Interview

For a few of my classes, we have independent projects that typically consist of visiting a particular museum or historically significant place in Berlin and writing a short paper that deals with the themes of the class. For my Transatlantic Relations class, our teacher is requiring that we interview a German (preferably a Berliner) either about 11/9 or 9/11. I was planning on interviewing my friend Cari, but Patrick told me that his host mother actually lived in the GDR. 


Betty was gracious enough to allow me to ask her a few questions and she ended up telling me about how she got to Germany, life during the Wall, and life after the Wall came down. For a quick summary, she was born in Czechslovakia in 1939 and came on a train to Berlin in 1945. She was supposed to be on a ship that ended up sinking, killing 1,000 people, and also, the train she was on was bombed by the Allies. Before the Wall went up, both of her parents left separately to West Germany, each with a couple of her sisters. That was the last time she saw either of her parents because by 1965, both of her parents had died and she was not allowed to visit them or even attend their funerals. In the days leading up to the fall of the Wall, everything was happening so quickly with the riots and the announcement of unlimited travel, Betty was in disbelief and couldn't understand how all of it was happening. After the Wall fell, she said everyone was celebrating and happy, East and West Germans alike. 


I was curious to see her honest opinion of the United States, and she told me that she really likes the United States and has traveled there the most (out of the over 70 countries she's visited!). She likes how much freedom we have but does not like everything about the US (but who does?). I was a little bit surprised, especially since her train had been bombed by the Allies and had always been given propaganda about how bad the US is. It was a very humbling and insightful experience to speak with someone who has witnessed so much history and seen such great changes of a country in a single lifetime. The interview was very interesting and Betty speaks no English, so Patrick had to help me translate a little! 


I'm done with classes for the week and I'm very thankful that it's the weekend! For the rest of the day, I'm planning on working on a couple of papers and homework so that I can keep all of my weekend free. I have been here for almost a month, I can't believe how fast the time is going by!