Study Abroad - Berlin, Germany

01-08-09
Part One

It’s early…too early for me at least. I’m running on two hours of sleep and for some reason I can’t stop singing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer to myself. Currently, it’s 7:50 AM and I’m sitting at my gate at Metro Airport in Detroit ready to depart for New York and then it’s off to Berlin for the MBA Study Abroad program. I’ve been anticipating this trip for quite some time.

I’m 2.5 hours early for my flight (highly unusual, but it’s nice to be able to relax at the airport). My brain doesn’t usually function well before 10:00 AM, but combine that with two hours of sleep and too many holiday cocktails over the last couple of weeks and you can imagine that it will be a long trip. I’ve been to Europe before (England, Scotland, and France), but never to Germany. I’m excited and nervous at the same time. I only wish I could remember more from the German language class that my brother and I took when we were in elementary school. I can count to ten in German and then my memory fails me. My statement above about being nervous about the trip is a reference to the latest conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. There seems to be a heightened sense of distaste abroad for the US as a result of our unwavering support of Israel. So for the next ten days I’ll be masquerading as a Canadian (I did grow up close enough to the border and I do know the words to the Canadian National Anthem so I think I can pull it off).

When I travel to another country, or even a city or state I’ve never been to, I love to simply walk around or sit at a café and observe my surroundings. It’s a great experience to just lose yourself in another culture and see how other people live. You also get a chance to see how others feel about your country and its culture. It puts a lot of things into perspective and it has always challenged me to think differently.

When I get to Berlin tomorrow, my stay will be short-lived as I will be traveling to Prague, Czech Republic for two days before going back to Berlin. I will be meeting my friend CH (also in the MBA program) at the airport in Berlin and then heading to the train station. From there it is about a five hour trip to Prague. Once in Prague we will be meeting up with our friend Brad (another fellow MBA). We’re not quite sure what we’ll be doing once we get there, but that, of course, is half of the fun.

01-08-09
Part Two

It’s now hour four of my seven-hour layover at JFK in New York.
One of the worst things about my seven-hour layover is listening to the constant stream of announcements over the PA system. I’m not sure who Matthew Thomas is, but if he doesn’t find his parents at gate number 11 soon I might go crazy. There is also a guy who left his cell phone in the arrival section of the airport and they’ve been announcing it for at least an hour. I’m pretty sure he’s gone by now.

You might be asking yourself what I’ve been doing to keep busy at the airport for the last few hours. It’s not all that exciting, but I’m bored so I will divulge. I’ve walked from one end of the terminal to the other twice. Once for exercise and the other to find a bottle of Gatorade, which apparently they don’t sell here. I’ve also done a little reading but my lack of sleep has hindered my ability to get much enjoyment out of my book. I had some orange chicken for lunch and ate it with a fork because my lack of sleep wouldn’t allow me to handle the chopsticks very well. I’ve also messed around with a trial version of iWork 09 that I downloaded yesterday and I think I like it. That’s about it aside from blogging, which I’ve found enjoyable so far!

I think Matthew Thomas finally found his parents! On that note, I will stop writing and pick up again from Prague.


NOTE: I've had limited internet access so I was unable to post this the other day. Prague trip details to follow tomorrow.