Week 2 in Berlin has been me trying to get used to my schedule and the nightlife in Berlin. This entry is going to basically be what I think about my classes and what I did in the last week or so. Nothing too exciting but I am sure I'll really appreciate having written this down - though right now I always feel too lazy to sit down and write a blog for a few hours.
Last week, I had my first classes: German Beginner 2, Modern Germany History, and European Business Cultures.
Beginner 2 German: I am in the class that's too advanced to be Beginner 1 but not quite up to par with what Beginner 2 should be. Which is fine for me. I like that the class is review and that I am also learning a lot of new things. I am sure that by the end of the semester I'll be able to get around confidently.
Modern German History: The Prof. seems really nice. It's a fun class - learning about German history from a German perspective is exactly what I want to do. I'm excited to learn about unification and things beyond WWII and the Fall of the Berlin Wall. We'll see how it goes.
Business Cultures: So far, this class is brutal. It's hard to stay awake but I've managed. It's about the interactions between Europe and the United States and the challenges of doing business. So, we discuss the negative aspects of stereotyping a lot. The cool part will be the field trip to the Coca Cola factory. Super excited.
Obviously, my classes aren't exactly all that interesting considering I've only had two of each so far. They're once a week and have a lot of reading. But it's nothing that I can't handle if I get it done throughout the week. Which is what I plan to do. So I can relax and enjoy my weekends.
As far as sightseeing - I've done quite a bit. Aside from the Brandenburger Tor and seeing Alexander Platz, I've been to a few museums.
Last Thursday, Allison, Genevieve, and I went to see the Hitler and Germany exhibit at the German Historical Museum. It showed the German perspective on Hitler's rise to power. They displayed a lot of original propaganda posters, uniforms of the SS, and even items of people who had been in the concentration camps. There was also a lot of Anti-Nazi propaganda from the Soviet Union - which is nice since that was the easiest part of the exhibit for me to understand. Generally, when it comes down to it - I don't understand anything beyond basic German and train instructions. So it was nice to know what was going on for a bit.
I've also been to the "Welt Wissen" exhibit at the Martin-Gropius-Bau. It was a display of "World Science" since ... well, since science has been recorded. Pretty cool to see, though I didn't understand what most things in the exhibit were.
Tomorrow, we might go to the Zoo after a class field trip. I want to see Knut :)!
Um, other than that. Last weekend was amazing. Berlin's nightlife starts at 2/3am and it's very common to stay out until the morning. I don't plan to do it often - but it was definitely a fun experience.
More to come tomorrow after the zoo and before we go out to Stammtisch!
No comments:
Post a Comment