1 Month (almost!)

It has almost been 1 month since I have been in Berlin. In some ways, it felt like I just got here last week and in other ways, it feels like I have been here for a few months. I feel like I have done so much here! And that I can't really get away with considering myself a tourist (I like to think of myself as a tourist when I'm confused or in a situation where I have a possibility of getting into trouble). I love my long weekends....


Homework? Check. Clean apartment? Check. Laundry? Check!
Oh wait, about laundry. So I fully and completely did laundry for the first time since I've been in Berlin. I can practically hear each and every one of your sighs of disgust. But hear me out, please! First of all, I am a clean person and I packed more than enough clothes to wear, I have not been wearing the same clothes everyday. And I did not pack a month's worth of underwear, but I have been handwashing them! And you know what else? To wash and dry 1 SINGLE load of laundry costs 4 euros. Right this moment, that amounts to about $5.50. Now I know that most of you do not pay that much to do one load of laundry. Don't worry about me, I am clean and hygienic and I usually smell like coconut and Dove.


I also came to the conclusion that I have 3 months until I am literally back in California. I have already made arrangements with my parents that my first meal will be In-N-Out followed by Wood Ranch the next day. But really, I already feel like the time is going by so quickly! And looking at my schedule in October, I am going to be seeing a whole lot of Europe and I will truly live up to my status as a tourist.


This weekend has definitely been a good one, I got a lot of work done on Thursday afternoon and I went back to the concentration camp of Sachsenhausen with my program. Then on Friday night, we celebrated Patrick's 21st birthday and I got to meet more of his friends from his program at Humboldt University. It was a great night and I know that Patrick had a good birthday. And apparently, cakes are difficult to come by in Berlin. One cafe was almost appalled that I asked how much it was to purchase an entire cake, not just a slice. Most of Saturday was spent relaxing and I ended up watching this History Channel series about WWII. It was actually not my first choice of what to watch, it was actually my last choice, but  ironically, that was the only DVD that would work in Patrick's German DVD player. It was really interesting to watch, especially being in Berlin. A lot of the native Germans speak with pride about present day Berlin, but they also mention that there is a scar over Berlin. Being here and studying Germany's dark past really helps me to understand what they mean when they say Berlin is scarred. There is a ton of construction going on in Berlin right now and the director mentioned a quote that has stuck with me: "Berlin is a city condemned forever to becoming and never to being." It is just very interesting to live in a city that has experienced such drastic changes in the past and see how it is progressing now.