Category Archives: Uncategorized

I have learned a lot on my study away. I have studied, I have soaked in as much information as Sara and all of our tour guides gave to me. I also learned to let go a little. I learned that the walls I build up could maybe use a little less boarder control. IContinue reading “The End”

The process of bringing two pieces of anything together is difficult on paper and in reality. If you think of a puzzle, the pieces fit together, and they were originally made as one, but then they were cut and separated. Even when you find its place and put it back together again there is stillContinue reading “Day 16”

The Eastern German aesthetic has some key defining features. The cityscape is filled with large high-rise towers that are designed as apartments, there are buidings that have modern design and are embellished with art that coveys their new motivating message, and there are buildings that were thriving during the GDR, and that fell when theContinue reading “Day 14”

Today we were able to take a glimpse into the security of the Soviet Union. We entered the former Stasi Jail, and looked at all the tactics they used to manipulate and control their prisoners and their people. The GDR was meant to be a democracy, the German Democratic Republic, however the name is misleadingContinue reading “Day 13: Security”

West Germany’s defining features are exactly what you would expect them to be. The West was ocupied by the US and therefore the Western side of Berlin looks very similar to a city like NYC. For a lot of Germany I have felt like I was in a foreign country. I have gotten used toContinue reading “Day 13: Aesthetic”

East and Western Berlin seem to shape memory in similar ways in my opinion. Both sides tore down buildings that represented things that they deemed unworthy of being remembered, and both sides erected memorials for the victims. That, is what I feel is the key similarities that the East and West have, however, there areContinue reading “Day 12”

Last night was wild! But we won talk too much about that. All I can say is that good friends go out with you and great friends get you home safe. If you’ve read all my blogs so far you probably remember that I was very skeptical of making friends and having fun on thisContinue reading “Day 11: A Lil Snooze & Two Lil Tattoos”

The most important part of the concentration camp to me was the drawings. The tour guild stated in the main office of tower 8 was that there are three types of accounts that they have from the camp. The first, is the video that was taken. It is the only video recording they have fromContinue reading “Day 10”

Can we forgive Germany for its past and still remember all that has happened? There are things we choose to remember in life. Usually memories that are fond, like the first time you were successful at riding a bike, or your wedding day. However we also have a tendency to remember the bad and theContinue reading “Day 9: Forgive and Forget…”

Today we went to the Olympic Stadium in Berlin! We learned about the history of the structure as well as the history of the prejudice that was associated with it. The building was used for the Germany hosted Olympics that took place in 1936. The building was a very quick build that was made toContinue reading “Day 8: Run, Run As Fast As You Can! I Will Catch You I’m The Olympian Man”