Hi everyone! Time has really been flying and my time here in Berlin is almost over. This week was a lot of fun. Some of the highlights include: seeing John Fogerty in concert, going to the Berlin Zoo, and watching the Euro final match.

After seeing ZZtop last week, my expectations for Fogerty were already high. He blew those expectations out of the water. Fogerty and CCR have always been one of my favorite musicians/bands ever since I was a kid. So when I saw the opportunity to see him live, I knew I had to jump on it. It was easily one of if not the best concerts I have ever been to. For someone that is 79 years old, he played with an energy unmatched by many performers 50 years younger than him. I was very grateful that he played almost every single one of my favorite songs from both him and CCR. I also did not realize until I was there that this tour was his first tour ever since finally winning back the rights to his songs. In case you did not know for the past 50 or so years Fogerty has been in an intense battle with the record company over the rights to his songs, and he finally won. So this tour and concert was even more special. On top of that, the band he was playing with was his sons’s band. This led to some super cool moments like Fogerty jamming out with his one son on the guitar, and I think it contributed a lot to his amazing energy.

The Berlin Zoo was very cool. It was one of the biggest zoos I have ever been to, and I got to see all of my favorite animals which was cool. I thought the zoo itself was also super cool in terms of how it themed all the exhibits. Most of the exhibits featured buildings and/or decorations in the style of the region that they came from. For example: in a region of animals from the Himalayan region, there was a very large temple built in the Nepalese style. My favorite animals that I got to see were the gorillas and orangutans. I love monkeys a lot and the zoo had a ton of different species of monkeys which was super interesting to see all of them. We also went to the petting zoo which was fun, and made me realize how much I miss my dog. I must say, however, the aquarium portion was a bit underwhelming. After having been to the Baltimore aquarium, I think it will be hard to find a better one. This being said I think the Pittsburgh Aquarium was better.

While Germany was not in the finals, it was still a huge game. The entire city of Berlin was flooded with English and Spanish people. It was super cool to see. I went to the Brandenburg Gate one last time to watch the game and it was a blast. I decided that I was going to support the English and joined a group of Englishmen in the Fan Mile. They were very happy to hear an American supporting their country. In the end, Spain won, but it was still a super cool experience.

I think the biggest definer of success here is getting the job done right and in a timely manner. At Kenbi that is what seems to be the biggest part of success. They do not care as much how you get the job done as much as they do that it’s done and done correctly. I think this is a key difference to American work culture. While yes American work culture cares about the ends, I think mostly they are more concerned with the means than the Germans. In America, there are often very strict rules from employers about how they want everything to be done. They want you to complete the task correctly, but it needs to be following their guidelines. I think the German method allows for more creativity and problem-solving, but can also create some confusion at points. I find that sometimes this lack of discipline can be equally freeing and stressful. It can be nice to have some expectations on how stuff should be done.

As I am writing this, I have only a couple more days left to work for Kenbi and in Berlin. It feels surreal how fast everything has been going, but I think I am ready to go back to America. It has been amazing and I cherish my time here, but I miss my own bed haha.