Well, this is it

Ladies and gentlemen,

I never thought this day would come. Today is the final day of Bluegrass in Berlin. It has been an incredible ride.

I wanted to take this last post to thank you all for following along with me. I would not have had the same experience without you. I had a great time sharing my experiences with you. Let's rewind and remember some of those times:

-- I left for Berlin!

-- My first day of class

-- Seeing the Jehovah's Witness convention

--Who can forget when I stumbled across the cemetery near my house?

-- Meeting Nikolas for the first time

-- That visit from the frog!

-- Meeting Pascal and Otto

-- The beer festival!

-- Completing my test

-- Visiting Sachsenhausen

-- Starting a "ROBIN VAN PERSIE" chant at the Arsenal match

-- The newspaper lady

-- Coming home.

Nothing would have been the same without you all. I thank you all for being there to give me an audience. It has helped me think about my time, reflect, and really make a lot of sense of the things that I've done. All of you who posted comments and even those who didn't, thank you. I know I had some faithful readers, and none of this would have been possible without you. So thank you so much.

I can say that I'll have one more big photo post on the photo blog. I'm going to try to do that tomorrow.

Well, this is it. All good things must come to an end. If you liked what you saw, then my job was done. I'm glad. Additionally if you want to see more, convince other organizations like the DAAD to give me more money to go to more places so that I can blog again. Be sure that if I head out of the country another time, Bluegrass in Berlin will be resurrected.

Thank you, and goodnight. I love you all.

Deutsches Wort des Tages:

Tschüss -- goodbye

Thursday

Let's rewind one wee. This time last week, I'd have about 3 more hours to sleep before I'd get up, shower, and grab my bags on the way to Tegel Airport to come home.

I'd say I'm back into the swing of things, now. I've been going to class, reading, meeting with professors, planning, and all those things you do as a graduate student. I have to say that overall, I'm still pretty much the same ol' Will.

Have I changed at all? Sure. I think I'dve done myself a disservice had I not. I learned lots of German. I sat down and talked with people from all across the world. I make conscious efforts to conserve energy (and am seriously considering contacting the City of Tuscaloosa to see if I can get some recycling bins). I think the contact I had with Berlin and with Europe was substantial, enough to make a considerable impression on me. Now that I'm back, I can look at myself and really see how much of an impact Berlin had on me aside from improving my German.

Being back for only a week, it is difficult to make big, sweeping analyses of myself. I think those will come with time. I can say, though, that I've had the "perspective widening" experience. After being to places like India and Vietnam, I didn't think something like that was possible anymore. But what is unique about Germany is that it is so much like America. It is so similar, yet it is so different at the same time. Politics in Berlin are different, culture (to some extent) is different, religion is different, and of course history is different.

What kind of impact will these differences have on me over the next few months? How can one know these things? I like to think that it can help me professionally and personally. I can say that I have a better sense of the German people. I've seen where they live, work, and play. I've seen how they remember what I study. I've seen the places that I study. I don't think I could have ever asked to experience so much in two months, and because of that, I have enriched the basis from which I can work. I've acquired a perspective that will help me think about my topics more appropriately and more completely.

Personally, it is a little more difficult to say. I can't say that I'm now a raging socialist or have picked up some new, bizarre European political views, but I'm more aware. I've learned how to interact (and deal) with all different types of people from all over the world in all different types of circumstances. I don't think I would have gotten the same experience anywhere else. I think studying in Berlin gave me a great opportunity to not only learn about German and Germany but also learn about people. I think that's just as valuable as the academic achievements I accomplished.

One more day, ladies and gentlemen.

Deutsches Wort des Tages:

die Verwandlung -- metamorphosis

Wednesday

Our time is becoming ever shorter. It is sad, I know. But let's be thankful for what we've got left.

Now, Berlin was certainly wonderful. Nothing, though, is perfect. I bring to you the list of things that I will NOT miss about Berlin:

1. The dogs-- Let me preface this by saying that the dogs in Berlin are the best behaved dogs I have ever seen in my entire life. I hardly heard any barking, and owners used leashes seldom. The dogs would obediently follow their owners, sit, stay, lay, and do all things that well behaved dogs do. That being said, it became evident that Germans don't think it's a particularly good idea to clean up after their dogs. It was not uncommon to see piles of dog business along the sidewalks EVERYWHERE. Let's get with it, Germany. I intentionally didn't blog about this while in Germany because I didn't want to jinx myself, but now I can safely say this: I never stepped in any gross dog mess. Woo!

