Goodbye Berlin

Becky Scarborough Dear Germany,

We both knew this wouldn't last. I'm leaving to go back to the states, and you're remaining in Europe-- but maybe I'll come visit you again someday. I enjoyed our time together, all of the bakeries, museums, the art everywhere. I know you'll miss me me wandering around saying "Entshuldigen, wo ist _____?*" all the time because I've been going in the wrong direction.

Goodbye Berlin. Goodbye Germany.

Liebe,

Becky

In all seriousness, I'm going to miss this city. I mean, sure, I'm looking forward to free bathrooms back at home, but I've had fun exploring Berlin. Today, I went to the Hamburger Bahnhof (art gallery thing) and popped into local galleries before going out for a free concert with my host family. The contemporary art was actually pretty weird.

(dancing kinetic shelf thing, evil guitar hero, and Mao by Andy Warhol)

For an artist, I should probably be a bit less judgmental, but, really, the museum smelled like a hamster cage because one of the featured artists had put live reindeer and things in the exhibit hall. Also, one of the art pieces was what I'd like to call Guitar Hero From Hell, because the game consisted of holding down two notes forever. That was the game. Two notes. The person who holds them down the longest wins the high score and my confused admiration. There was also a video clip of a grown woman imitating a crying baby, and somehow, this noise was even worse than hearing a real crying baby.

The free little galleries outshown the Hamburger Bahnhof for me. I got to see an entire gallery devoted to free speech, a value that has a down-trodden history in Berlin from the war and the wall. I also got to see a gallery with little monster paintings, sculptures made from recycled plastic cups, butterfly photographs, and one with figures surrounded by gold.

I also really liked all of the graffiti. I don't know why there is so much graffiti around the city, but it's really everywhere. Perhaps, since Berlin citizens have had to hold their tongue on issues in the past, now they're going crazy with spray paint?

Okay, the last one of those is actually mine...

Anyway, I'm really going to miss my host family too. Tonight at the bar where the band was, my host mother revealed her unexpected talent for pinball. She was a complete pinball wizard at the Lord of the Rings pinball machine (bad pun). Also, if you can imagine Gollum's voice in German, you will now know what will be haunting my nightmares.

Part of my wonderful host family

And Germany's food is great. I have had a high bread-content diet for the month, which is cheap and delicious. Our class had dinner at the Schwarze cafe, where I devoured pesto spaghetti and we chatted about our trip.

Here we are!

And here's Professor Christensen since she was taking the other photo.

Final impressions

Hanna Gunderson Right now I'm sitting on my bed thinking about whether I'm going to go to sleep for a few hours tonight, or just stay up until a taxi comes at 4:30 A.M. to take me to Tegel airport. A big part of my wanting to stay up is the fact that I just don't want to miss anything. I'd like to be fully conscious for my last hours in Berlin. 

I've been wondering the whole month whether I'm going to miss the city after I go back home. My answer to that question on any given day probably had a lot to do with the temperature, the events of the day, and the amount of sleep I had gotten the night before. But there was also a more general trend. The first week or so I was completely enamored with Berlin. I walked around constantly in awe of everything. I had decided that I wanted to stay here forever. After that initial rush wore off, I was kind of exhausted with everything for awhile. Part of me just wanted to see or do things that were completely familiar, like read the newspaper in English. But throughout the next few weeks, Berlin started to become more familiar and less strange. I remarked to John yesterday when we were waiting for the S1 that it's weird to think about getting up and not using the S-Bahn or the U-Bahn to get everywhere. I think that if I stayed here for more than just a month, it would just get more and more familiar, making it seem more and more like a home. 

Here is my personal list of things that I have missed about home/will miss about Berlin:

What I'm looking forward to doing/seeing/eating at home:

1.Really good mexican food

2.sitting in the living room talking to or watching TV with my family

3.my boyfriend and my friends

4.the house I'm moving into and the fantastic girls that I'm sharing it with

5.driving my car

6.reading the newspaper in English on sundays

7. Dr. Pepper and doritos

8.my writing capstone in the Spring

9. being able to call someone on the phone just to chat

10. drinking fountains in public places

11. wearing more than the 2 pairs of boots I have been living in for the past month

12.cooking meals in my kitchen

(not looking forward to losing my lutecard 239537593 times a day, the rain, or writing academic essays)

Things I will miss about Berlin

1.marzipan

2.my hostmom

3.effortless public transportation

4.ordering beer or wine with meals (only for a few more months!)

5. everyone from Eurocenters

6.learning so much German!

7.really really really good sandwiches 

8.apfelschorle

9.spätzle

10.beautiful old buildings

11.doing really cool, interesting things around Berlin everyday

12. EVERYONE FROM OUR GROUP

I guess I should get a few hours of sleep until our 14 hr flying day. Auf Wiedersehen!

