A single week and a few days have passed since I arrived in the historic European city of Berlin, though I must say, it feels like I’ve been here for much longer. The initial surprise of the cultural differences have somewhat faded away, the style of living already feels somewhat routine and familiar, though every day there’s a brief reminder of my tourist ignorance. The environment is strikingly similar and the English influence is prominent in this German city, yet Berlin is different in ways I would not have expected when beginning my summer abroad.
My favorite part of the people of Berlin, is how they seem to have such a higher focus on progression and future than the more traditional American mindset. In the concern of waste and global warming as an example, the people of Berlin seem to put conservation in mind more often. Far more people ride bikes in their commutes and public transportation is a convenient and popular mode of travel. Restaurants and stores also seem to place more of a focus on recycling than American stores, such as Germans often bringing their own grocery bags, or other objects such as strollers, to help bring the groceries home. I’ve also had food vendors get physically upset when not returning used plastic bottles, partly motivated by the notable cash incentive of recycling.
The German people also seem to be much more open with sexuality than the USA, and I found that a refreshing experience. The museums don’t shy away from sexual topics and instead focus on the education, such as the technical museums depiction of the history of contraceptives in pharmaceuticals. The homosexual and LGBT communities also clearly seem to have more open support from the German community, even featuring men kissing on several advertisements, rainbow flags hung in front of colleges and buildings, and even as famous art along the former Berlin Wall.
But with these advantages, of course there are disadvantages that are also noticeable when traveling the city. The most obvious of which is the lack of publicly accessible drinking water that is frequently available in the United States. Drinking fountains are not present at all in Germany, or really any other form of accessible water beside a somewhat expensive “mineralwasser” from the occasional restaurant or street vendor. Though I must say, stopping at the occasional dönner or currywurst stand has become a frequent and delicious event that I will miss when I return home. But even the bathrooms can be difficult to find at times and sometimes require a small charge to access, and even the water in the sinks of the bathroom are occasionally labeled as non-potable.
In terms of what I miss from home, it is really just the more routine everday activities that I miss. Easily cooking food at home, having a laundry machine, being able to workout in a gym, easily using my phone with a good connection, or even playing my guitar are things that I no longer take for granted. But overall, I have found this first week in Berlin to be a fascinating and awesome experience, while I was not sure what to hope for when stepping on a plane heading across the Atlantic, the experience so far has been just about everything I could really hope for and I can not wait to see what memories the next several weeks will deliver.