Bueno…lo siento chicos. Estoy muy ocupada, no funciona el internet, y tengo muchos tareas y presentaciones.

Ay…where to begin? Well it has been a couple of weeks since I have written and a lot has happened during those two weeks. I think the two biggest events that happened were going to Berlin and Ben coming for Thanksgiving. Let’s start with Berlin:

I absolutely loved Berlin! I think that was my favorite city that I have visited so far. I felt right at home, even though I couldn’t communicate with anyone because I don’t know a word of German…well, ok, I know a couple words like ya, nien, unt beir. Just enough. I also felt right at home because everyone was tall!! In Spain, I always stand out of the crowd because I am so tall, but in Germany, I was normal! It was the best feeling ever! I went on this trip with Elsa and Hannah, two girls I met in class and who are a ton of fun to travel with.

We started out our trip by going out to dinner at an authentic German restaurant. It was kind of in the middle of nowhere, but the food was amazing! I got a pork roast with sauerkraut, potato dumplings and gravy. Y, claro, we got a beer as well. The restaurant also had an outdoor beer-garden, which, unfortunately, was closed, but it looked like it would be so much fun in the summer. We decided we would need to go back. We tried to find a bar to go out after dinner, but we were unsuccessful.

La próxima día, we decided to go on a free walking tour of the city. This was one of my favorite things we did in Berlin. We started the tour in Pariser Platz at the Brandenburg Gate. When we arrived at the starting point for our tour, we were split up into different groups and then assigned a tour guide. Our tour guide was Barry. Barry was from Ireland and, at first, we thought he was going to be a horrible tour guide….yes, we judged by his looks. However, he was one of the best tour guides I have ever had. He was hilarious and was so knowledgeable. On our tour, we saw the Berlin Wall, the Reichstag (which was burned and then used by Hitler as an source of blame on the German communists), the location of Hitler’s bunker (now a very popular place to bring dogs to pee), the Holocaust Memorial, the Book Burning Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie, Bebelplatz (which contained an opera house that was boomed twice that Hitler decided to rebuild during the war), Humboldt University, the balcony that Michael Jackson hung his child out of, and much more. Barry also told us the story of the fall of the Berlin wall. It was interesting to find out that it was basically a mistake by the speaker at the press conference.

After our tour, we went to some of the Christmas markets. It was so fun! We ate bratwurst, currywurst, bratkartoffeln (the best thing ever invented – potatoes, onions, and pork), and Glϋwien (warm wine). Yummmmmmmmm. We also did a little shopping, claro. Despues, we went to a famous chocolate shop. We spent quite a while in there and only bought a couple pieces of chocolate. Haha. We then returned to our hostel and got ready for a pubcrawl! The pubcrawl was a blast and ended with a shwarma (sp?). I doesn’t matter; it was the perfect way to end the night.

The next day, we went on another tour through the same company; however this one was not free. This tour went to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. This camp was actually the model camp that set the standard for all the others to follow. There are not even words to describe the feelings felt on this tour. It was very mind opening and, at points, unreal. I saw things that I never thought could be real. I really liked that way our tour guide ended the tour. He said that don’t think of this as what, “Germans are capable of, but what mankind is capable of.” He, himself, had family members that were Nazis, and others that were German Communists in the concentration camps.

After we returned to Berlin, since the concentration camp was outside of the city, we returned to the Christmas market for some more wonderful German food. We also visited the Reichstag. When this building was reconstructed after the fire, they added a glass dome to the top. Now, tourists are able to walk up and around the dome to see a full view of the city. It was incredible to see the city from such a high view. That night, we had every intention of experiencing more of Berlin’s nightlife; however, we were too tired to even leave the hostel. Sad. I guess that fact that our plane left at 7:40 am had a little to do with the fact that we stayed in.
We returned on Sunday stuffed with German food and tons of Milka chocolate; three bars to be exact.

Quotes from the weekend:
“Did you make it yourself?”
“I’d like three Uwiens”
“Where are you from?” “Canada” “Wait, you’re from Canada? So am I!” “I thought you were from Greece.”
“So…what is the name of the stop?” “(insert long German word)” “Um….so what letter does that start with?”
“I can’t get Lady Gaga out of my head” – Barry

Sunday was a day full of homework and relaxation, which will be much needed for the week ahead.

Monday was a wonderful day. For my International Business class, we had a huge group project that we have been working on since the beginning of the semester. Well, on Monday, one of my group members decided he didn’t want to do his part because he was too stressed out with other things. Keep in mind that our presentation/paper was due on Thursday. No big deal. Entonces, my other two groups members and I had to work our butts of the next couple of days trying to finish his part of the project. Luckily, we all were determined to finish and finished just in time.

I also met with my intercambio. You can tell my Spanish is getting better. This time I only told him I ate a shark (tiburón) instead of túrron (a popular Spanish dessert para Navidad) y I told him I had a son (hijo) instead of brother (hermano). No worries, he only freaked out a little bit.

Wednesday Ben arrived and we went out to dinner with Brittany’s sister, brother in-law, and best friend. I tried to relax a little before my presentation the next day by drinking about half a bottle of wine. Good life choice.

Thursday I gave my presentation. Let’s just say, I’m glad it’s over and I never want to visit China. It was also our little sister’s birthday and we gave her Reese’s. She went crazy! She absolutely loved them.

Ben and I did a lot of touring this weekend. We visited la Sagrada Familia, Park Gruell, Barrio Gótica, Las Ramblas, Montjuic, La Boqueria, y muchos más. We also did a lot of eating and drinking. I think I gave Ben a good taste of the Barcelona nightlife. So good, that he fell asleep at a bar and in the taxi. The picture below is the whole gang: Brittany, Hannah, Ben, Everet and Ashley!

The only bad thing about the weekend was the fact that I got my wristlet stolen. No big deal; just lost my phone, camera, keys, money, and metro card. Eeeek.

Quotes from the weekend:
“Becky, I can’t get in.” (Dos veces)

Next on the agenda:

-3 most presentations to go!

- Sevilla and Granada on Thursday

- Going out much and taking advantage of my last days in Barcelona :(

Besitos!