Tommy Flanagan Berlin has something for everyone! From history buffs, to night-life-seekers, Berlin has it all! I have really enjoyed my time here taking in the language, the history and the culture.

This past week, we visited a concentration camp call Sachsenhausen. To get there, just hop on the S1 train and sit on it for about an hour. When you get off at Oranienburg, take a bus to the site. (But that is really beside the point.)

When I first got there, I was struck by how incredibly ordinary it looked. It is just tucked away between the suburbs of Oranienburg and the end of a forest. When you walk into the concentration camp, you see a long concrete wall that forms a triangle around the bunkers. When you walk into the camp, you walk through an arch-way that says "Arbiet macht Frei." Many of the bunkers are no longer there. However, there are two bunkers on the edge of the camp devoted to reconstructing the conditions at the camp.

The bunker has a bathroom. In the bathrooms are toilets with no stalls and wash basins. Here, sometime hundereds of people at a time were forced to wash-up for thirty mintues in the morning. The bathrooms were completely filthy. To torture the prisoners, the guards would somtimes lock them in the bathrooms all day and not allow them to move, standing in the filth of the bathroom. On the other extreme, guards only allowed the prisoners to use the bathroom maybe twice per day. These are just two examples at the torture that occured daily.

Further back in the bunker were individual stories and a history of the camp itself. One could spend the whole day reading about real people and their experience in the camp.

Cement squares mark the places in which building used to be with little signs giving the name of the building. On the square, one can see rocks that people have placed on them. This is a Jewish sign of peace and respect.

Toward the other end of the triangle camp is a memoial to its victims. A large column with triangles at the top stands taller than any other structure in the camp. The triangels were worn by the prisoners and were color coded for what they were imprisoned for. There was a different triangle for Jews, homosexuals, political prisoners, and Gypsies.

On the other side of one of the walls is "Station Z". This is where they used to carry out executions such as gassing and shooting. There was a a building where the guards burned bodies and buried the ashes after they carried out the execution. It is a very chilling feeling walking into that particular part of the camp. Now, a memoiral stands there, explaining what used to happen there.

As I was leaving, I was struck with the same thing that hit me at the beginning. It is so "ordinary" looking. I think that is part of what the memorial as a whole tries to convey. How could such terrible things happen in such an "ordinary" place. With all the education there is about this period of history, I hope that we can prevent this from ever happening again.

On a lighter note, we had a great evening eating at the Schwarzes Cafe after our visit. We reviewed highlights from the trip and all came to the conclusions that we would love to have more time in Berlin and all hope to come back someday soon! Now, the only thing I really have to worry about is if I have enough money to pay the taxi driver in the morning. (Shouldn't have eatten so many pastries dang it!)

After this trip, I have had a renewed desire to learn German! I can't wait to come back in the future and learn more about German and its culture!

Last day in Berlin (well...kind of)

Hannah Thiemann

Today we have a free day to do with as we like and pack. While most are going to be at the airport tomorrow at 5am and then flying back to the US, I'll be going a bit later and flying to Sweden for a week and a half before returning to Berlin for a day and then after that going home. So while this is not technically my last day of Berlin, it's my last full day and my last day with the group.

Tommy and I went into town to go shopping (though all I ended up buying was some baked goods) and it really struck me that I'm leaving soon. I've loved Berlin and I think I'm really going to miss it. As Kirstin mentioned, we made a list of things we'll miss and certainly it will be sad to lose the group dynamic and joking, but I'm going to miss the city as well, which surprised me a little.

My sophomore year, I studied in Australia, and when I left, I think I was more sad about leaving the people than the place. I loved the country too, don't get me wrong, and there are still things I miss about it and little insignificant things that I cling to (like spelling colour with a "u" and ca

lling fries chips) even though I know they won't put me back in Australia. Now, I am not losing the people - they'll still be around, even if we aren't going to spend all day every day together - but I am losing Berlin, and that makes me sad.

I'll miss the Fernsehturm, for one thing. Built by the East Germans to show their technological equality to the rest of the world, this TV tower is one of the distinctive landmarks of Berlin, and can be seen from most of the city. While I can't see it from my hostmother's apartment, thanks to the buildings all around me, I could orient myself easily while wandering around the city by finding the Fernsehturm and knowing that that was where Alexanderplatz was. Before I came here, Kirsten was talking about someone else who'd gone on the J-Term trip and called her to ask where the Fernsehturm was. As it turned out, she was still underground in the subway station. Now that I'm here, I can see why the story was so funny - as long as you're above ground, it's a very hard monument to miss. Right now it's snowing, and when I was do

wntown an hour ago, clouds and mist were drifting across the Fernsehturm, hiding much of the top. I took a picture, despite having tons of pictures of the tower already, because there's just something I love about it. I like how it looks and I like having this big marker that lets me know where I am. I have mental landmarks in other places I live as well - when driving around PLU I can quickly figure out what direction I'm going by comparing my location to South Hall - but they're not always visible. I know where South Hall is because I've driven past it so many times, not because it's reaching high up into the clouds, m

arking my path and letting me know exactly where I am. There was something comforting about it, because I know that if I somehow get lost, I can get home from the Fernsehturm, which has a train station at the foot of it. That never proved necessary, because there is such good public transportation in Berlin that walking that far would just be silly, but it was still good to know it was there, guiding me to a way home if I needed it.

