That being said, after this summer, I intend to stay in the same place for a while. I'm so incredibly tired of saying goodbye and airports and dragging my bajillion pound backpack around and trying not to lose my passports. I've had an amazing time these past two years, but I've also come to realize the value of home and the novelty of y'know, understanding everything and not being the foreigner.
But all of this sentimentality is going to have to wait, since I'm here in Berlin til August 12th. I'm working with a group within an art university that promotes the work of the students and hopefully this blog (like the two before it) will chronicle my adventures and help me keep in touch with everyone I love back home and everywhere in between.
I've actually been gone a little over a week...I started out by heading out to Virginia where I saw some of my favorite people as well as some beautiful mountains and lots of sunshine and fresh air (and only a few bug bites).
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| tiny scary plane and the Shenandoah valley, en route to the tiniest airport EVER |
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| mountains! |
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| i even met some cute guys |
From there I flew to Charlotte to catch a plane ride to Frankfurt. Unfortunately my favorite sunglasses didn't feel like another Euro trip and jumped ship somewhere between VA and NC. :( Very sad about that since I loved my good ole Hater-Blockers, but I figure if the biggest problem I have in life is that I lost my sunglasses, I'm doing pretty good, right?
So! I made it to Frankfurt and the lovely US Airways broke one of the wheels clean off my suitcase and then were like oh, not our fault, it's normal wear and tear. So...I had 4 at the start of the trip, then 3 by the end of it...and that's normal?? Grrrr...nothing I could do about it, and thank God it was on the back wheels so it was still pullable, albeit wobbly when stood upright. So I managed to make it to Marburg relatively problem free.
In Marburg I was met by the lovely DanFran, who, despite an awful first impression, has become one of my most favorite people in the whole wide world. He embodies everything awesome about the Midwest haha. I love you Danny! He very kindly gave me his keys to sleep off my jetlag a bit at his place, and then I went out later to meet him and my lovely Kallilein! We went with them to conversation course, then back to CWH to hang out a bit. That night we had a yufka chicken (it's just not Marburg without one!) then drank some wine by the Lahn (such a beautiful spot when it's not freezing cold!) and met up with some IUSP girls from last semester to celebrate Beth's birthday at the dungeon bar. It was so surreal being back in Marburg at all the old haunts! Marburg is cute as ever.
The next day Kalli and I had breakfast with my German friend Anna at her house. It was really cool. Then we went back to CWH and got some work done, then made dinner together. It was weird cooking in a CWH kitchen, especially without the usual group of Nels, Nate, and Jenny...it made me really nostalgic, especially since it felt so empty with just two when we usually had like 5 or 6 and the kitchen was so full of laughter and music and companionship. You all are sorely missed! Danny came and joined us for dinner, and then the three of us went out to meet Raphael and his girlfriend for a drink at Sudhaus, one of my favorite Marburg bars.
Saturday Kalli and slept in late. Danny came by to hang out, and then Kalli's Chinese neighbor cooked us dinner. It was so nice of him! He made us "long life noodles" Which is basically one big long huge noodle in a broth with meat and vegetables. It was super good. It was so sweet of him, he really wanted to cook for us as a neighborly gesture. What a great guy. He taught us how to say thank you in Chinese too.
After that we went to this awesome outdoor music festival in marburg. the weather was perfect and there was literally a stage floating on the Lahn river. So we got some wine and settled on the grass to watch and listen. It was great. We ran into a billion people we knew and laughed and talked and had fun. Then we moved the party to the Oberstadt, where I ran into a ton of people I knew, including this American guy who lived at Wehrda who was on the same flight home last Christmas as me. He was surprised to see me haha. After some Oberstadt time we went to Sudhaus, then off to Lecker Eck for yufka chicken, then back home.
Sunday Kalli had homework, so I went to Wehrda to visit friends. That was so great. It was surreal riding Bus 2 to Wehrda, and I ran into my old neighbor Vizier on the way. He was so surprised to see me! Christian let me in and I went in the kitchen just like old times to hang out with him and Freddy. It was so awesome to see them. Freddy called Nata and told her I was there and you could hear the screaming through the phone haha. I miss her! Then Liu walked in and saw me and his mouth fell open. He just kept saying, what are you doing here??? Then Juan came in a minute later with a similar reaction. It was great to see all of them, especially after all the great times we had together in that kitchen. It just sucks Savino wasn't there! Christian and Freddy went with me into marburg, and we hung out by the Lahn with some sangria and then went by Cafe Mocha for a beer and to check out their hookah bar. I've never done it but it was kinda interesting..i dunno, I'm not the biggest fan of fake fruit flavor though. But still fun!
It was awesome to see them, and we laughed a lot and I'm hoping I'll get to come back to Marburg before I leave and hang out with them. I love my Wehrda people!
Monday I left Kalli and Danny at the train station and headed for Berlin. I miss my Marburg buddies already...luckily I arrived safely in Berlin a few hours later and was met by the amazing Peter, who is still like a bajillion feet tall and probably the nicest person I know :) I was really nervous about getting to Berlin and it was so great seeing a familiar face waiting on the platform.
Since Peter's awesome he led the way to the hotel and even carried my huge suitcase, and once there we went out for a drink (since it was super hot in Berlin). After a while he went home to write his paper and I rested up before out group dinner. I was starting to feel a bit sick and run down so I went to bed early.
This morning we had breakfast and then set off with our Fellowship group to the US Embassy. There are 18 of us in the group and so far everyone is really cool and fun to be around. Some of them are in Berlin, but for the most part they're scattered around Germany with their different internships. We went to the Embassy, toured it (very big, modern, grey, and very very secure haha) and talked with Foreign Policy experts. That was interesting but I'm not sure I'm cut out for life as a diplomat/Foreign Service Officer.
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| oooh snazzy |
From there we went to the Reichstag, or the German Parliament. They have really beefed up security since I was there last year, and luckily we had special group passes to get through security faster. We got to see the Parliament, the private rooms for the political parties, and then the famous cupola. The Parliament was partially destroyed during WWII so there's the big, old building connected to the modern, glass cupola. And a very nice view of Berlin, I might add.
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| all business casual-ed up for the day |
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| inside! |
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| proof i'm in Germany |
so once done with all that we were pretty beat. we split off into little groups for dinner, then i came back to the hotel to rest up and skype my mom :) tomorrow is internship orientation and the beginning of my apartment hunting. keep your fingers crossed for me!
Miss you all and thinking of you...hope you'll enjoy my updates!
