Hi ho, hi ho! It's off to school I go!

Mission: Survive first day of school with classes spread out over Berlin with only limited knowledge of where I am going and how the different U-Bahns and S-Bahns operate.

Mission Accomplished. Barely.

I guess being at Swarthmore has spoiled me in that I literally have to do little more than roll out of bed in the morning to get to class. Here I have to roll out of bed, walk half a mile, jump on the (correct) U-Bahn or S-Bahn line depending on which day it is and where my class is, and then figure out which streets to take in order to find the class. Not that I am complaining, it will just take some getting used to. There is always that adjustment period and after days of excitement, that bordered on euphoria, it is finally settling in that when all is said in done, I am still in college and there is still homework to do and commitments to fulfill. Though it would be nice to have a chance to just immerse myself in the city rather than being shuttled around the city by my program. There is something to be said for a feeling of control and independence when trying to find footing in a foreign place.

It feels like light years ago before I begun my program and moved in with my host family and meeting Jonny feels almost like it was a dream... crazy how time can go by so fast but then at times feel as though it could not go any slower. (Kind of how I felt today during my German class when my teacher decided that it was necessary to tell us her entire life story, including how she used to get lost berry picking in the forest...echt cool! nicht.) That said, my Environmental Political Science class, despite the transportation hassle, promises to be quite interesting and thought provoking. Economics tomorrow!

First week is always the slowest, I know, because before I know it I will be cramming for midterms (and then finals!)...

Home sweet home!

Wow. Cannot believe it - this is the last major unpacking job that I am going to have to do until December! Hallelujah! Orientation is over and now I am writing this post sitting in my new room with my new German family. I have to say it is a pretty sweet set up over here. Beautiful area, beautiful apartment (with a balcony that looks into the nearby park!), and really nice people! I have to say that I was extremely nervous but now I already feel as though this will be an unforgettable experience in so many ways. I can only hope I continue to feel this way throughout the semester! It'll also be nice to have the weekend to settle in, purchase school supplies after two days of constant information, moving around, and general overwhelmingness that is studying abroad. That said, I highly recommend taking a Fat Tire bike tour. They have them not only in Berlin but Paris, Rome, Barcelona and London.

There is so much to say about the last few days...Suffice it to say that I am continuing to meet great people both in and out of my program from all over and it's just wundebar!

Time to unpack...WOOOHOOOOOOOOO!

p.s. for those of you who told me to count on wearing lots of sweaters here...it's been like 90 degrees every day...Global warming?

It always sounds better with an accent!

Almost any American girl who has been abroad will admit that there is something magical when the same every day English words and phrases are said with a non-American accent. Those who claim to be unaffected are, undoubtedly, lying. Of course looks and personality (see I am not totally superficial) count for most of it but it is that little bit extra that the accent provides which makes the jetlag worthwhile. (okay there is the whole museums and culture thing too!) Now I am sure my New York/Manhattan accent does the same to them...

How did I get to this topic? Well, I have been back in Berlin, preparing and waiting for my program to begin (6 pm tonight!), for a couple of days and already I have begun to meet fun and interesting people! Not even just from Germany but also from other European countries, like say Great Britain. Now here is where I face a dilemma...Theoretically, I am blogging about my life as it happens while I am over here in Deutschland but while I am excited to do so, I am also hesitant. When talking about people do I use real names? Do I use first initials like Gossip Girl? (I feel like that would get super confusing because unlike a scriptwriter I don't have control over the names of the people that I meet) Or I guess I could do code names...but what if that individual is offended by what I have chosen for them? Although I am pretty sure that if I do meet some Italian Lothario I am going to have to refer to him as "the Italian Stallion." For now, since I have permission (I am mostly positive of that), I am going to refer to Jonny by his real name. Although maybe I made that up too.

Jonny, as you may have surmised, is from Great Britain, and took pity on me and my pitiable German. We discovered later that in fact, my German is more than fine but I just become shy when speaking to native speakers and sound like a blathering idiot. Because he has been living here for three years he offered to show me around a few places and we went for lunch and despite my earlier preconceptions, Wiener Schnitzel, when made correctly, really is quite tasty! Or maybe I was just mesmerized by the English accent. Our attempt to visit the Pergamon was thwarted by the fact that Tuesday is the one day that it is in fact closed. To add to that the sky opened up and poured. How romantic!

Not to worry, I am sure I will have plenty of time to visit the Pergamon while I am here :)

And now I am off to meet the other students in my program - wish me luck!

It's really that EASY!

Just thought since a main focus of my blog is about traveling that I should make a point of giving my first Easyjet experience a big thumbs up - basically European JetBlue (without the mini-tvs...) Definitely looking forward to lots more traveling in the near future with their great prices!

Now it'll be time to say good bye to my mom and baby brother (who is going off to college!) and settle down in Berlin...

Guten Nacht!

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

If someone offered you the chance to go to a film festival that was showcasing a critically acclaimed film with the guarantee of said film's star and director's presence, you would jump on the opportunity, wouldn't you? Don't. That is unless you have been guaranteed seats in the first five rows, unlimited drinks, an invitation to the VIP after party, and a private limo to take you home. (Don't forget a personal translator so that you understands all the speeches and announcements made in the native language, such as say, Croatian...) Otherwise you are just a seat filler. Nothing more. No one cares there if you have even showered, let alone put on your sunday best. Sometimes it just sounds too good (and glamorous) to be true!

