Finishing Up The First Week In Germany- Marci Heidt

    Flying over Germany felt like a dream. For months I had waited for this trip to come and I was finally here. One of the first things one notices in a new country (besides the language) is the architecture. The buildings are different from place to place. Growing up in a small city lends to smaller buildings than those in big cities. Given the differences in style, the german buildings look different than the ones at home. But for the next couple weeks, this would be my new home and everything needed to be embraced. As the days progressed, I found Berlin to be more of a home to be than I thought before. I knew where the school was and what subway stations I needed to get off on in order to get where I'm going. My host family made me part of their family and I felt like I belonged. 
   From Tennessee to Berlin there is a big culture change. We have fried chicken and they currywurst. But the food is not the only culture shock that one can experience. On Wednesday, both us Americans and our partners went to the theatre. Earlier in the day we had been told the play would be a musical. So I start immediately thinking about Broadway plays in New York like Wicked or Les Miserables. When my host and I arrived I saw that it was not going to be a big play but rather one closer to the size of Barter Theatre near home. Given that the play was in German and the English subtitles weren't working, us Americans settled in for the long ride. All of us kids having at most 3 years of German knew that it would be hard to understand what was going on or why the audience was responding in the way that they did.  Once it started we noticed differences in how props are used in Germany and America. All american props like food or cigarettes are fake unless necessary. Here the actors smoked on stage, had coffee, and even what looked like beer.  It was quite the play put on for us. About a girl on the subway from west to east Berlin in 1986, the play brought plenty of laughs despite the language barrier. The play captured stereotypes  from that given time and put a comical twist to some of the realities in that day. This new cultural experience was the perfect way to end the first week in Berlin and lead way to exciting things in store for later.