Moving in

I had pretty good flights with Virgin Atlantic and British Airways yesterday. I departed LAX at 6:50 PM with some tearful goodbyes and flew for about 10 hours with 300 or so travelers, primarily Brits heading home after a blissful vacation in 80 degree SoCal winter. Since I was traveling alone, they assigned me to one of the seats on the side where only two people sit next to one another, and the woman next to me was quite interesting to chat with.

London Heathrow is a friggin' damn massive airport. After arriving at Terminal 3, I had to wait in line to get crammed into a bus that drove 10 minutes to reach Terminal 5. It really was lovely, but I was so exhausted as I don't sleep well on planes - basically not at all, and the seats on Virgin did not help - and I kinda just sat there. I perused duty free for a bit, but the prices really weren't fantastic enough to tempt me... that's a good thing. There were so many people (so overwhelming!), and at that point I honestly just wanted to be alone and eat my sandwich!

My flight to Berlin-Tegel was delayed a bit. On the plane, I sat next to a German family that was coming home to Berlin after a vacation in Las Vegas. This was my first time trying to begin some small talk with German strangers, but I had completely forgotten all the people who told me Germans are not very chatty with someone they just randomly met - awkward! Upon arrival, I was greeted by my lovely host mom Silvia and host sister Alicia - and I mean lovely!! Beautiful in every way and they've been extremely hospitable since my arrival :)

A short drive on the Autobahn and voila! My home for the next few weeks...

A large map of Berlin is exactly what I needed! The U-Bahn map alone blows my mind compared to the four lines of BART.

A garden shared by people who live in this little community

Alicia took me out last night to meet her friends. Silvia drove us, and we stopped for gas at a familiar place...

 

And finally, some random fliers I took from Drama, the bar we went to. The one on the left is a postcard printed by the German national health service and the one on the right is an advert for some classes.

Drama is a gay smoking bar, which explains the salacious photos of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean hanging on the walls. It's got quite a bit of character (fake roses dangling from the ceiling, burlesque and belly dancing performances on a small stage), and the drinks were pretty good and way cheaper compared to the U.S.  Alicia let me try some of her Pimm's, which is a drink made from Pimm's and ginger ale - delicious!  I left smelling of stale cigarettes though; practically everyone except me was smoking, including the girls I was with, and I've noticed it's pretty common here despite all the boldfaced notices on packets of tobacco and cigarettes warning Rauchers sterben früher - smokers die earlier.

It was odd staying out until 1 AM and seeing the streets still full of young people drinking and smoking and generally not asleep yet. Definitely a different culture here.

Packing

If I could use one word to describe myself during the past couple of days, it would be anxious. For some odd reason, my family and I were invited to a lot more parties and get-togethers this year than any other. That's in addition to the party my parents are throwing tonight. Between all of this, I had to find time to pack.

To be quite honest, I have a lot of stuff. Sehr viel. I knew packing was going to be a big pain in my ass, so I dragged my feet for quite a while. I'm glad I ended up starting almost a full week in advance; not only do I have a lot of stuff, but somehow in my mind I've convinced myself that most of it is essential. The process is exacerbated by the fact that I have to prepare for the winter-spring-summer transitions, which means I can't devote too much space to one season and neglect the others. This has meant a lot of fierce internal debate and deep soul searching about exactly which shoes, dresses, jeans, toiletries, makeup, electronics, and other miscellaneous items that I cannot live without for over half a year. The result:

My room has seen finer days

I've scoured packing lists on a lot of different study abroad blogs to try and include all those things I just wouldn't think of bringing. Furthermore, I had notes that I had taken from the program orientation where both American and German exchange students provided their advice based on personal experience. Some notes:

Shoes

• A pair of Converse. I do not wear Converse regularly at home anymore, but apparently they're quite popular as a can't-go-wrong everyday shoe in Europe. I happen to have a pair that are already mildly worn, will likely get torn up during my stay, and can be thrown away before flying home.
• Snow boots with thick soles to get me through winter. 
• For dressier events, a pair of nude flats that can also work for a casual outfit. 
• Rainbows. I can't imagine packing any other sandals for summer because they are all so uncomfortable in comparison. 
• Running shoes. I do plan on continuing to run, and these shoes will not have been packed in vain! And I suppose I can always wear them on a hike or something.
• Debating on a pair of versatile, comfortable heels. Part of me thinks that the flats will suffice, but the other more glamorous part thinks heels are a must.

