Hi everyone!

Today, May 14, we were able to visit Deutsche Welle I was exited for this visit because I have actually seen some of Deutsche Welle’s broadcasts in the US. In my German course at Duquesne we go on Deutsche Welle’s website and sometimes watch their Learn German tv webisodes they produce. I was excited to be able to go there and experience how much effort it take to put everything together.

Here are some of the highlights of what I learned at Deutsche Welle
Deutsche Welle was started to improve Germany’s image problem after WWII. It first was a radio station, which broadcastes to the world to let everyone know what Germany was doing. The radio program was in 31 different languages. Deutsche Welle stresses learning German. This is because Germany is extremely proud of its language. They see it as the best way to access the cultural heritage. One thing the guy we spoke yo stressed to us was that Deutsche Welle was unaffiliated with the government. We were also taken up on the roof of Deutsche Welle which offered a beautiful view of the city.

After our visit to Deutsche Welle, everyone was sleepy and didn’t want to do anything that night. This was extremely annoying to me. So, instead Katie and I ventured off on our own. We went to Alexanderplatz, which is personally one of my favorite parts of Berlin. There was lots of shopping and of course that’s what we did! We went into Liebeskind Berlin. Liebeskind is basically a purse store and a leather store. I was willing to spend however much to get a nice purse. Katie bought a pair of shoes. I bought a grey leather bag for 179 Euros. Ouch. That hurt my wallet, but trust me it was worth it. The leather smells amazing! We also went up to Bench, where we both bough 70 Euro fleeces. Another expensive purchase, but worth it. I love Bench.

Well, the first day of our trip is complete. I for one, am EXHAUSTED. I slept very well on our plane rides, so I was awake an alert for the whole day. I was surprised that I was able to even sleep. That marks the first time I have ever been able to sleep on an aircraft.

As soon as we got off our flight, we took a short ride on a shuttle to claim our baggage. Unfortunately, there was about seven of us who were not able to claim baggage. Their suitcases were lost. This backed us up even more on time. Both of our flights were delayed and we had to reschedule the second one. As soon as everyone was on the bus (even without baggage) we were off on our bus tour of Berlin. I honestly felt like crying. This is one of my favorite German cities and one of my favorite cities in the world. I love being back! I remember mostly everything from my visit three years ago, but I know there is so much more to see and do. I don’t feel like you can every run out of things to do in this city. It’s amazing.

We stopped at the Holocaust memorial and got out of the bus. This was very exciting for me. I love learning about the Holocaust and my last time in Berlin I did not walk through the memorial. It was nice to get some pictures inside of the memorial. It is a really neat structure. It’s a bunch of cement blocks at varying heights, but it is much better than I describe it. We had a half an hour to wander around that area. After going through the memorial with Katie, Zack and I went inside of a restaurant. Good thing I know German, because when I asked the guy at the restaurant “Sprechen Sie Englisch?” He said a little bit. I love applying the German I have learned in the past six years in real life situations. That is my favorite part of this trip so far, using my German. I got currywurst and french fries. This was a new treat for me. I love wurst (only when in Germany though) but I was skeptical about curry. I never had curry before… I just hate the smell, but it tasted amazing. I love tasting new foods while I’m in a new country. In the states, I am a very picky eater and do not like to try new things. Here I want to continue to expand my horizons and taste new things and do new things.

Our Hotel is very nice… probably my favorite German Hotel I have stayed in yet. I stayed in another very modern hotel in Berlin in Alexanderplatz, but it wasn’t practical. This one is. I like it better.

 I enjoyed going to the Sony Center for dinner tonight. I have never been to the Sony Center at night while the roof is lit up, but it’s a very cool sight. Since I’m lactose intolerant, I got to choose my own meal. I got some kind of pork and carrot thing inside of gelatin. When I got it in front of me I was like, “What the heck did I order?!” But I love trying new things, and it was actually pretty good, despite the weird texture. Oh and I had the best potatoes I ever tasted too. They were delicious. For my drink I had a Mangoweisse Bier… another new thing I tried. It was delicious as well. For dessert I selected a huge apple pizza… which I wasn’t expecting at all. Because of it’s size I shared with everyone at my table.

All in all, it was a great first day and I am glad to be in this amazing city again. I recommend stopping in Berlin to whoever plans on making a trip to Germany or to Europe.

My name is Andrea Karsesnick. I’m from 7 miles south of Pittsburgh, from Scott Township. I’m going to be a junior at Point Park in the fall. I’ve been speaking German for six years now and I can’t wait to use my language skills abroad! The reason I signed up for this class is not only because of my obvious love for Germany, but because I want to learn more about advertising and public relations in Germany. I would love to work for a German PR company if I ever get the chance.

This is my second time in Germany. I first traveled to Germany with three other German students from my high school  in the Summer of 2010. We stayed in Germany for ten days. In those ten days we visited: Berlin, Potsdam, Weimar, Erfurt, Eisenach, Rothenburg and Munich. I also had the chance to visit Dachau, the same concentration camp that we’re visiting this month while in Munich. The first time I was in Germany I made a lot of mistakes. One of them was not realizing that I had to pay to use the restrooms. I got glares from bathroom attendants. My debit card did not work at ATMs in Germany. Hopefully that is different this time. I learned that I was lactose intolerant on my first German trip and because of that I missed out on a lot because I became very sick. This time I hope I can do Germany right and not get sick or make cultural mistakes.
I just finished packing last night. I’m really excited about some of the things I’m bringing with me to Germany. I am actually fortunate enough to be able to bring a German cellphone! My sister did study abroad in Germany this semester so she is giving me her German phone to take with me. This means that I will have cellphone service with no international charges in Germany. The cell phone is a smart phone with a data plan, which I do not have to pay for because my sister already took care of that. This will make communicating with loved ones back in the states so much easier because I will not have to search for free wifi, which I heard is hard to find in Germany. I will also have a map on my German cellphone, so I do not have to worry about having trouble finding public transportation or getting lost. Having a German cellphone is going to help me out a lot and keep me safe. If I do get lost, I can always use the phone to call the hotel. In addition to my German phone, my sister also gave me a really cool charger. It’s from Germany and it can charge up to four items and it uses a regular USB port. All I need are dongles. My sister also lent me her German straightener and curling iron, so I don’t have to worry about dealing with a converter/adapter or my appliances sparking or blowing out. I got a lot of my sister’s left over Euros. My other sisters boyfriend also gave me all of his left over Euros from his time in Italy.

I’m very fortunate to have people close to me who have recently gone abroad. I’m really excited to have a phone in Germany though. That has to be the best part about preparing for my trip! I’m very excited about Germany and I can’t wait to blog about my experience. Now I just have to get on a plane, which is a big thing for me. I’m absolutely terrified of flying.

That’s all for now!
-Andrea