Excerpt from my journal, 18 February 2009:
Ankunft in Berlin
"I still think it's pretty amazing that it's taken me four visits to Germany to finally make it to Berlin. But - endlich! - here I am. We took a private bus here with a group of international students, many of whom appear to view showering as the bane of human existence. But aside from inhaling BO for the duration of the ride (around five hours), everything went smoothly."
Berlin was exactly how I had imagined it would be. Enormous, modern, creative, complex, and of course, very, very cold. The city has all the tell-tale signs of an exciting metropolis: an extensive public transportation system, trendy clubs and restaurants, an utterly fascinating love affair with the arts, innumerable graffiti-covered walls, dozens of famous museums and collections. Twenty different nationalities can be represented in one given subway car, and shop signs are often written in four or five different languages. But Berlin also has all the signs of a quintessential German city: a towering cathedral, Currywurst street vendors, remarkable visible damage from the Second World War, a bakery on every block. Here, evidence of the massive Turkish immigration into Germany is most apparent; in Kreuzberg, a quarter of the city dubbed "Little Istanbul," menus and advertisements are often exclusively in Turkish, and it is possible to get around without knowing a word of German. The city is under a constant wave of change, and I am sure that when I go back this summer to see the city green and blooming instead of slushed and frozen over, I will already be able to recognize differences. In only twenty years, the gross disparity between former East and West Berlin has already been reduced. The former East, once a place for the impoverished, disillusioned past citizens of the Soviet Union, is now largely a place where students pay cheaper rent to live and where bars and restaurants are popping up all over the place to cater to the new demographic. Of course, there are still many improvements to be made, but that is the very soul what makes the city so progressive. Its inhabitants recognize the need for a transformation and are actively pursuing it through widespread construction, impassioned dialogue, and art, art art.
In just five days, I was both enchanted and exhausted by this energy. The city reminded me at times of how I felt living in Beijing - like I could live there for years and years and never feel like I understood the landscape. I know there are people who thrive on that sort of feeling - the constant motion of a big city. But while I enjoy a good visit every now and then, the city life is not one I would choose with any sense of permanency. I'm thrilled to have gotten to see Berlin, and look forward to returning in warmer weather. But I was also quite ready to board that bus full of unwashed Europeans and head back to my comfortably-sized town of Regensburg for a hot shower and a good night's sleep.
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Last weekend I decided to take a trip to Salzburg with a few of my friends from the program. It was to be our first free weekend (and only free weekend in the foreseeable future) so we leapt at the chance. Week Two in Regensburg has come to a successful close. A few highlights: Okay, so the truth is, I stole this idea entirely from one of my closest friends, Liberty Sveke. If you want to see the inspiration behind my (not as cool) page, check out www.libertyalexandra.com. I hope mine looks as good as hers someday. |
AuthorHello, my name is Kaci. My parents have a hard time keeping me at home. Archives
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