I am so ready to start my journey to China tomorroww! I find myself anxious, but excited at the same time. Tomorrow cannot come sooner; we leave from Portland at 11:30 am to Seattle and from Seattle we will venture to Beijing, China (about a 12 hour flight). I will be writing in again next week to reflect on this first week’s experiences and hopefully share some photos from the Great Wall!

-Courtney

I’m a little behind on my posting and the spotty internet hasn’t helped (actually my internet’s out right now).  When I finally woke up about Wednesday and got into the swing of things I started to notice the city and the people below the surface a little more.  As is I’m more of a watcher and on top of that one of my courses has a sociology angle to it applied to Berlin.  On Tuesday we visited some of the main sights Potsdamer Platz, Brandenburger Tor, Tiergarten and the memorial to persecuted homosexuals juxtaposed with the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe across the street, and ending at the Room of Silence to reflect.  All of this not as tourists but as students discussing what it means to the history of Berlin and for the people that visit there with an emphasis for the day on what makes a city center.  Potsdamer Platz was of particular interest for me with its rich history and superficial present.  For a little background; Potsdamer Platz was the heart of Weimar Berlin a worldwide symbol of decadence and splendor amid chaos, it even had the world’s first electric street signal.  During World War II it was heavily damaged and later completely bulldozed for the construction of the Berlin Wall. In the late 90s it was rebuilt in homage to what it represented in the 20s but instead it’s a grand memorial to internationalism and corporatism that is mostly populated by tourists and has a false empty feel to it.  I love it, especially for a coffee or a beer on the way home from exploring the Mitte or Kreuzberg which are completely different, one being reconstructed old Berlin and the other old alternative Berlin.  Berliners don’t really go to Potsdamer Platz they think it’s fake it’s touristy and overpriced.  I wouldn’t spend too much time there but nevertheless I think it’s an important part of Berlin one of the city’s many centers even though it’s nothing like the Alexanderplatz area that is Berlin’s functional center.  I don’t have anything against Potsdamer Platz because it’s so commercial that’s just the changing times and I think Berliners will warm up to it in a few more years as the city continues to change.  For now it’s beautifully modern with relaxing background music and colored lights behind never ending panes of glass.

-Will

This is a picture of a piece of original wall from a 20s era hotel incorporated into a new building in Potsdamer Platz

Piece of the Berlin Wall in Potzdamerplatz, only for tourists probably not even from there

Very interesting and highly symbolic, no words only a video playing on the inside

It’s like a maze, the ground slopes down toward the center about 3 meters

Makes a great orientation point as you wander the city

I had to take my own Brandenburg Gate picture

I cannot describe what an amazing experience this has been! I have seen more things sense I have been here than all year.  These have been two of the very best weeks. I have seen things I couldn’t even imagine, and met people I will never forget. I have learned so much about myself in such a short time. I can hardly believe it has already been two weeks, but at the same time it seems like I have been in London for so much longer.

I have really been enjoying my time in London. I have been trying to fit a lot of things in these two weeks because I know time is going to start flying bye. My class took a field trip to The Winston Churchill Museum and The War Rooms. It was definitely worth seeing. It is hard to imagine what living though a war would be like, but walking through this, it gave me a little taste of what thousands of people were forced to live through. The war rooms are all underground, and you really get that feeling. No natural light, and a bit of a musty smell accompanies the the war rooms. 

I had been told the shopping here is really great, and that was no lie! They have so many different markets as well as stores. Because of the unexpected heat wave I have had to buy more summer clothes, and it has been very easy! The only hard part is the exchange rate. I exchanged 100 U.S dollars and in return got 54 pounds. I try to keep this in mind when buying things, that it ends up being almost double of the price in the U.S.

I only have two weeks left. I can’t believe it! As of now I am not even close to ready to be going home. I have already started planning where I will want to go on my next visit to the UK.

A few times a day I remind myself that I am in LONDON! I can’t believe it has only been a week due to the fact I have already seen so many things! One of the first things I noticed was the insane amount of people everywhere moving 1000 miles per hour, all so involved in their own lives.  I felt like an outsider looking in on a whole different world. Once the craziness settled down, I was really able to enjoy all the new smells, sights, and sounds of London. 

One of my favorite experiences was going to Stonehenge. I learned about the Stonehenge in art history, so it was really neat to actually see and hear about it in person. The day we went was beautiful, we were told that it was once of the nicest days. Not only was it amazing to see, but I met some really amazing people from CCSA on that excursion. If you get the chance I would highly recommend partaking in this field trip.

Also, I have had enjoyed spending time in the coffee shops around town, it is a great  way to get some homework done while enjoying a local feel, and being able to people watch. It is also nice because they usually have such a wonderful smell of coffee and baked goods.

I am looking forward to many more new experiences while I continue my say in London.

I cannot believe it’s week 4 already!! We went to a Karaoke place and sang in spanish and some english songs too! We went to a real fútbol game! Soccer! It was so much fun and so cool to experience! Especially for less than $20! A couple of my new friends here invited me to a BBQ where I got to meet more new people and learn to dance and learn some spanish songs! Definitely got to practice my spanish too! The food looked delicious but I didn’t eat anything since I ate beforehand. We went to a water park! It wasn’t what I was expecting but it was still fun! Public transportation is not fun at all! I hope I never have to ride the bus again….classes are getting more and more interesting and I swear they are getting shorter too! Everything is starting to pile up! Studying for finals and writing final papers and it’s getting a bit stressful. Only a week left until I come home though! It’s so weird! I feel like I just got here! I’m ready to leave but at the same time I definitely want to stay here longer…

I am going to be leaving soon for the land of Oz! (Australia) I am really excited!! there are a few things that I can think of that I will be doing there or things that might be there. I know I will see a kangaroo there, also I think there wont be any cooperations there like walmart or fredmeyer. Also I am hoping the people there are friendly towards americans! I also think I will make a lot of new friends. and I am expecting everyone there to be surfers for the most part!
The next post I will have will be for week and I will be there in newcastle!!

Well we are coming down to our last week of the program and its been nice to sort of take a break from going going going. We actually had a weekend where we just got to relax! We also finally had time to do our homework in a timely manner! This last weekend my Uncle came to visit from the states so I was able to spend a little time with him, showing him my home away from home. He loved it here! We went out with the group to dinner, on friday and he was able to practice his Spanish. Then saturday we went to a little Ghost Town called Pozos. It was AMAZING! We went down into a mine and even tried our hand at “mining”. Im thinking teaching is a better career choice for me… after that we went out to dinner with his host. Oh my gosh it was the BEST tacos I have eaten yet! The locals sure know how to pick the places! We stayed up until 2 or 3 in the morning just talking! Not sure if that was such a great idea though since we decided to go back to Bernal on Sunday! My Uncle wanted to hike to the top, and I said ok ill do it again! It was such an amazing experience the first time I couldn’t pass it up. Once we climbed Bernal, we went to a town called Taquisquiapan, where we met my host family for dinner and shopping! I am absolutely in love with this city and the people here. I will be saddened to leave in a week, but am also excited to see my family and friends back in the US.