Selected Photos From London Today

Westminster Abbey















Buckingham Palace



















Me, coming out of the Booth















View of today's fire from Holborn



















Another view of today's fire from Holborn (for a short while, eerily reminiscent of 9/11...)

Updates

Looks like the fire broke out at a disused bus depot on a small side road in East London. Here's a news report:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23420617-details/Toxic+fume+fears+as+massive+fire+at+Olympic+site+shrouds+London+in+smoke/article.do

Sounds like the greatest risk with this fire is the possibility of burning asbestos fumes...hopefully they won't reach where I am!

On a happier note, I was able to see the following places today:

Westminster Abbey
Big Ben
Parliament Buildings
Buckingham Palace
Piccadilly Circus
Oxford Circus
Holborn (I had planned to go the British Museum when I saw the black smoke and decided instead to take some pics and go find a place where I could access the Internet.)
St. Paul's Church

...then I walked across the Thames and stood on the bridge in the sun...ahhhh, warmth! It's pretty cold here...unusually cold!

Oh, and last night, I had some AMAZING Indian food! Thanks to everyone who told me that I should go to an Indian restaurant in London! I wonder why this level of goodness didn't make it to NYC??

Fire in London

There's a big fire in London right now, but I'm okay (for all you worryworts)...it's NOT close to where I am right now or where I'm staying, but I can see black smoke billowing above the city. I'll keep posting as I get more information.

What does it mean to be American?

Being abroad for the past 15 days has raised in me the question of what it means to be American. Since leaving the U.S., I've become more aware that there is a difference between being "American" and being "from the United States." "America" is not a country but a series of continents including North America, Central America and South America. The United States is the country I'm from within America, and everyone I've encountered has formed ideas about what the U.S. is like. In Germany, I had several great conversations with Germans about stereotypes of the U.S. and Germany, why these stereotypes exist, and to what extent they may or may not be true. On my trip, I've also met people from Belgium, Denmark, Turkey, Italy, Australia, Pakistan, Iran and the U.S., among other countries. I hadn't realized the extent of how much of a relationship-building experience it can be to discuss similarities, differences and stereotypes of our respective countries with people from other countries. Now that I have had some time to process my experiences in Germany, the question: "What does it mean to be U.S. American?" hit me while I was standing in the Remembrance Day crowd near Downing Street watching (on a huge TV screen but standing about 200 feet from) the Queen of England laying the wreath to commemorate fallen soldiers. I got into a conversation with the man behind me who I am guessing was an immigrant to the UK from either Africa or the West Indies. He told me more about the Remembrance Day tradition, and I explained to him the similarity of "Veterans Day" in the U.S. (without the same level of ceremonial, though!). I am guessing that this question will take a lifetime to answer and lay in the subtleties or stark differences in the frames of reference that define "culture."

List of Places I've Seen and Visited

Internet access has been expensive and somewhat hard to come by in places, but here's a list of the places I've visited so far over the past 2 weeks:

GERMANY
Berlin:
University of the Arts
Menzel-Oberschule (High School)
Bayer-Schering Pharma AG
The German Parliament
Jewish Museum
Brandenburg Gate
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

Frankfurt (Oder):
European University Viadrina/Collegium Polonicum (Slubice, Poland)

Kiel:
Christian-Albrechts-Universitat zu Kiel
HSH Nordbank

Hannover:
Leibnitz Universitat Hannover

Frankfurt:
Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universitat

UK
London:
Remembrance Day Ceremony in Whitehall

...And here are meetings I've attended with the Fulbright group and the respective institutions giving the presentations:

Berlin:
Germany's University System
- Free University Berlin

Career Centers, Fundraising and Alumni
- Hertie School of Governance, Stifterverband fur die Deutsche Wissenschaft Berlin, University of Heidelberg

Presentation of Selected Universities
- Humboldt University
- Hertie School of Governance
- Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences
- University of Potsdam
- Berlin School of Economics
- University of the Arts
- Free University
"Meet a Berliner" Dinner
- Touro College Berlin...and more...

German-American Exchange and Dialogue
- German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
- InWent
- Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
- German-American Fulbright Program

German Parliament: Meeting with staff of members of the Bundestag
- CDU/CSU, FDP, Green, SPD, Die Linke

This is a partial list; I will add more later!