2. Kentucky-- Before you blog readers get up in arms about this, I was not embarrassed at all to be from Kentucky while I was in Germany. What I won't miss is the reaction I got whenever I said I was from Kentucky. Almost without fail, I'd hear, "Ahh! Kentucky Fried Chicken!" Ugh. Of course. Kentucky Fried Chicken. Wonderful. I don't even blame the Germans for this. Other students at the Goethe Institut were guilty of this, too. ATTN: World. More things come from Kentucky than just chicken. Let me say this though, we could be known for worse things. Everyone thinks Kentucky Fried Chicken is delicious. That's an undeniable fact. So you're welcome, world.

3. Math-- I didn't have to do a whole lot of math. The most difficult type of math I attempted required me to subtract either 7 hours or 6 hours from Berlin time. That wasn't bad. What was frustrating was the math that I didn't even attempt: metric conversions! Bah! I understand the entire world uses metrics. American scientists use metrics, too. I'm no American scientist. I just happen to know that I'm about 1.8M tall because I've created myself in my FIFA games before. How much do I weigh? About 180lbs. In kilograms? No idea. I wasn't asked my height or weight very often (and by that I mean never), but metrics did hamper my experience on two occasions. First, at the deli counter. I asked for 500 grams of ham. Apparently 500 grams of ham is only five slices. I bet that deli worker thought I was ridiculous asking for that small amount. Second, temperature. I didn't even attempt to make these conversions. My classmates would come to school and say things like, "Man, it is going to be a hot one today! 30 degrees!" I beg your pardon? 30 degrees. What does that mean? I know that 0 degrees Celsius is freezing. That is all. Needless to say, I never experienced freezing weather. Here is the equation that would have been helpful:

C = 5/9(F-32)

Am I going to do that in my head? No.

All joking aside, I won't miss being an ocean away from the people I care about most. While being in Alabama isn't much different than being in Berlin, it is comforting to be on the same continent as all of you. U-S-A all the way!

Deutsches Wort des Tages:

die Schwierigkeit -- challenge

Tuesday

Well, it is Dienst...Tuesday. I might be having some Berlin withdrawals. Nothing too heavy, though.

Today was my first day back to school. I had two classes, one lecture and one graduate class. It made it a little easier to get back into things for two reasons. One, we talked about Prussia in my lecture class. Two, the author of our book in my graduate class is Ira Berlin. I got to talk a lot about Berlin today, just not the right kind of Berlin.

So far, all is well. I don't have much to report on the home front. I can say that it is nice to have Sportscenter back. I never knew how much I actually enjoyed watching it until I was deprived of it for two months. And miraculously, it appears that ESPN is now covering soccer much more closely. Soccer is a regular installment on the scrolling bottom line. Hooray.

My apartment is still a mess. That is the mission for tonight. I'm going to put (and throw) things away, organize, and make things livable again. Not like I live in some kind of dump by any stretch of the imagination, but I decided to just drop my bags in my living room rather than put things away last night.

I've got to say that there are some day-to-day things that I miss about Berlin:

1. Coin money-- Yes, we have coin money in America. But the highest denomination is a quarter of a dollar. In Berlin, I had 2 Euro coins, 1 Euro coins, and 0.50 Euro coins that I used frequently. You know what is great about those? You can actually buy things with them. Every morning, I'd grab some combination of 1, .5, and .2 coins to pay for my breakfast that consisted of a 1E chocolate croissant and a .70E cup of coffee. I'd find myself buying cones of ice cream with coins, doner kebab with coins, beers with coins, etc, etc. You could do so much with two or three coins. In America, you've gotta have at least 4 to make a dollar. That'd don't get it.

2. Milchkaffee-- literally translated: milk coffee. Figuratively translated, warm delicious. I'd order a milchkaffee in under one of two circumstances: 1. after lunch, 2. reading at a cafe. The waiter/ess brings a big round mug of coffee with foam on top. I don't know if we've got an equivalent in America. It isn't a cappuccino, it isn't a latte macchiato, and I don't think it is a latte (I'm not a fancy coffee connoisseur--my standard morning cup of joe is black). When you get your little spoon and mix the coffee and the foam, it makes this creamy coffee concoction that goes great with a book, whether that book is German Harry Potter or American history.

3. Weather-- I haven't experienced anything awful in Kentucky or Alabama, and to be quite honest, the weather in Kentucky was wonderful before I left. But, Berlin's weather was spectacular. Nearly no humidity. Only got above 80 on occasion. Rained a good amount. The weather was priceless.

4. UBAHN-- You could probably guess that one. I don't like driving.

The whole vibe of the city was really great. The history, the people, the events, the places were all really inspiring. Being in such an important city is something that I will miss. I guess Tuscaloosa is pretty important. They've got some important football to play this weekend.

Deutsches Wort des Tages:

vermissen -- to miss