This past weekend was absolutely beautiful! I took advantage of the nice weather and amazing history in Berlin by spending most of my day hopping from site to site without spending any money. I have been trying to spend less cash lately by bringing my lunch to work and cooking dinner when I get home. I am lucky enough that Berlin has so many things to do. Here are some pictures of where I went on Saturday (June 17th) and Sunday (June 18th).

East Side Gallery:

typical Trabi car with the date of the fall of the wall as the license plate

a popular art concept that I have yet to understand

in between the walls, an indescribable experience

Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm Zentrum (Humboldt University Library):

the entrance to the library

inside the dead silent work area that has amazing architecture

Brandenburg Gate:

brandenburger tor is always beautiful

Tiergarten:

nice day for a walk in the park

pathway in the park

Mauerpark:

a crowd that came for music, food, and the flea market

Charlottenburg Palace:

stunning schloss

On Monday, I trudged to work in the stifling heat. Our office is on the third floor and there is no elevator or air conditioning. The heat has been making us work slower because it drains our energy. One of my bosses, Naomi, commented on my sunburn by saying I got some color. After working mindlessly for a bit, I ate outside with a couple of my coworkers which included two of my bosses. Like I mentioned earlier, I have been bringing my lunch to save money.  Well, I don’t have too much food because I have to share the space with my wonderful roommate plus we have limited resources. Anyways, I decided to bring a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. My coworkers found this hilarious. Naomi thought it was very American of me to bring that for lunch. Apparently, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are very cliché.

Well, I brought one every day this week just to rebel (and because I don’t have a lot of food). At least one person comments on it every day. I never thought it would cause such a reaction. Another boss, Nadia, asked if I brought my own peanut butter and jelly from the United States. No? Edeka has peanut butter and jelly. I also made popcorn one day which everyone was amused by. I swear, they acted like they have never had popcorn before. One of my coworkers asked to try some and was surprised that I got the salty kind. On Thursday, I brought a bagel with cream cheese and a different coworker was amazed. She asked where I got it and then said I have all the good food. Perhaps bringing your food is a bit different here? Anyways, I’ve been thoroughly amused all week.

In other noteworthy news, we had a photographer come in and take photographs of us while we worked. It was difficult to concentrate. Also, we took this hilarious group photo where we pretended to eat. Half of the people just had empty bowls with spoons. We couldn’t stop laughing.

This week, I also went to an event so that I could get inspired and then use the theme to write an article. It was an interesting experience that I intend to repeat even if writing the article is giving me some trouble. I have accomplished numerous other tasks including putting contacts/companies into our program and doing job reports for the sales team. I really feel like a team player and I don’t know what will happen when I leave.

Also, another intern joined the company. Her name is Lydia and she is from Pittsburgh, but she goes to the University of Vermont. She is going to help out with writing articles. So far, she hasn’t had much to do, but I’m sure that will change in the future. I am eager to see how we will divide the work load. She’ll probably take over once I leave. We shall see!

Overall, this week has been extremely busy and I can’t wait to update you again next week. Tschüss!