This week I learned about religion in Germany during “Lernstudio”. Almost all public holidays in Germany are actually church holidays, with many of the German people being Christians. For the most part, the local Germans all know their public holidays because they are avid church goers and thus recognize these holidays by their formal names, such as Corpus Christi from a few weeks back. Younger children do not seem to understand the religious background of the holidays, but in general most people are well aware of which holidays are which. My teacher had given a pretty detailed explanation of Corpus Christi; it is a solely Catholic holiday and is not always considered a public holiday in northern Germany. He explained that the southern part of Germany tends to be more Catholic than other regions, and many of the cities in the south have parades on Corpus Christi to celebrate. I remember I went to mass on Corpus Christi, which they celebrated outside in the town center. It was mostly older people and children that came with their parents. There are no public holidays coming up, so I asked a few local people about Corpus Christi, since it had been the most recent. While my teacher had given a very formal background of the holiday, the public holidays are typically considered time to spend with family. Most people do not have to work on public holidays, so they can spend time with their loved ones. Plenty of the students staying with host families mentioned barbecuing together or just having a large meal in general. In that sense, the public holidays are very different in their religious background as compared to the actual meaning for the people who celebrate them.

I believe my speaking has improved quite a bit, because I have less people switching to English when they hear me speak. It makes me happy that I am improving, and I am now very comfortable ordering food, making casual conversation, and contributing in class. I still think I need to learn more words, but that is something I need to continuously work on. I have bought a couple books in German and am struggling my way through them; I learn many new words this way. I have also made it a habit to look up words in advertisements or signs I see that I do not understand. I hate having to rely on my phone as a dictionary, but it is quite convenient. My little notebook with words I had not known grows bigger each and everyday, and I am very proud of it. In hindsight, I feel that staying with a host family would have been very beneficial in terms of improving my speaking, as the guesthouse is not always occupied. I still try to go out and find people to speak with instead, but it would probably have been easier to manage with a host family.

I also visited a friend in Lucerne, Switzerland this weekend and I had a little trouble adjusting to the Swiss German. It was also harder to engage in German because so many people just spoke English there. I saw the Lion of Lucerne as well as a rainbow, due to the constant drizzle. When I arrived back in Radolfzell, I felt so blessed to be here. Lucerne was a large city, full of tourists, noise, and English speakers. It was beautiful, but had such a different feeling from Radolfzell. Here in Radolfzell, everything is peaceful, and while most people can speak English, they typically stick with German. I grow even fonder of the language as I hear locals speak it; my tongue always feels so clumsy trying to pronounce certain German words, but it sounds so effortless and smooth when a local says it. Although my days here have become relatively routine, I still feel so excited and so lucky to experience life in Germany.

I dropped my phone today on the way to school, so now in addition to having a broken laptop by phone screen is almost unreadable. I am taking this as a sign that I should try to disconnect and use my phone less. Other than that it has been another great week in Berlin. I am only sad that it will be my last one here for alittle while. Anyway, it has not been a wasted week by any measure and I have made a point to explore all the Berlin districts that I had not yet visited. Also, I got to witness some of the Turkish protests and take part in some public graffiti art that is all over the public wall in Mauerpark. Before I talk more about these things though I think it is more pertinent to mention (for this blogs purpose) to talk about the actual language progress I have made.

So as my last week came to an end I  tested out of the B1.2 level of German in the Carl Duisberg Centrum, and am on my way to B2.1 in Munich. I can finally maintain conversation with German people without pausing too much or asking them to repeat what they said. I still have some trouble with speaking about complicated subjects, such as moral issues or societal differences between countries, but other than that I have now reached a level where German people will respond to what I say in German and not English (German people love to practice their English with native English speakers). Finally, I can relate most of the things that I am thinking in German and have meaningful conversations with other students who only speak German. This has opened up so many doors and allowed me to really become more at home here. I am glad I have reached this level before I start my four weeks with a host family in Munich.

Almost forgot about the touristy things I have done this week. Since it is my last week here I went to the Berliner Dom and the TV tower. The Berliner Dom, although it is not that old, it is one of the most amazing churches that I have ever seen. From the beautiful marble and granite that line that walls to the view of the city at the top of the dome, the Berliner Dom is not something that you want to miss out on. The TV tower I found to be alittle more touristy and they have very expensive restaurant near the top. However, the top of the TV tower does offer probably the best view of Berlin that you can possibly get without a helicopter.

It seems that every time I go to a cafe, there is someone who will come up and talk to me. This last time I was reading “The Karamazov Brothers” for a class and I was approached by an older man who immediately asked where I was from, what I studied, and how I liked the book. It turned out that he is a theology professor at the from Denmark who was in Berlin for a conference. We ended up talking about Russian literature and religion for almost an hour. Its one of the things I like most about Berlin, the diversity of the city and its international status makes it possible to meet people form all over. I am definitely going to miss living in Berlin. At the same time Munich is considered to have a more traditional German culture by many and I am excited to see what it’s like living there.