Personal care

• Contact lenses and solution. Apparently they are expensive abroad, but they're also heavy and I'm dangerously close to the 50 pound weight limit on my luggage. I'm going to try my best and conserve one big bottle instead of bringing two.
• Feminine products. I'm really picky about the brand I use, and it's one less thing to worry about during my time of month. Also, they're cushy and light and conveniently fill up large amounts of empty space in my suitcase to protect other fragile items from impact. (THAT much empty space?? How can that be, if you're packing so much??? Stay tuned for more on my baggage difficulties...)
• OTC medication for colds, the flu, or whatever else may ail me. In a past German class, my instructor told me Germans are mostly into homeopathic medicine. Uhhh... no. I want my Robitussin and Benadryl and ibuprofen and acetaminophen.
• Travel and sample sized toiletries for short trips.

Electronics

• iPad with keyboard, which will probably be what I use to take notes in class
• Laptop 
• Mini mouse
• Backup drive
• Chargers
• A bunch of adapters for my chargers
• As badly as I want to bring my DSLR, it's staying at home. It's just one more thing I have to worry about getting stolen. I'm bringing a compact point-and-shoot instead.

Bags (I have a shamefully large collection of handbags and picking which ones to bring really was challenging)

• Longchamp Le Pliage, large size in navy. You simply can't deny how useful these are. They weigh nothing, fold to take up no space, are pretty indestructible, and can carry your entire world. I'm actually using it as my "personal item" to carry onto the plane and stuffing all of my electronics and my small bag (see next bullet point) into it (and hoping to get away with it - I'm flying with Virgin Atlantic, and they've got some strict baggage allowances compared to what I'm used to on domestic flights).
• Mini crossbody bag, specifically a black Rebecca Minkoff Mini Affair. It can work as a shoulder bag, cross body bag, and clutch for both day and night. 

Clothing
I can't afford to pack only cold weather or warm weather clothing, so I made sure to pack things I could layer: thin cardigans, camis, a few tshirts and sweaters, and LOTS of tights to warm up jeans and dresses. It's not helpful that the weather will be about 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit when I depart from LAX and less than 40 degrees when I land in Berlin. I am struggling to decide what I want to wear on the plane for comfort but also to make sure I don't freeze to death upon arrival.

Sorry for the ramble. It helps to justify all the stuff I'm bringing, although I conveniently left out the sizable amount of space/weight dedicated to all my makeup...

Willkommen!

My name is Annie. I'm a third year economics and psychology double major at UC Berkeley (Go Bears!) studying abroad in Berlin, Germany for seven months - from right after the New Year to early August.

The excitement has been developing slowly but surely. It began when I was accepted to the program in June... then reemerged when I applied to Freie Universität in September and when I purchased my flights to Berlin over Thanksgiving break. Now, I take off in a matter of days, my suitcase is almost completely packed, and I'm scouring the web for any last minute tips/packing necessities/things I should be aware of/random bits and bobs.

The path to this adventure has been full of obstacles. I became an American citizen in November after living in the U.S. for over 10 years, and my passport - the final piece of this big puzzle - arrived in the mail a few weeks ago. There is a long story behind all of this that I am leaving out, but trust me when I say that in an alternate reality, I might not have had the chance to study abroad. That's what makes me all the more appreciative of this opportunity.

I look forward to sharing my adventures with you all :)

Bis später!