Last time I'll walk home from Hackescher Markt.
Last time I'll go to the grocery store to return my empty bottles.
Last time I'll say goodnight to my host family.
Last time I'll have to sit on my suitcase to make everything fit (here's hoping).
Last time I can use the present tense and say "I live in Berlin".
Last time I'll sleep in my bed here.
Last time I'll close the blinds.
Lots of "lasts", but it all comes back to time. There's simultaneously too much of it and too little.
This may be a time of "lasts" but it's not goodbye forever. I'll be back, Berlin - you can count on it!
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Friday, December 13, 2013
Lasts and Goodbyes
The past week or so I've been thinking primarily in terms of "lasts"
Today was my last Friday in Berlin.
Today was (most likely) the last sunny day that I'll spend in Berlin.
Yesterday was the last time I'll have to present an art project in German (well, hopefully in any language).
Today was the last day that I'll go to IES.
Yesterday was the last day that I'll see most of the friends that I've made this term.
Wednesday was the last day that I'll do laundry at my host-family's apartment.
I leave Berlin to go to Stuttgart in 41 hours. 41 hours. I can't even accurately describe how I'm feeling right now. It's some combination of sadness, thankfulness, joy, accomplishment, and some more sadness. I'm sad because I'm leaving Berlin and I really don't want to. I could honestly see myself living here for the rest of my life (or at least for a while). I'm thankful for all of the wonderful people that I've met and for the fact that I've survived this term. I'm joyful/happy because I'll be spending Christmas and New Years with my mom, stepdad, brother, and step-grandma in the south of Germany. I just can't believe that my time here is over already. I can't wait to see my friends and family at home, but I'm also not ready to leave yet...
I'll maybe post tomorrow, but I think I'll continue posting in this blog until I'm back in the states so you can read about my adventures over Christmas and New Years!
Today was my last Friday in Berlin.
Today was (most likely) the last sunny day that I'll spend in Berlin.
Yesterday was the last time I'll have to present an art project in German (well, hopefully in any language).
Today was the last day that I'll go to IES.
Yesterday was the last day that I'll see most of the friends that I've made this term.
Wednesday was the last day that I'll do laundry at my host-family's apartment.
I leave Berlin to go to Stuttgart in 41 hours. 41 hours. I can't even accurately describe how I'm feeling right now. It's some combination of sadness, thankfulness, joy, accomplishment, and some more sadness. I'm sad because I'm leaving Berlin and I really don't want to. I could honestly see myself living here for the rest of my life (or at least for a while). I'm thankful for all of the wonderful people that I've met and for the fact that I've survived this term. I'm joyful/happy because I'll be spending Christmas and New Years with my mom, stepdad, brother, and step-grandma in the south of Germany. I just can't believe that my time here is over already. I can't wait to see my friends and family at home, but I'm also not ready to leave yet...
I'll maybe post tomorrow, but I think I'll continue posting in this blog until I'm back in the states so you can read about my adventures over Christmas and New Years!
Finals Week/Hamburg Trip
So this is going to be a two post kind of night since I've been so neglectful in blogging lately!
I can't even remember when I posted last, but the last two weeks have gone by so quickly!
My finals went pretty well I think. I'm not really sure about my grades, since all of my classes had at least 50% of the grade due in the last week. But the most important thing is that I'm done!
I had two finals on Monday, one on Tuesday, none on Wednesday, and three on Thursday. Since I didn't have any on Wednesday, I decided to meet up with my friends in Hamburg! (They are doing a nomadic trip through Europe for three weeks) They took the train from Copenhagen to Hamburg on Wednesday, stayed one night in Hamburg, and then came to Berlin on Thursday!
I got to Hamburg about 4 hours before they did, so I spent the time walking around the harbor and the Passagenviertel (basically the main shopping area where there is a lot of foot traffic). I had a map with me just in case, but I decided to walk around without using it so that I could experience Hamburg and not worry about where I was. It actually worked out really well for me and I only got slightly lost twice...but I always knew where the Hauptbahnhof was, so everything worked out just fine!
After I picked up my friends from the train station we went to their hostel so that they could check in. After they dropped off their stuff, we walked around for a bit, saw some more Christmas markets, and ate some dinner. Neither of them speak any German, so I taught them a little bit - and they did pretty well! You don't really need to know German to get around in Berlin/Hamburg, but it definitely does make things easier! After we walked around for a bit more, it was time for me to catch my train back to Berlin.
I'm really glad I went - it was nice to see Hamburg for the first time!
I did all three of my finals on Thursday (well, one test and two presentations) and then went to our farewell dinner with all the IES people. It was pretty nice, but it was kind of sad! Then I ended up going out to a bar with a few of them (although I was home around midnight), but it was fun! I had to say goodbye to a bunch of people and that was pretty sad!
I leave on Sunday...that's LESS THAN TWO DAYS. I can't even believe it. But more on that in my next post.
I can't even remember when I posted last, but the last two weeks have gone by so quickly!
My finals went pretty well I think. I'm not really sure about my grades, since all of my classes had at least 50% of the grade due in the last week. But the most important thing is that I'm done!
I had two finals on Monday, one on Tuesday, none on Wednesday, and three on Thursday. Since I didn't have any on Wednesday, I decided to meet up with my friends in Hamburg! (They are doing a nomadic trip through Europe for three weeks) They took the train from Copenhagen to Hamburg on Wednesday, stayed one night in Hamburg, and then came to Berlin on Thursday!
I got to Hamburg about 4 hours before they did, so I spent the time walking around the harbor and the Passagenviertel (basically the main shopping area where there is a lot of foot traffic). I had a map with me just in case, but I decided to walk around without using it so that I could experience Hamburg and not worry about where I was. It actually worked out really well for me and I only got slightly lost twice...but I always knew where the Hauptbahnhof was, so everything worked out just fine!
After I picked up my friends from the train station we went to their hostel so that they could check in. After they dropped off their stuff, we walked around for a bit, saw some more Christmas markets, and ate some dinner. Neither of them speak any German, so I taught them a little bit - and they did pretty well! You don't really need to know German to get around in Berlin/Hamburg, but it definitely does make things easier! After we walked around for a bit more, it was time for me to catch my train back to Berlin.
I'm really glad I went - it was nice to see Hamburg for the first time!
I did all three of my finals on Thursday (well, one test and two presentations) and then went to our farewell dinner with all the IES people. It was pretty nice, but it was kind of sad! Then I ended up going out to a bar with a few of them (although I was home around midnight), but it was fun! I had to say goodbye to a bunch of people and that was pretty sad!
I leave on Sunday...that's LESS THAN TWO DAYS. I can't even believe it. But more on that in my next post.
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