2nd Week in Berlin

After a whole week in Berlin, I have come to realize many things about the people and the city itself.  First off, Germans will unapologetically stare at you when they hear you speaking English.  Over the weekend while a group of us were at an amusement park, I met eyes with a German man holding a beer and looking extremely confused as Grant and Kyra were speaking in English.  Even after I looked at him, he kept staring at Grant, Kyra, and I as if we were aliens from a different planet.  I've also noticed that Germans absolutely love it when you try to speak German.  Although our exchange students sometimes laugh at us when we struggle to pronounce words, they are very helpful and do their best to help us.  Even shop workers have helped us.  The other day when Kyra and I were getting döner, we asked Dani to order for us but the man behind the counter had none of that and pointed to the two of us and said "no, you order!"  So we struggled our way through and when we were stuck, the man would ask us questions to help with the continuation of the order.  Overall it was a wonderful and hilarious experience and it really showed me how kind the German people are and how willing they are to help us learn the language and experience their culture.

Another thing I've observed is how willing many Germans are to welcome others and make them feel at home.  When we went to the refugee classroom last week, most of the students could speak German almost fluently and appeared to love living in Germany.  It seems to be much easier here than in the US to freely speak about where you come from and what religion you practice as well as becoming a part of the German culture.  It's amazing and wonderful to see how many Germans are very accepting of and embrace the diversity of religions, ethnicities, and cultures that are present within their own country.  Germans of all shapes, sizes, colors, and families proudly display the Deutschland flag on their car or on their window and appear to be very proud and open about the many cultures within their families and within their city.

Speaking of experiencing culture, our German exchange partners have been wonderful at showing us around the city.  I've been sightseeing, shopping, trying new foods and drinks, attempting to improve my grasp on the German language, and enjoyzing every single second of it.  Jenny has shown me so much and explains about anything that I have questions on.  Her family is so welcoming and I'm pretty sure they love the United States more than I do....  They have US flags everywhere including the pillow and comforter in my room.  Jenny and I have gone shopping at the Mall of Berlin and on Schloss Straße (I probably spelled that wrong oops!) and we have gone sightseeing on Potsdamer Platz and have gone to museums like Madame Tussauds.  Overall, it has been a wonderful experience here in Berlin and I'm so excited for what else is to come the last few days.