This post marks my second round of exploits into Berlin’s theater scene. I thought I had experienced the avant garde already; the open air production of Midsummer Night’s Dream and the paint-flinging, chalkboard-happy Enemy of the People were, until recently, the most experimental works of theater I’d ever seen. This past weekend, however, I saw an entirely new side of Berlin theater—an excitingly bizarre side.

To start our next field study trip we headed off to visit the European Union institutions that we have been studying about in class. We started in the lovely city of Luxembourg at the European Court of Justice. We left Freiburg bright and early, and had planned on stopping at the Saint-Avoid, the largest military cemetery in Europe, however it was closed due to the government shut-down. Luckily I have been to the cemetery previously.

A last minute decision, we bought tickets to go to Oktoberfest for a day. We left Freiburg bright and early, and later returned about the same time we left. We braved not only the last weekend of the festival, but the rain and tons of drunk Italian men (which were EVERYWHERE). Unfortunately we did not get into a tent, but we made the best of the situation. The best part of the trip was the memories and bonding moments I shared with the girls I went with. I am so lucky to have them as my friends!

So, I realize I have been slacking off a little bit on the blog, and I would punch out a few posts before going to bed in Brussels. This will be the first of four posts that I will do during my down time from meetings and exploring Brussels.

The first thing that hits you about Rio de Janeiro is the explosion of color, like Monet or Picasso painting the city onto the hills in their spare time. Nestled between mountains reaching for the sky, the ocean and never ending beach, Rio is home to some of the most vibrant and nicest people in the world.

When you think of Japanese cities, you might imagine them to be orderly, spotless, and super modern. If you do, well, you’re sometimes right! Sort of. Tokyo really is one of the cleanest cities I’ve been to! This comes with its own annoyances, though – for instance, there are no trash cans as they were all taken away due to problems with having too many crows. There are always little old ladies sweeping away every leaf that falls into a bin.