I'll also miss the public transportation. Not just because of how convenient it is and the freedom and independence it gives me (though that too, of course) but because of how familiar it is and because it's a daily reminder (in addition to all the other signs around me) that I am in Germany. I love riding the S1 (even if it is deathly slow and infrequent) and hearing the stops leading up to mine, or looking at the subway map and seeing such famous, significant place names: Brandenburger Tor, Alexanderplatz, Platz der Luftbruecke. Even if I don't frequently go to all these places, the reminder of all the history and culture surrounding me is awesome.

Of course Seattle has its own history, as does the place I live in California, but as I think I said in a previous blog, there's just so much of it here and it's so prominent and noticeable - it's also history that had global impact. No one outside my little town in California (heck, probably not even many people inside my town) care about the history there, but the history of Germany has such far-reaching (and yes, admittedly, often negative) consequences - all over you can see evidence of the war, even though it happened decades ago, and signs of the East German pass are all over as well - the Ampelmann ushers you across the streets in the East. I'm going to miss that sense of history all around, and the knowledge that if I wanted to, I could easily hop on a train and be in an important museum or at an important landmark or memorial within minutes.

I had a hard time coming back from Australia and I think a big part of that was due to all my expectations. I expected it to feel like coming home but almost all my people were graduated or somewhere else and it felt like starting over rather than returning. I had built Australia up so much that the sudden realization that it was gone, a whole year of my life behind me, panicked me. I'm hoping this adjustment back will be easier, and have faith that it will be. I was only gone for a month, after all, and I know for a fact that my friends will still be there because some of them are here and will be returning with me. It will be interesting to see what I change after being in Germany - I was thinking it might be fun to try to go to one cultural event (of some sort) per week - a play or movie or something, just because I think as students at PLU there is a tendency to just stay in the protective bubble of PLU and not branch out and explore Tacoma or Seattle or anything. Whether or not I will really go adventuring as I hope to is yet to be seen, but I am glad I got this month of adventure and learning, at least.

last day in berlin=(

Katie Ahhh it's the last day:/ I am soo not ready to go home yet. it doesn't even feel real. It kind of just feels like we're going on a trip to America or something but then coming back here. I love it here! I wish we could stay longer and although i do miss my family and friends, I would rahter have them come visit me here than for me to go home. Europe is so much more interesting than America. We were reflecting on things we missed from home and things we will miss from Berlin last night, and here is what I came up with.

Things I miss about America

• My friends & family
• Free water/ regular old TAP water
• Being able to afford beverages other than beer with my meals
• Free refills
• Being able to find a public bathroom practically anywhere I go
• Being able to use a public bathroom without paying a fee
• Cultural food.
• I have to admit, Germany needs to work on their asian and mexican food. Americas got them beat here..

Things I will miss about Berlin

• Public transportation
• Theres nothing like not having to pay attention when you take an hour long trip to school in the morning. I read through several books just on the train rides alone. Driving a car anywhere seems like such a hassle now.
• NOT having a cell phone.
• I am dreading having to use my cell phone again when I get home. I loved being somewhat unreachable by technology here. It's sort of a freeing experience. I was forced to actually pay attention to my environment and interacte with people more since I was not constantly texting or facebooking on my phone all day.
• Hardly having internet.
• I had internet maybe an hour a day here, and it was an effort to get to a place with internet so I really didn't even use it every day. When you aren't on facebook 24/7, you find so many other interesting things to be doing with your time.
• My host lady
• My host lady was so incredibly nice. When I told her we wouldn't have our luggage the first week she immediately pulled out a huge bin full of scarves and gloves and socks and told me "all is for you". She knittes me two paris of socks, knitted me leg warmers, made me a HUGE  breakfast as soon as I got up every morning, she did my laundry for me, organized my closet some days, and this morning she gave me a really cool glass that restaurants usually serve beer in. She was insanely nice to me and I really appreciate everything she did for me while I was here.
• Living in the city
• I love just walking around and absorbing the environment here. Mostly because I forces you to be active during the day. People don't just sit around their houses here they are always out walking around, going to cafe's and running errands. I think the fact that it takes at least a half an hour to get anywhere by public transportation makes people want to stay out and get things done once they're in the city. Every single person is carrying a backpack or bag of some sort and clearly have a plan for the day. Anytime I go somewhere I have to sort of be prepared for everything because I don't have time to go home if I forget something. It's an interesting lifestyle and it's a little exhausting but I love it.

