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...