As our time here in Berlin is coming to an end, I think it is important to reflect on the overall experience. Generally speaking, I think my experience in Berlin has been a very positive one. I have seen many places, done many things, and met many people I would probably not have otherwise seen, done, or met. Nevertheless, I am very much looking forward to Saturday when my dad is set to arrive in Berlin. We have a father-son road trip planned from Saturday to the following Saturday and will be seeing many cities across Western Europe. Some of the cities include: Leipzig, Nürnberg, München, Vienna, Prague, Krakau, and of course Berlin. I am also looking forward to going back home the following week. Although I do really enjoy life here in Berlin, I miss my family and friends back home and cannot wait to see them. It will also be nice to have a break from working and some time to relax and see friends and family before going back to school.

The picture I have chosen for this week’s blogpost is of a mural at a small soccer field relatively close to Citadines. Some of my fellow Pitt students and I have played soccer there with the locals over the course of the program multiple times. I think this is a really cool mural that is worth showing. The German quote “Vielleicht hat noch nie ein Spiel gewonnen. Riskier Alles” roughly translates to English as “Perhaps a game has not yet been won. Risk everything.” Though this quote is a little vague, I think this quote is really cool, paired with an action shot of Mario Götze, the scorer of the game-winning goal in the 2014 World Cup Final. I think these experiences also helped me to realize just how bad I am at soccer, so in the future maybe I should try and stick to the one sport I am actually good at, ice hockey. Nonetheless, it was all in good fun and I am really glad I had the opportunity to play soccer there.

I think the next few weeks will be a bit of a weird adjustment period for me. I have gotten very used to life here and working for Kirsen Global Security. It also feels like we have been here for a much longer time than we actually have. I think this has an impact on mainly the little things in life we take for granted like: being able to easily jaywalk, having countdown timers on crosswalk lights, using plastics cards far more frequently than cash, etc. I am definitely looking forward to all of those little things once I get back, and I am sure that within a month or two I will once again be taking them for granted.