Hello sunshine!!! It certainly has gotten sunnier and warmer this past week. I had a goal at the beginning of the week to go visit a new place everyday. Unfortunately, the past few days it has been over 90 degrees, so that put a damper on my plans. The week started with a visit to Checkpoint Charlie. Before coming to Berlin my Grammie insisted that I visited there, so it was a top priority for me. I wondered why out of all the historical monuments and museums in Berlin she was so insistent on me seeing that. Now that I am in Berlin and have really come to terms with how much extensive history is here, I think it mean, so much to her because she grew up in the Cold War era. She probably would have heard about Checkpoint Charlie frequently since it was the Allie crossing into the East. During this trip I have realized that it is natural to become attached to the history that we know the best. It is reasonable that my Grammie would feel a strong inclination towards the history that she lived through. I didn’t live through any of the major historical events that have happened in Germany, but we covered the Holocaust extensively when I was in elementary and middle school, so I have found that everything I have visited having to do with the Holocaust has been very impactful for me.
Wednesday morning we visited the Young Islam Conference for a presentation lead by two of their employees. That was one of my favorite activities since I have been in Berlin. It is so inspiring to see an organization that works to educate young people on how to be social activists for themselves. I think with social issues, young people get forgotten so easily because of the politics involved, but if youth know how to be activists for themselves and for others than tht is an unbelievably powerful tool. It is also so important that young people feel empowered to educate other people. I think organizations like the Young Islam Conference that incorporate people of all ages have to ability to create real social change.
This past we I have really started to feel comfortable in Berlin. I can get around on the subway without any issue, I know my favorite places to eat and more and more German words are sounding familiar. Unfortunately, this comfort is coming just in time for me to travel out of Berlin. I have realized it does not take very long for a place to start feeling like home. When I first arrived in Berlin I was having a bit of a crisis. I was homesick, missing my family and having a really tough time feeling comfortable in Berlin. I was starting to wonder if I would ever be able to spend a significant period of time outside of the pacific northwest. Thankfully, I am finding that I can push myself out of those bounds. I just had to give myself the chance to get my bearings. I am really happy I have had an extended period of time in Berlin and I have officially been bitten by the adventure bug.
Wednesday morning we visited the Young Islam Conference for a presentation lead by two of their employees. That was one of my favorite activities since I have been in Berlin. It is so inspiring to see an organization that works to educate young people on how to be social activists for themselves. I think with social issues, young people get forgotten so easily because of the politics involved, but if youth know how to be activists for themselves and for others than tht is an unbelievably powerful tool. It is also so important that young people feel empowered to educate other people. I think organizations like the Young Islam Conference that incorporate people of all ages have to ability to create real social change.
This past we I have really started to feel comfortable in Berlin. I can get around on the subway without any issue, I know my favorite places to eat and more and more German words are sounding familiar. Unfortunately, this comfort is coming just in time for me to travel out of Berlin. I have realized it does not take very long for a place to start feeling like home. When I first arrived in Berlin I was having a bit of a crisis. I was homesick, missing my family and having a really tough time feeling comfortable in Berlin. I was starting to wonder if I would ever be able to spend a significant period of time outside of the pacific northwest. Thankfully, I am finding that I can push myself out of those bounds. I just had to give myself the chance to get my bearings. I am really happy I have had an extended period of time in Berlin and I have officially been bitten by the adventure bug.