Halfway There

I’ve just returned to Berlin from a week-long break in Italy. Now I’ve realized that my time abroad is halfway over. I definitely see it from the opposing side: I only have half my time left here. The first half of my semester has been great, and I am excited for the second half as well. Unfortunately, the second half of this semester is going to be very cold and wet.

I have made good use of my time here in Germany and throughout Europe to get out of my house and area, and see and experience new things. I’ve definitely grown in my confidence to speak German in the wild as well. The other night, I was out and about doing night photography and ran into another person doing the same thing. I started asking him questions in German, and it went well. I plan to continue this trend of getting out and speaking, even as the weather gets colder and more challenging, making it harder to want to leave the warmth and comfort of my house.

My goal of speaking to new people in German is going well. Often, these interactions are not super long, but they are still beneficial. These interactions are both intentional and forced, so sometimes I go out of my way to talk to someone, and at other times, I have no choice but to do so. Another thing that is going well, honestly better than I thought it would, is my Church attendance. Given that I’m in a different country and travel frequently on weekends, I’ve attended about 5 ELFK services so far, which is more than I initially thought I would. ELFK is the German church with which we are in fellowship. Honestly, that has been an enormous blessing to be able to hear God’s word and sing his praises in a familiar manner.

As I move into the second half of the semester, I also have some areas for improvement. Number one is my daily devotion habits, as I was on it every day for some weeks, but with the week-long school excursion, my semester break, and other travels, I have definitely fallen behind where I want to be. That is what I want to definitely get on top of soon. Another thing I want to improve is keeping my private journal up to date, as I often fall a week or two behind. It would be nice to be up to date. The final thing to improve is using my limited time to its fullest, as many hours of my week are spent on transit.

Free water is scarce here; even now, as I’m writing this, I’m parched, and throughout the school, I don’t think a bubbler exists. Even in restaurants, water is paid for. I really want to ensure I’m drinking enough water as I continue, because I haven’t been. Overall, I still thoroughly enjoy Berlin, and each day brings something new to discover or learn about, primarily due to its rich history.

 

This picture I took the other day while exploring, and maybe you might recognize it from several movies such as The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 or The Bourne Supremacy