Pro tip of the week: Not a hard and fast rule in Germany, but it is generally considered very forward to start a conversation with a compliment at a party, this seems rather normal in the U.S., but many people seem to think that its a risky move socially.

Until Munich!

My laptop of 4 years finally decided to die for good this time, so I have sadly not been keeping up with the blog as much. I must say though, I think Berlin might be one of my favorite cities I have ever had the privilege to live in. Every day there is some festival or event going on, and the are so many parks and green areas where you can go run, rockclimb, play soccer (Fußball), swim, or picnic. So far I have only broken one pair of cleats and lost alot of pride on the Fußball fields here. Being decent in the U.S. translates to being the last pick for teams here most the time. Anyway, back to the important things, reports on touristy things, facets of school in Germany, and some random encounters with German and other foreign peoples, nightlife in Berlin, plus of course the pro tip of the week.
There are so many touristy things that you should do in Berlin if you are ever lucky enough to visit this crazy but amazing city, however; after this week I think a visit to the national gallery and museum island should be at the top of the list (if you enjoy art). Not only does the national gallery organize all the works by time period, but they have entire rooms devoted to some of the well known 19th century German artists such Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Caspar David Friedrich. It was amazing to see works such as “abbey among oak tree” and “medieval city on a river” I remember learning about a few of these in the AP European history class I had senior year, so to see them in person was really cool.
Also I was lucky enough to meet up with the Notre Dame group in Berlin and get a ticket to the Berliner Philharmoniker which turned out to be one of my favorite musical experiences to date. Going to this, everyone dresses their best, they’re drinks and some mixing time beforehand, but as soon as everyone gets to their seats and finishes applauding the entrance of the conductor, there is nothing but dead silence. You could have heard heard a pin drop as the audience awaited for the story (told by and orchestra and chorus) to unfold. Finally it began, the story of Oedipus, and it did not disappoint in any way whatsoever. You could tell everyone was on the edge of their seat awaiting the next line from the chorus. It seemed as if the very air had an electric current that froze you in your seat. If anyone reading this has a chance to catch a performance here, please do yourself a favor and go! The next day I went to the Zoologischer Garten (One of Berlin’s zoos in the Tiergarten), and could not believe both the beauty of the park and the diversity of animals they have. Also, I don’t know how they haven’t had many accidents in the park yet, because there is literally nothing separating you from the animals in some enclosures. For example, the first animal we stumbled across was a rhino in its enclosure, however this “enclosure” was literally the area in which the rhino lived, separated from you be a fence that was only a foot and a half or two tall. Also you could get extremely close to all the animals. Personally, I thought this was amazing, but there were some people in the group who were alittle freaked out. All in all I would definitely recommend the garten to anyone who plans on staying in the city for awhile.

Berlin is considered by many Europeans that I’ve met to be one of the biggest centers for good nightlife and music in all of Europe. From what I have heard they have every kind of club one could think of here, from the fancy wear a blazer to the club, club, to the punk bars, to techno houses that go until 10 am in the morning, they have it all. Also, compared to other big cities, Berlin is relatively cheap for going out, which is always a plus. I have also been told that if you are into EDM Berlin is the place to be, there is a club called Berghain which is considered the world capital of techno at the moment. This club is in an old power plant and sports 60 foot ceilings in the dance floor multiple bars and regularly holds 1500 people every night, However; do not show up before 2 am on most nights because they don’t open until 3 or 4 and go until 10 or 11am. If you are into EDM and don’t mind the usual scene that encompasses a techno club, this is a must see. Berlin claims to be the birthplace of real techno and many EDM genres so this music is a large part of the nightlife culture of the city.

Now to school. I am now 100% sure that the only way to become truly good at a language is to live in the country in which it is spoken. Not only do people from Germany not follow their own grammar rules in daily conversation, but they have so much slang which I have never learned in my classes. I find the classes extremely useful for helping me navigate the never ending rubix cube that is German grammar, however; to truly understand everyday speak, common slang phrases, dialect differences, and cultural references one really needs to be immersed into the culture. I think this is the fastest I have ever increased my own language skill. I found myself talking to one of my German friends the other day about a book I was reading, describing relatively complex ideas in German and I hardly had to think about what I was saying. There were no long pauses to think about how I should conjugate a verb or what word to use and he understood all that i said, needless to say I was pretty excited. Although I learn alot in class, I think it is out of class that most of my vocab comes from. I play Fußball with German people, go out with German people, and hang out with other foreign students learning German. When I hang out with these people I feel more free to speak and am usually doing something fun, so I remember what I learned more because I am usually pretty into what I am doing. Also, Im not worried about losing points on a test, homework assignment, or paper so I feel more comfortable making mistakes and learning from them. I think this is how a language is best learned “ohne ängst”

Finally the pro-tip of the week!!! This is going to seem negative, but when in Germany do not smile at random people as you walk by on the street or wherever, even if you are just trying to be friendly. Usually the person will give you a look that clearly communicates the question “why are you smiling at me, who are you?”. I have no explanation as to why smiling at people is not really a thing here if you don’t know them, but from what I have gathered it is considered strange if not creepy.