My Life Abroad: Berlin Thoughts!

An aspect of Berlin's geography that I was surprised with was how different the East is from the West. We were told this prior to the trip but it was still surprising to notice. When we went to the East side to see the Berlin Wall I noticed the U Bahn was not as clean or as advance as the west side. Something that stood out on the West side was there is an electric announcement board for which train is which whereas, the East did not have an electric one. I was glad we got to spend some time on both the East and West parts of Berlin so we could compare them, it was very interesting.

My favorite academic experience would probably be when we went to the Jewish museum. The Holocaust is something in history that I am eager to learn about because there is so much information about it. There was a specific section of the museum that I enjoyed the most which was the memory void. That section contained 10,000 little, iron, metal, disturbed faces in a small dark corner. At first I was just looking at it kind of confused and a worker happened to walk by and tell me some information. I'm glad she did so because I wouldn't have understood it. She told me "You should walk across to the other side. Right now they are silent, but by you walking across the noise gives them a voice. It makes the loss visible." I just found that so powerful and meaningful. I definitely recommend for the students next year to take their time in that museum and look at everything.

My favorite extra-curricular experience was finding the store Primark! It does not seem like a big deal but it made me the happiest girl ever! It all started when Katie, Mikayla, Lauren, Emily and I were shopping in H&M. I was standing in a long line for the fitting rooms to try on two dresses, just when I got to the front of the line I saw someone walk out and all I saw was half of the bag and I knew instantly it was Primark! I walked away to check and yes it was from there! I told the girls about it and we made it our mission to find it! We finally got there and it was so busy (it probably was because it was a Friday and rainy). I am obsessed with this store because when I studied abroad in Winchester, England my friends and I lived off of Primark. I spent a lot and even went back the next day! I recommend students going there; you take the U9 to Walther-Schreiber-Platz and it is less than a block away!

An eating place I would recommend is Back Factory! If you stay in the same hostel it is less than five minutes away. You just walk out of the hostel, take a right until the street then you take a right until you are at the Main Street and it is on the right on a corner. The reason I would recommend this restaurant is because it sells little pizzas, sandwiches and pastries! And the best thing about it is it is very affordable and next to the hostel!