A Dispatch From the Middle

Somehow my time in Berlin slipped away much faster than I expected. I shouldn’t be surprised though, I always feel the least aware of time when my days are full and I’m having fun. That’s why it’s been so hard for me to sit down and write this blog; I want to reflect on the halfway point of my time here (which I was abruptly made aware of by the five midterm exams I had last week) but looking back all I see is a bright, glitzy, glittery blur.

My week-long spring break shook me awake from this glamorous blur. I was in Budapest for a few days, participating in the super important cultural attractions like the 20 euro unlimited prosecco sunset cruise down the Danube and sweating out the hangover in the Széchenyi thermal baths. Then I went to Paris where I celebrated my 21st birthday (which is just a regular birthday here so the bartender was quite confused when my friends asked if they would look at my ID to verify my age). Together my friends and I engaged in the important Parisian cultural attractions like eating croissants and baguettes and steak frites, picnicking by the Eiffel tower, and ambling through the wide open boulevards. 

In total I spent eight days and seven nights traveling, which felt substantial because most of the other trips I’ve taken so far have been three nights at most. By the sixth day or so, I felt myself craving the comforts I left behind in Berlin. I wanted to walk downstairs to get a Club Mate from the guy at my Späti, I wanted to take a walk to the Wasserturm park and watch the sunset, and I wanted a freaking döner. No food on this entire globe compares to a Berlin döner, I think. 

On our last day at our Paris AirBnB, I offhandedly told my friend Sara that I was really ready to go home. “Back to Massachusetts?” she asked with a slight frown. I paused and thought no, obviously not. Her question made me realize I was referring to Berlin as my home–not Massachusetts, where I’ve lived for twenty-one years. 

Despite living in Prenzlauer Berg for only about two months, I can say with certainty that it is my home. Berlin has taught me that home can be temporary, and that doesn’t make it any less of a home. Prenzlauer Berg’s bohemian charm, old buildings, and cobblestone streets lined with mature trees make me feel just as welcomed and loved as I do in my neighborhood at home. 

Spending time away from home helped me wake up to just how fast time is passing here in Berlin. It was a call for me to take advantage of my time and do my best to really feel each minute, hour, day, week, weekend of this experience that’s already flown by. I wish I could bottle up this feeling of my Prenzlauer Berg home as a souvenir, instead I will just have to soak up as much of it as I can in the second half of this program.