Updates

I did something pretty cool yesterday, which is why the blog is a day late.

Two weeks ago I got an email from the US Embassy inviting me and other exchange students to the Embassy in Berlin for a round table discussion about our experiences here in Germany. We met with Paul Cunningham, who is the U.S. Department of State’s Public Diplomacy Desk Officer for Western Europe. We were 32 students: 8 were Germans who previously went to the USA on the CBYX scholarship and the rest were American students who are currently in Germany. Mr. Cunningham seemed genuinely interested in what we were sharing with him. He was also an exchange student, so he understands and values the program just as we do. Overall I think the event was very successful, and he can report back to Washington with proof that this is an amazing opportunity for many students both American and German. Then, it will hopefully be treated as the serious investment that it is: a program that benefits not only our country, but our relations with other countries as well…And the world knows we could use some improvement in that area :)  It was as always very interesting to get other peoples perspectives on their exchange year because it truly does vary person to person. In the meeting room there was ice water in pitchers with glasses and Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies on plates. It was a big indication that we were back on American soil. But I mean the security to get in and the portraits of President Obama, Bill Clinton, and John Kerry should have also been a clear sign.

Another fun thing that happened this week was the solar eclipse that was visible in Germany! At 9:45 my class went up to the school tower. I didn't even notice there was a tower on top of the north wing of my school let alone that it was safely accessible, but only my class was able to go up. Our math teacher gave us the hookup with the tower viewing, and she brought the special dark glasses you need to view this phenomenon. This isn't a surprise to most people, but I'm not very interested in space and science. Looking at the solar eclipse, though, was quite cool and who knows if I'll ever be able to do it again.

Quick note: I realize you aren't allowed to look directly into the sun because of the damage it can cause, but even looking up and in the general direction of the sun was physically painful and my eyes automatically reverted away. Basically, I don’t understand how or why anyone would do that.

Last Friday we also made crepes in French class. We had two crepe makers and everyone brought some ingredient or topping to contribute. We just hung out while eating our crepes for an hour and it was fun. A few people and I played hangman on the chalkboard. We did some rounds in German and some rounds with English words that were randomly picked out of my German-English dictionary. It's funny because one of the words was "reliability." Quite a few letters were filled in but I still didn't know what it was. All of sudden a guy in the back shouts out the word and I was so stunned… How did he get it and I didn't? It was a small hit to my ego. I won't lie, they chose some good words like hypocrisy and inquisitive. Playing with German words can be interesting as well because there are an abundance of words that have 15-20 letters or more.

This is our last week before Easter break, so projects and exams are being finished up. I have had a lot of free periods that last few weeks, so things are going well for me!

All the students

It was like a mini boarder crossing

As I was walking to the Embassy, I noticed an unusual abundance of Police Officers, the Greek flag hanging outside the Bundeskanzleramt (office building where Angela Merkel works), and the setting up of those plastic blockade things around the large grass areas. My first thought was that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras must be in town (it turned out I was correct). On the way back from the Embassy to the train station, I notice a large group of people outside the Bundeskanzleramt with signs and whatnot. I obviously was curious about what was happening. I mentally debated asking someone about it, but I quickly remembered that these guys were either protesting or supporting something, so of course they would love to talk about their cause. I found two nice looking women who explained the cause to me. Turns out, Prime Minister Tsipras had met with Chancellor Merkel that day about the situation in Greece and the people outside were supporters of support to Greece. They told me that they want Greece to be seen a valid EU member and that they stand in solidarity with them. 

~very chiq~

On the viewing tower