Notable Locations in Berlin

A spectacular building (that I have yet to identify):















Brandenburg Gate:















Image of part of the Berlin Wall still standing (thanks, VG!):













(Please do not use the above photo without permission.)

Standing on the former location of the Berlin Wall just outside the Parliament building:

Birthday Picture

Here I am on my birthday (11/1) at the train station in Frankfurt (Oder):



(Thanks, VG!)

Cultural Exchange

The past week has been a whirlwind! On Tuesday, 10/30, the 24 of us split up into groups to visit various universities. Our group visited University of the Arts, first touring the industrial and fashion design departments and then visiting the Career Center for what turned out to be a great discussion on best practices! After that, an employee and alumnus of University of the Arts showed us a website that showcases student work so that employers can view it. It was fascinating to learn about all the different types of schools students can attend to receive professional training, how they're funded, and how much tuition, if any, students are asked to pay.

Since Day 2, we have networked with Berliners, visited high schools as well as Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), where we were welcomed by the president of the university. The same day (my birthday!), we traveled across the bridge to Poland to tour an additional campus of the same school. I can say now that I've spent my birthday in 2 countries! The following day, we visited Bayer Pharmaceuticals to learn about their vocational training program and then the Berlin Parliament, where we met a panel of 5 politicians representing the 5 political parties in Germany. It is only just sinking in how amazing these opportunities have been...

Yesterday, I toured the Jewish Museum, which covers over 1000 years of Jewish German history. Unfortunately, I'd have needed about 3 full days to really take in the information the museum offers, and I only had 3 hours, which didn't do it justice at all! But it was still a fascinating and eye-opening 3 hours. Finally, last night, we heard the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra live, and it was truly incredible.

Most of all, I am enjoying all of the people I am meeting and my colleagues and new friends in the program. I hope the connections we are making will last a long time.

Day 1

Today, we were invited to spend the day at the Fulbright Kommission office meeting with representatives from German institutions to learn about the Bologna Process and reforms to the German system of higher education (in the morning). Then, in the afternoon, and we learned more specifically about Career Services, Development/Alumni Relations, and International Relations of German universities, current initiatives and future goals. It was a very enlightening day of benchmarking and sharing ideas through open conversation. There was so much to absorb that I'm sure I'm going to be processing everything for a long time. It's clear how German history and culture have influenced their systems of higher education, and I'm able to see more clearly how the U.S. culture of business has influenced the U.S. higher ed. system more and more in recent years. We didn't talk about this specifically, but our conversation got me thinking about it...

Not to mention the food...the food here has been incredible so far! A welcome dinner was held for us tonight on the top floor of our hotel, which overlooks the east side of Berlin. Back during the Soviet era, this same room was a discotheque overlooking the city. I have to say that the wood floor was a perfect danceable floor! One of my colleagues knows "Steppin'" and agreed to show me some steps...yay! Haven't been out swing dancing yet, but I plan to do more research on places to dance a little bit later.

That's all, folks! 'Til later...

Incredible

It's the middle of the night, but I have a major case of jet lag, so I'm up typing emails and updating my blog. When we arrived yesterday afternoon, we were immediately whisked off to take a guided bus tour of Berlin. The buildings and architecture are astoundingly beautiful here! We have a very full week ahead of us, and I'm not sure that I'll be on the internet that much (which is okay, because I don't want to miss anything!). The quick tour was followed by an introductory Fulbright meeting and then an amazingly huge dinner at an Italian restaurant coupled with great conversation! More soon!

In Berlin

Made it to Berlin, Germany after a long-ish, somewhat uneventful trip! *Yawn* Dramamine still wearing off...

More soon...!

Almost Time!

Eagerly awaiting my flight to Germany on Saturday, 10/27 at 8:01 pm (EST), I'm currently making some last-minute preparations. Clothing - CHECK. Gifts - CHECK. Credit card security notified of my travel - CHECK. Oh, no! Forgot my orthopedic shoe inserts in Queens at work! How can I walk for long distances without those?!! Unexpected last-minute trip back to St. John's University, Queens campus scheduled - CHECK.

I feel excited anticipation and some anxiety as the time to depart for my Fulbright experience draws nearer. I feel honored to be given the opportunity to participate in the U.S.-Germany International Education Administrators program (www.cies.org), the opportunity of a lifetime. I think about all of the new people and experiences I will encounter and wonder how I will change personally and professionally during this trip.