Hey there. It’s been a while hasn’t it? Let me catch you up on what’s been going on since I left Meine Stadt, Berlin.
Upon returning to Chicago, I found myself in this weird, delusional state of mind. It was most likely the jet-lag, but I found myself in a haze of listening to Nena, using random German phrases (#lecker #genau #sehrgut), and confusing the crosswalk man on the streets of Chicago for the well-known, hatted Ampelman signaling the right of way for Berliner pedestrians. My friends were confused, my family was confused, and I was confused.
After this initial reverse-culture shock, I traveled to Los Angeles to visit a friend and hoped my #BerlinBlues would go dissipate, and while the famous alley dogs, instagram places, beaches, palm trees, aguas frescas, and bomb.com tacos healed my heart for a bit, I longed to return to Berlin and found myself constantly telling people of the great adventures, ice cream, friends, misadventures, and just beautiful memories that made up my study abroad experience. In fact, my first-year students in my Peer Adviser group (shout-out to One Thirty Fine!) all made it a running joke to call me out every time I mentioned my trip for Berlin with sarcastic, yet great lines like, “Oh, Mauricio, did you go to Berlin or something this summer?” Especially today amidst the stress pulsing through my brain while sitting in my higher-level economics class, I found myself longing to be eating döner in Kreuzberg, eating gelato at Anna Durkes, or simply just running through the the endless forest/garden/magical land that is the Tiergarten.
View overlooking the Tiergarten
After going through the exhaustion, running around, and greatness that was my third Wildcat Welcome, I reunited with my beloved Berlin squad at Olive Mediterranean Grill on the first day of ca=lasses, and though it was good, it did not come close to the leckerness that was our amazing feasts at Turkish restaurants in Kreuzberg. Alex, Jesus, and I all felt disoriented eating our first meal in Evanston together (I mean like, Evanston meals cannot compare to Berlin meals), and we reminisced about our Pokémon Go outings to the Brandenburg Gate, being rained out at Tempelhof Feld, ice cream crawls, and our humorous dialogues during German class at the HU; overall, what I realized was how though I was no longer in Berlin, I came back with the best part of my study abroad experience: obnoxious, kind, and incredible friends.
#BerlinSquadForLife
Of course, I remember all the fun excursions we had to Hamburg, Weimar, throughout Berlin, but my study abroad experience would not have been complete without Alex and Jesus. We’re already talking about having a Berlin-themed get-together at Alex’s apartment with some club mate, and all that great stuff. I honestly cannot wait to return to Berlin, and know that I will have to go back with them soon enough.
Before I wrap up this final blog post (#sadness), I would love to thank Northwestern, IPD, Frau Meuser, Ben Trivvers (#Trillvers), Sonia Li, Professor Anna Parkinson, Professor Eric Weitzmann, Alex, Jesus, and everyone who made my study abroad experience what it was (I’m getting teared up thinking about how great it was #dontlookatme). Of course, there were difficult times where I missed home dearly, but looking back, being in Berlin has been my favorite period of time at Northwestern. Ich liebe Berlin und wir schaffen das! I’m so blessed to have had this opportunity, and yeah. I don’t want to wrap this blog up because I feel like I’m saying good-bye to Berlin, but I know I will always keep everything in my heart. Here’s to junior year! Bis später!
xoxo,
Chisme Boy
Mauricio Gonzalez