That said, The Wrestler, the spectacle of the evening, really was a good film. Tough to watch as there are only so many times I want to see Mickey Rourke sporting a long bleach blonde mane bleeding from the staples lodged all over his body. And quite frankly that was one of the tamer images. That said, I'd say that the movie deserved the high praise and critical acclaim it has received. As for getting up close and personal with Mickey Rourke and Darren Aronofsky? Mr. Aronofsky did nod a "hello/please get out of my way we are in a hurry" while setting up for a press conference at our hotel pre-screening. Yay!

Pictures as promised...

Split, Croatia...

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Compliments of my mom's blackberry since our USB for the camera seems to be MIA - I promise the water really is blue!

It's all going along swimmingly!

Wow. The beauty of Dubrovnik has left me practically (obviously not totally) speechless. It reminds me of the old city of Jerusalem without all of the Chasidim, shwarma stands, and souvenir shops and with the added glory of having the blue, blue, blue (did I say blue?) Adriatic sea hugging the city walls. Not to mention that I am pretty sure they weigh you at border control because there are NO fat people. Even the older ladies have hot bods. I guess with weather like this one is more likely to be wearing a bathing suit and that is motivation enough for anyone not to eat that extra portion of fries...Maybe it's just good genes? However, skin cancer from all that tanning would suck. (Clearly, I am just jealous.) Luckily, I have one more full day to enjoy myself here before I head back to the arctic weather of Berlin, which is predicted to be a chilly 77 degrees upon my return on Sunday...

On this trip, I have also rediscovered a new passion - swimming. Sounds simple but when you have lived in the middle of Manhattan for pretty much your entire 20.8 yrs existence, it isn't so obvious. And then like a lot of girls I know, I decided that I was too cool to jump into the cold water and would rather sip my pina colada and tan by the side of the pool. Good thing this trip I decided that being blasé is a tad over-rated. That's why I travel! (no, not only to swim) To discover and rediscover things that would have gone unnoticed while I was at home or at school even. Okay, I admit that was treacly.

Oh and word to the wise: Students on a budget traveling in Europe looking for some sun should recognize that despite popular belief, Croatia really isn't the cheaper version of Greece. It just has a less-valued currency. Sneaky, sneaky...

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Sure it was a little naïve that a three week family adventure would go on without a hitch - a meal was bound to disappoint and some egos were going to go head to head...I mean that's how it always is isn't it? Turns out my family is no exception but that is neither here nor there...

We have now been in Croatia for three days and the Adriatic is just as blue as the pictures promised. It is a shame, however, that our first impressions were colored by our first hotel in the town of Split - excuse the corny joke but as soon as we got there we were ready to split and take the next flight back to where we had come from (in this case, Budapest)...That also may have had something to do with the fact that our plane was taken over by the male Australian Water-polo team - I should have known it was all too good to be true!

While admittedly clean the Villa Marjela Hotel was so far removed from any town that there were no hotels in sight...we were surrounded by a parking lot, pre-1992 apartment buildings (as in pre-independence), and garbage that never made it into the bin. Pictures will be available soon enough.

One other thing I have learned on this leg of the trip - Croatians are extremely approximate in their descriptions..."Oh it is only a 10 minute walk to the beach" when in fact, we found out it was more like a 30-40 minute walk and a "pebble beach" really means a beach of rocks that drops off into the water. (Not necessarily a negative just false advertisement - I was tempted to buy those water shoes I wore when I was 4 to protect my feet!)

All of that said the island of Hvar, where we are right now is quite picturesque and lively at night with lots and lots of beautiful people to ogle. Even if they do not play water-polo. Off to Dubrovnik tomorrow for the last leg of family fun!

Oh! And I learned a handy new scrabble word - ZAX

Is there female equivalent to Lance Armstrong?

So my plan to blog as I traveled has not gone exactly as planned so far - as in I haven't found the time to write in it despite all of the different places and tastes I have experienced thus far in the past couple of weeks while traveling through central/eastern Europe with my mother and brother.

So far checked off on the itinerary:

Berlin (my home away from home for the next few months)
Krakow/Auschwitz
Prague
Budapest

Up next:
Croatia and the beautiful Dalmatian coast (which always makes me think of Cruella de Vil)

I have to say that as great as it has been so far, touring and learning about these different places and life since the second world war and that thing called the "iron curtain" I am excited to just pass out and relax on the sandy beaches of Croatia. I think that I will have had enough culture to last me until I at least return to Berlin to begin my studies...

Biggest accomplishment of the trip so far? Getting over my fear of riding bicycles...While I did learn to ride a bike when I was relatively young (unlike learning to drive which has yet to happen)...I have never felt totally comfortable which was underscored by the fact that almost every time I found myself in a relatively large accident (aka being attacked by a garbage can at the age of 7) However, since arriving in Berlin about 10 days ago, I have been on 3 successful bike adventures - including a 35 km bike ride through the "czech countryside" to Karlstejn Castle...really not as flat or scenic a route as was advertised...yay!

Who knows maybe I'll learn to drive while I'm here! Autobahn here I come!

(I apologize for the superficiality with which I describe my travel, which has been from it - my exhaustion and acute sense of the need to wake up for a walking tour of "Jewish Budapest" is preventing me at this moment from going into greater detail.)