Today marks the one year (at least to the day of the week) since I graduated from the University of Washington. It's pretty nuts how quickly the past year has flown by. The fact that I got to spend most of it in Germany makes it even that much better.
I've been learning about how some of my fellow Fulbrighters will be staying another year in Germany, and I can't help feeling a twinge of envy. At the same time, I would want an absolutely solid reason to be staying (i.e. not just for fun), but I don't see myself working for a long time internationally.
In any case, I'm enjoying my remaining time here, even amidst all the work I have left to finish my report. Sometimes I feel like the senioritis I felt during my senior year of high school still hasn't ever left. :)
Last night, I spent the evening with my good friend, Michelle, who came back from Essen for a short visit. If you remember my blog posts from earlier this year, we used to do lots of things together in Berlin, when the first half of her Fulbright year was here in the big city. Now that she's moved east to Essen for the second half of her trip, we could no longer hang out regularly.
So it was nice to see her again last night and also spend time with our other friends. Throughout the night, Brandon, Tanlyn, Halyna, and Sarah all came out and hung out with us too.
After a tasty schwarma dinner, we headed to the Freiluftkino (open air movie theater) in Kreuzberg and watched a movie called Poll (apparently called The Poll Diaries in English). Along the way, we picked up a few good German beers and had fun taking pictures.
The movie theater was pretty neat, and thankfully it didn't rain. You pick up your own lawn chair and plop it down somewhere on the grass. Let me tell you...those chairs are trickier to set up than they seem.
Brandon had also brought some beer with him, so he let me have a bottle (thanks, B!). The movie was all in German, which was fine, but it was still hard to follow some parts.
After the movie, I was hungry again, so I went with Brandon and got another schwarma. Deeeeeeelicious. We then went out to a few bars and had some more drinks, before I finally made it home around 3:30 AM with the sun starting to rise in the east. Pretty nuts that I left home around 7 PM when it was still light out and got home when the sun was coming back up.
This afternoon, I joined the HIA Fellows for our Senior Fellows Day at a climbing park in the city. I'd never heard of it, and it's actually pretty nuts. It looked like something out of Donkey Kong, to be honest.
We all got these harnesses and helmets, so it was completely safe. I only made it through a few rounds and decided not to push it any further. Harnesses aren't comfortable when you have an implant in your chest...so I headed down early and turned in my equipment.
The guy at the desk spoke to me in English, since I'd joined the English-speaking group from HIA for our safety instructions, etc. However, when one of the German Senior Fellows came down, I said something to him in German, and the guy at the desk was like, "Wait, you speak German, but you went to the English group?"
I responded that I was actually from America, even though I also speak German. His response, "Yeah, but you speak German." To which I said, "Yes, but for the sake of my safety, I wanted to make sure I understood everything perfectly." Haha.
Since I finished way ahead of everyone, I went to run a quick errand and came back with a beer in hand. Nice, ice cold beer. Sadly, it started raining shortly after, and we moved our after party to a bar nearby.
I had a great time chatting and catching up with the HIA Fellows and Senior Fellows. It's a really fun bunch, and I love hanging out with all these ambitious folks. It's always inspiring and definitely motivating. I have found that not being around others with similar high ambitions (besides the few Fulbrighters I know in Berlin) has made it difficult sometimes.
After a few hours, I needed to leave and grocery shop, since the stores will be closed on Sunday (normal) and Monday (holiday). I picked up a whole bunch of meat to grill tomorrow night, when my two HIA research buddies from 2008 will join me for our first reunion since our program three years ago. Can't wait!
Tonight, I am working, doing laundry, and prepping for tomorrow's English class. Wish me luck!
Sam
I've been learning about how some of my fellow Fulbrighters will be staying another year in Germany, and I can't help feeling a twinge of envy. At the same time, I would want an absolutely solid reason to be staying (i.e. not just for fun), but I don't see myself working for a long time internationally.
In any case, I'm enjoying my remaining time here, even amidst all the work I have left to finish my report. Sometimes I feel like the senioritis I felt during my senior year of high school still hasn't ever left. :)
Last night, I spent the evening with my good friend, Michelle, who came back from Essen for a short visit. If you remember my blog posts from earlier this year, we used to do lots of things together in Berlin, when the first half of her Fulbright year was here in the big city. Now that she's moved east to Essen for the second half of her trip, we could no longer hang out regularly.
So it was nice to see her again last night and also spend time with our other friends. Throughout the night, Brandon, Tanlyn, Halyna, and Sarah all came out and hung out with us too.
After a tasty schwarma dinner, we headed to the Freiluftkino (open air movie theater) in Kreuzberg and watched a movie called Poll (apparently called The Poll Diaries in English). Along the way, we picked up a few good German beers and had fun taking pictures.
The movie theater was pretty neat, and thankfully it didn't rain. You pick up your own lawn chair and plop it down somewhere on the grass. Let me tell you...those chairs are trickier to set up than they seem.
Brandon had also brought some beer with him, so he let me have a bottle (thanks, B!). The movie was all in German, which was fine, but it was still hard to follow some parts.
After the movie, I was hungry again, so I went with Brandon and got another schwarma. Deeeeeeelicious. We then went out to a few bars and had some more drinks, before I finally made it home around 3:30 AM with the sun starting to rise in the east. Pretty nuts that I left home around 7 PM when it was still light out and got home when the sun was coming back up.
This afternoon, I joined the HIA Fellows for our Senior Fellows Day at a climbing park in the city. I'd never heard of it, and it's actually pretty nuts. It looked like something out of Donkey Kong, to be honest.
We all got these harnesses and helmets, so it was completely safe. I only made it through a few rounds and decided not to push it any further. Harnesses aren't comfortable when you have an implant in your chest...so I headed down early and turned in my equipment.
The guy at the desk spoke to me in English, since I'd joined the English-speaking group from HIA for our safety instructions, etc. However, when one of the German Senior Fellows came down, I said something to him in German, and the guy at the desk was like, "Wait, you speak German, but you went to the English group?"
I responded that I was actually from America, even though I also speak German. His response, "Yeah, but you speak German." To which I said, "Yes, but for the sake of my safety, I wanted to make sure I understood everything perfectly." Haha.
Since I finished way ahead of everyone, I went to run a quick errand and came back with a beer in hand. Nice, ice cold beer. Sadly, it started raining shortly after, and we moved our after party to a bar nearby.
I had a great time chatting and catching up with the HIA Fellows and Senior Fellows. It's a really fun bunch, and I love hanging out with all these ambitious folks. It's always inspiring and definitely motivating. I have found that not being around others with similar high ambitions (besides the few Fulbrighters I know in Berlin) has made it difficult sometimes.
After a few hours, I needed to leave and grocery shop, since the stores will be closed on Sunday (normal) and Monday (holiday). I picked up a whole bunch of meat to grill tomorrow night, when my two HIA research buddies from 2008 will join me for our first reunion since our program three years ago. Can't wait!
Tonight, I am working, doing laundry, and prepping for tomorrow's English class. Wish me luck!
Sam
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