My first orientation day was held at my University, the Berlin School of Economics and Law (BSEL). One major difference between BSEL and Drexel is the transportation used to get to class. At Drexel, an on campus student just walks to class; however walking to class is not an appealing option in Berlin. My student residence hall is not a walkable distance from my University; therefore I must rely on public transportation. To get to the school I have to take the Bus to the nearest U-Bahn station (the U-Bahn is the underground train) and then from the U-Bahn I have to walk a short distance to the school. In all, it takes me around 30-40 minutes to get to BSEL. This traveling time is not that bad, but it is definitely very different from the leisurely 5 minute walk I had while at Drexel. The beginning of my first whole week in Berlin was also the beginning of my intensive German course. The German course was held at the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin (HTW). From the viewpoint of my dorm, HTW was located all the way on the other side of Berlin. To get to the school I had to take the Bus to the S-Bahn station (the S-Bahn is the above ground train), then from the S-Bahn I took the U-Bahn, and then I finally walked to HTW. It took me roughly one hour and a half to get to there. I think this long traveling was, so far, the hardest adjustment for me. I would leave my room at 7:30 AM every morning and go to class until 12:30 PM. Afterwards, I would hang out with my new friends and explore the city of Berlin. For those two weeks I was barley in my room. Majority of my day was spent either on the Bahn or on the Bus. This took a little adjustment; even when I wanted to visit just one part of Berlin, it ended up taking up the rest of my afternoon. Once I finally arrived to my dorm, after a long day of class and sightseeing, it was already very late and I had to start getting ready for the next day. But once I got through the first week I adjusted to all the traveling, and I also became an expert at reading the Berlin Subway map, a very necessary skill. I also must give recognition to the German public transportation system, because it is very efficient. The transit has its schedule and it sticks to it. So far the bus or the trains have always been on time. Pictured above is the S-Bahn, my favorite of the three ways of transit, because it is above ground and you are able to see the different parts of Berlin while traveling to your desired destination.

After a long day of travel, I finally arrived to Berlin on September 8th at 12:30PM. Thankfully, family friends came with me and helped me move all of my suitcases into my new dorm. The dorm I was moving into was not very different from the Drexel Van R dorm. The dorm has six single rooms and each person in the rooms shares one kitchen and bathroom with everyone else. The only shocking aspect, of “German” dorm life, was that both males and females lived in the same apartment and therefore shared a bathroom. However, I was aware that in Germany females and males do not get separated in dorms when they are above the age of 18. So I had already prepared myself for this occurrence. I was not in the dorm for very long, I just dropped off my luggage and left, because the family friends, with whom I came with, offered to show me around Berlin. We drove through the city and I got to see a quick glance of all the different parts of Berlin. It was then, that I actually realized how much bigger Berlin is compared to Philadelphia. I knew it would be frustrating in the beginning, trying to figure out where to go and how to get where, but that is why I embarked on this experience. I want to prove to myself that I can handle the frustration and confusion of living in a different country. With that attitude I continued to enjoy seeing more parts of the city. Later that evening we went on a boat ride along the Spree River. There was a guide on the boat who spoke about the significance of each building that the boat drove past. The whole tour was held in German, and thankfully I could understand the majority of what the guide was saying. What I noticed was that the guide was very friendly and funny, which was comforting, because I didn’t know what to expect from the Germans. There’s a strong stereotype that many Germans are rude and unfriendly. Luckily, every German that I interacted with was very polite and friendly! Also, while on the boat I got to see the beautiful architecture of Berlin. The picture above is of the Berliner Dome, which a neo-baroque cathedral. The dome was built in 1895 and visitors have to walk up 267 steps to get to the top and see the amazing view of the city.