Carson and I at the Brandenburg Gates (notice the German boys watching us in the background!)
DAY 2
These past two days have been completely packed full of things to do. There is so much to conquer in so little time.
On Monday we had a wonderful introduction into German media and academics from Dr. Elfriede Fursich at Freie University.
She explained to us the status of all the mediums of media and its relationship to the United States. Radio is keeping steady as well as TV because it is a passive medium. Some fun facts were that Germans use subscriptions more and about only 72% of Germans use the Internet. Also, local bookstores are very big here.
It was extremely interesting to see all of the students at the University because of what they were wearing and how they acted.
We all noticed that they do not use their phones half as much as us as Americans. Aimee noted in her short lecture that it is still not known why exactly. An assumption might be because of all the social pressure Americans feel to use them. Our tour guide said that it could be because Germans like don’t feel the need for it because they are environmentally oriented people and after working at the office they want to socialize in person and stay away from technology. All is very enlightening.
For dinner, a group of us decided to “wing it,” and we found a very cute place on a corner tucked away under a small awning. The tables were very skinny and the room was slightly cramped. The waiter also did not speak English – but the food was fantastic. The best schnitzel I have ever had. And it was for a good price, too. Andrea’s rudimentary German language skills got us through the dinner.
My feet were tired and it was starting to get cold, but we passed through the Brandenburg Gates on our way to a festival. It was such a cool scene: people from all around the world gathered in this center to take photos of the gates and socialize while some rode group bicycles tied together.
We were taking photos when Andrea decided to ask someone our age for their hat so she could take a picture with it. Soon all of their group plus our group joined into the picture. It was such an awesome surprise. But then something slightly creepy happened: two young German boys (around 16) asked to take their photo with me. Can they really spot Americans from that far away? Anyway, put that cigarette down, son!
We spent a few hours trying to figure out the bus system in order to get to a festival, and in doing so I feel as though many of us bonded…even though we never made it to the festival (it was too late by then).
We also tried out a very cool German techno club that was once a warehouse. We found that Germans have a very different style of dancing. We also found that Andrea is pretty fluent in German as it turns out because she carried on a conversation with the taxi driver about American politics!
A lot of unexpected things happened on Monday, but it made it so much better – it is just part of the adventure.