I have REALLy enjoyed my time here and I'm not sure I'm ready to leave yet but I am excited to see my friends and family. I will definitely be coming back to Europe sometime in the nera future. I might even want to spend a semester here. I absolutely loved going on this trip.

Jonathan Kranich Yesterday we spent the day walking around Sachsenhausen concentration camp. It was one of the eeriest I think I have ever been to. It all started with a long walk along the outer wall of the camp (following the path many of the prisoners would have walked) and taking our first steps into the camp past the typical "Arbeit macht Frei" sign...the weather was less than optimal; rain, a little bit of wind, and very cold. Prof. Christensen quite rightly commented that it seemed appropriate...

The first building was an old barracks where the prisoners slept. It was dark and musty, the bathrooms were nothing more than functional. I can't imagine what it would have been like to only be allowed two breaks for the bathroom in a day and there being such a mad rush that many people were trampled and died. Just for the bathroom! Another building talked a little about life at the camp. One item on display was a bench with straps and it was used for punishment. Prisoners would be bent over and strapped down, then their backs beaten with 25 strikes. Many prisoners kept margarine for the welts, but most died in their frail state.

At the far end of the camp is Tower E - the second tower built at the camp. Inside was information about the town only a couple hundred meters away. The frightening apathy of the town is disheartening. Many accounts talked about the people knowing that conditions were poor and the prisoners were being burned. They said the sky would fill with black smoke and the smell of burning flesh would last for 6 days. The head of the SS told all of his officers that they were to deny any claims or rumors the townspeople spoke of and assure that everything in the camp was fine.

Just beyond Tower E is the Soviet section. This was reserved for the Soviet prisoners of the camp. In one of the buildings I found myself in a small, empty room with a one-line quote "there was only one toilet...one toilet for all 36 of them"...such horrible living conditions. In addition, the building housing these 36 prisoners was maybe 10' x 10'. However, following the war the camp became occupied by the Soviets and those who were running the camp were now IN the camp. A sick irony.

As I walked through the camp I was cold, wet, and getting hungry. Yet, I would remind myself where I was, the amount of clothing I was wearing compared to the prisoners who had once occupied the camp, the fact that I would be leaving FREELY....knowing the prisoners were often forced to stand outside for hours during roll-call, many of them passing out from exhaustion, helps one to remember the blessings in their life. I would also remember that we were at a labor camp, not an extermination camp like Auschwitz. As horrifying as Saschenhausen was, I can't even imagine the horrible feeling that would come from a visit to Auschwitz.

Encountering the Holocaust

Courtney Casady I first encountered the Holocaust when I was in forth or fifth grade, I remember hearing about this horrible time, but at the young age of 9 was impossible to really understand. I didn't start to comprehend the true horror behind this tragedy until I arrived in Germany. Since then, it has been a journey- I have been trying to just fathom what happened here. One of the biggest questions that I have had is not why, but how? How were so many lives taken? How could so many people turn the other cheek? How is this possible?

I never denied the reality behind the Holocaust, I just have a very difficult time understanding the "workings" behind it.

Two weeks ago, during our learning focus entitled "Judaism and Holocaust Week," we all had the opportunity to learn more about Jewish beliefs and lifestyle, and the injustice surrounding the Holocaust. We learned more about Jewish culture at the Jewish Museum, began to put victims numbers to their names at the Holocaust Museum, and saw where it all began at the site of the Wannsee Conference. This week, visiting Sachsenhausen, just brought all of my knowledge and emotions together. While I walked around the concentration camp- a place that once imprisoned 200,000 people- I really started to realize what a tragedy not only this group of people faced, but our entire world.

I began putting these personal stories that I was reading into my own perspective. Reading about families being torn apart, or how once an individual was released from prison having to realize all of their loved ones had died. I applied these situations to myself, and imagined what I would do- how horrifying it is. I thought of myself as one individual. One life that I value, and that is connected to hundreds of other people. I think about all of my dreams and ambitions, thoughts and ideas, and then I imagine them all being taken from me.

Then I multiply by 6 million-- the estimated death rate of the Holocaust

and then another 10 million-- totaling 60,000,000 the total estimated death of WWII.

I can't believe how much potential was taken from the human race as a whole. This huge tragedy which started based off of prejudice, and continued to consume the world. I couldn't help but just look around at Sachsenhausen and pray, that we humans have the heart and mind to ensure nothing like this happens again. That as people, we recognize that we are all people, and that we all have potential, families, hopes and dreams, and thoughts and ambitions.

This trip has been-- enlightening. For me both educationally and spiritually. I am excited to go home to see my family and friends, but I will never forget all that I have had the chance to learn, and how much I been able to personally grow over this past month.