in Europe. I learned more about the politics in America from Peter than our own newspapers.

When I finally went to bed, I passed out the minute I laid on the bed. I woke up at 4 am which was really like 10pm our time and read until I fell asleep again at 5:30. I slept about 13 hours in total.

After breakfast, and explaining the controversy between John and Kate plus Eight who had decided to grace the German newspapers, though the Germans have never heard of them, I looked up how to get to my university. Apparently, there is more than one Freie University in Berlin. I did not realize this though, and took the map from google I printed and ran to catch the S-bahn.

As I am on the train, I decided to ask someone if I was on the right track. Nope. According to the map I had printed, I was going the wrong direction. A boy got off the train with me to help get me on the next one. He was really nice and had a backpack full of boxes of different cologne…it was strange. So he helped me get onto another train where I asked another couple on the train if I was correct. That is when they made the discovery that I was headed towards the wrong University. Phenominal. So, they gave me directions to a bus stop from the train station we stopped at next. Once I found the buses, I asked someone else to help me find out which one and after getting on the wrong bus TWICE, an American boy came up to me and asked if I was a part of Fubis. I swear, the clouds parted and angels sang. I was so happy to find an English speaking American looking for the same place as me. Together we found the university and we were only 15 minutes late.

I met Kathleen and Anna there, two girls from James Madison, and we went to each other’s houses after the orientation. They live about 10 minutes from the university. I live about 30 if I do it correctly. After navigating to their houses and everywhere else, I am now extremely efficient at understanding S-bahn, U-bahn, and bus schedules. I’m proud.

I have had the bread and wurst here (sausages) but other than that I have not really had a chance to taste some great German food. (Andrew, this is where I need my partner in crime). I am sure that will happen soon though. And I MUST find some Milka, my favorite German chocolate. Tomorrow I will be interviewed at the university and they will tell me which class I am in. I hope Anna, Kathleen, and I all get into the same class. But we will have to wait and see. I plan to go to a cell phone store as soon as I get out so I can contact people here. I can call from Skype at my school so I will also be on there tomorrow.

All in all it has been very busy but very exciting so far. I still can not believe I am here and I feel like I am going to wake up at any moment back in my bed in Sparta. I was slightly homesick the first night when I had no means to contact anyone. They didn’t have the pass code for me to use their internet so I felt slightly isolated from being able to contact anyone, including Kathleen and Anna. But though today was hectic, I really got a chance to learn how to navigate all over the city. Even after two days, I am beginning to pick up German more and more. How can you not? Everyone is speaking it wherever you go and every sign is in German. I think slowly, I will begin to get it without even realizing it.

Anyways, I miss you all and I will continue to let you know more about what happens while I am here. I know there will be some interesting stories. I hope everyone is well and I will write more later. Tschus!