July 16th// I am in love with Berlin. It’s lively, it’s so freeing. One of the things I appreciate most is that I can walk by myself through the city at night and know I will be safe.
What’s also cool is if you open yourself up to possibilities, you can meet a lot of interesting people. We stayed in Kreuzberg. In Kreuzberg, I befriended a neighbor. They told me how the neighborhood was so much more different back in the day. The buildings were more rundown,the restaurants and cafes around the block were cheaper, and there definitely wasn’t a building filled with American students.
He made me think about my role Berlin. Of course it’s great that we were able to get housing meant for students and not be in airbnbs. However, that building used to be a home for dozens of families. Where are they now? Am I a gentrifier? What happens if I end up loving Berlin so much that I want to stay here. What does it mean for me to be in American in a global city that desperately still wants to have a strong German identity?