Currywurst und Doener Kebop

Hello from Berlin! I'm still absolutely freezing, but I am quickly getting much more acclimated to the city.

It has finally hit me that I am in a foreign country. This partially has to do with the fact that I've been speaking a lot more German recently, but also just the fact that I realize how long I will be here. The other night I was laying down getting ready to go to sleep and the thought went through my head of, "Oh my god I'm going to be here until August 3rd." I haven't been abroad long, but I already have the feeling that one of the most challenging things about studying in a foreign country is that it forces you to be more self-reliant. When I went to Transy, I made mostly all new friends and that was definitely a new experience, but being here and being thousands of miles away from a single familiar face has really given me a new perspective on myself, and I've only been here less than a week! I can only imagine what it is going to be like to experience this feeling for five more months.

Anyways, the past few days have been great. We have gotten to experience almost all that Berlin has to offer. Yesterday we slept in, waited forever in line to get some currywurst, and then visited a Modern Art museum in Potsdam. We tried to find a shopping place that we thought we remembered going to, and that venture took us all over the city. We stopped in at a few stores and then got on the bus to head back. We hung out at the hostel a bit and then decided to get a little cultural experience by going out to a club. The big "party" spot of Berlin is in East Berlin, so we took the U-Bahn really far out and then went to a bar on the strip that a girl from our hostel recommended. We got drinks, and unfortunately mine ended up being whiskey, which I wasn't anticipating, but I couldn't read the menu so for this I guess I can blame my lack of German skill! Then we left and walked towards where we thought the Watergate Club was. Unfortunately, we got lost and we ended up going to this Rock club. What a riot. But it ended up being a really fun night. We met a few really nice Germans who hung out with us and we ended up going to a bar afterwards together. They are meeting us tonight to get some coffee and dinner. It's nice to meet people who actually live here and can give us some tips. We are badly in need of information on how to be more German! We may or may not have been out until it started to not be dark anymore, but I guess I should let there be a little mystery as to what I'm up to over here!

Today we ate Doener Kebap, another Berlin favorite that made its way over here via Turkish people. We hadn't eaten anything besides a snickers for over 24 hours, so I was absolutely starved. We had to wait over a half hour for it while standing in line outside, but it was so worth it. It was absolutely one of the best things I have ever eaten. We spent the day (or what was left of it after we woke up so late :)) at the Judaische Museum. It was very interesting and unlike anyplace I've ever visited. I took a few pictures that I'll try to put up later. Meanwhile, here's a picture of Doener and currywurst:

Tonight, like I said, we are heading out for coffee and dinner. Tomorrow is our last day in Berlin before we catch a train to Regensburg overnight. I have a few days to get situated in Regensburg, and then classes begin Monday (the same day I get my LSAT score!!)

Auf Wiedersehen,

Ashley

Here is a picture of me and Morgan with a lego giraffe!