Arriving in Berlin

I've just opened my laptop for the first time since arriving in Berlin. I flip it open, type in my password, and the wifi connects immediately. It makes me feel oddly at home, a feeling I've had a few times already since being in Berlin. NYU wifi and ID's work just like they do in New York, making me feel as if the confines of this dorm transport us all back. But small things remind me of where I am, from the plugs in the wall to the tiny european cars and German signs I see through my windows.

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Arrival in Berlin

I arrived yesterday to Berlin Tegel Airport running on one hour of sleep and feeling a bit overwhelmed. I've always found that for me, with a lack of sleep comes some fear and self-doubt. One of the craziest things I've ever thought was before getting that one hour of sleep on the flight from Dublin to Berlin: what the hell am I doing? I can't even remember why I was so freaked out, as there's nothing I'd rather be doing now than studying in Berlin.

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The Journey to Berlin

Anyways, in regards to my journey here, everything went smoothly. I was very stressed about two things: missing my flight in Dublin and not getting through customs because of a potential misunderstanding with my visa situation. In summary: nothing went wrong. I didn't sleep at all during the 6 hours from Philadelphia to Dublin, but I had some wonderful vegan plane food and watched Harry Potter. In Dublin, I met up with the one person I knew that is also studying at NYU Berlin, and we waited for our next flight together. I had plenty of time in Dublin despite my fears.

At the end of the flight to Berlin, I got my first view of the city.

I was shocked at how vast it is: the city just goes on and on (staff today told us that Berlin is 9x larger than Paris (!) ), and I noted how many actual forests were randomly spread all throughout the city (not NYC's "greenery" of a few tiny trees lining a street). I also saw the Fernsehturm (TV Tower) that is Berlin's tallest and most notable structure.

Upon arriving in Berlin, the agent didn't even ask me anything--he just stamped my passport, and I was on my way. NYU staff met us at the airport, and the seven of us NYU students that arrived on the same flight boarded an unnecessarily large coach bus and drove into the city. I was a bit too tired to truly report any notable observations about that drive, but we arrived at the student residence and lugged my 3 suitcases and backpack to my room on the ground floor.

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My room

I actually have a double that acts as a single (as there are only 75 students this semester), and it's very nice! I actually have too much storage, I don't know how I'll use it all. I'm in a four bedroom suite with a maximum capacity of seven students, so we have two bathrooms and a large kitchen with extra utensils and two refrigerators. Our room also has a fairly large common area with a table and an additional room with two small tables for eating/studying, I suppose.

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My first day in Berlin

Early in the day, I met two of my suitemates who are absolutely lovely! I was very excited because I honestly entered the program not expecting to make any friends--I pictured myself doing my own thing, which I was absolutely ok with, but it actually makes it even more fun and exciting to not be in this alone. The three of us and my one pre-NYU Berlin friend went to this currywurst stand a 10 minute walk from the residence that I've been scoping out for weeks--they actually have a vegan currywurst, and that 3 Euro meal was everything I dreamed it would be. (Currywurst is a sausage that is sliced up and topped with ketchup and curry powder, and it's a typical Berlin street food staple.)

Skipping over a few things, we all used our new privilege of being #legal and ran across the street to the cheap supermarket LIDL to get wine. The slightly more "expensive" wine that I bought was delicious and only 2,49 Euro, while my Berliner Kindl Radler (beer with lemonade) was only ,69.

I got to meet a lot of other people last night when we all hung out in the residence and got to know each other. We left at 10:30 to find a bar, but we kind of failed and eventually found an Irish pub only to realize we were very tired. We stopped at McDonald's at Checkpoint Charlie where I refused to pay 2,5 for a small fry and went home.

I had an absolutely wonderful first day, and I can't even believe that was only one day! I'm so excited to be here and living my German dreams hahaha. PS I don't have enough mental energy to proofread so apologies for errors :)