Berlin Week 15!

Hey crew and welcome back to another week in Berlin! My dad was still here on Monday but I had my class early so I didn't hook up with him until after class. He came to the IES center to meet some of my friends before we settled in to do work. I feel bad I've been so busy the past couple of weeks! Anyway, we headed out to get some Döner for lunch before heading our separate ways - he had a business call and I had class. After my classes, I headed back home to drop off my stuff before taking my dad to the Medieval christmas market in Berlin! It was really cool and very beautiful! We had lots of yummy treats there for dinner before heading back home for the night. I did one last read through of my pop culture presentation before heading to bed.

I woke up a bit early Tuesday morning (probably because stress) and did a bit of work before meeting up with my dad for breakfast. We ended up being pretty pressed for time so it was just a quick breakfast together before I headed to class and he headed to a meeting. I had my big pop culture presentation on Tuesday and it went really well! After class, I met up with him and we headed to the East Side Gallery. We walked the whole length of the gallery before heading closer to the city center to visit the Ampelmann store. From there, I went back to my apartment to do some work on yet another presentation before heading out to dinner with my dad. We had a delicious meal at Dragonfly (down the street from my place) before I gave my dad some stuff to take home with him! Thanks dad! I said goodbye (sad) but I'll see him again in about 2 weeks (eek!). After he left, I took a shower and did some work :/ then read before bed.

Had a short presentation Wednesday morning that went well. After that, I stuck around for hot chocolate and treats from IES! I didn't do much work in the morning since I had a haircut appointment in the afternoon! I got a mullet for the first time! I'm still getting used to it but I definitely like it. After that, I went toward my afternoon/evening classes and was able to get a bit of work done before they started. Both classes were pretty chill since the Professor was just wrapping everything up and telling us about the final. After class, I headed home to make some dinner and get a bit of work done. I met Willa in the evening and we saw the Wicked movie! I had never seen Wicked before and I really enjoyed it! I also didn't realize how much I've missed going to the movies - I should do that more. Unfortunately, I still had a bit of work to do after I got home since I had a short presentation the next morning.

I slept in for the first time in what feels like forever on Thursday which was somewhat cancelled out by my late Wednesday night. I had my short presentation in business class then we just chatted more about what our final will look like. My professor had to leave early so Natalie and I got started on our group project for the final. After getting some solid work done on that, I went to my pop culture class which was presentations. I was feeling pretty tired by the end of class, so I headed home and took a long break just sitting in bed and doing nothing. Unfortunately, I couldn't fully relax because I had a paper due the next morning at 10am. I cranked out that paper over the course of the night - taking breaks to watch instagram reels, cook dinner, and chat with my mom - but I finally got it done! After the paper, I read a bit before heading to bed.

I slept in a ton on Friday morning and woke up to treats in my boots from St. Nikolaus! In Germany, December 6th is Nikolaustag where children put out their shoes and get treats from St. Nikolaus. I made some breakfast before meeting Willa. We took our plastic bottles to the grocery store to get our deposits back (pfand) and I took some small change I'd been saving to the Coinstar machine. I ended up getting 18€ off my groceries - 10 from the coins and 8 from my bottles! I got home, unloaded my groceries, and made up some brunch/lunch of corned beef hash that my dad brought me. It was delicious! I ended up finishing Somewhere Beyond the Sea and definitely cried a bit at the end. I love T.J. Klune books! I mostly just had a lazy day and I'm hoping the recharge will help me be more motivated this weekend. I made some salmon and potatoes for dinner before settling in to watch a movie and call my brother.

In the Club!

Made some breakfast on Saturday morning and folded my laundry before settling in to get started on my Finals. I did work for most of the morning/early afternoon before heading over to meet Paige at her place. We got Boba before heading to her room to do work. I managed to get quite a bit done which was really nice! After working for a while, we had dinner together then got ready to go out. We checked out a cute bar near her place before going to a dance club. I haven't really explored the club scene that much since being in Berlin so it was really nice to have a night where I could get full into the culture! I ended up staying out pretty late but it was all worth it! One of many last hurrahs here in Berlin!

I'm not gonna lie, I felt pretty icky when I woke up late on Sunday afternoon. I laid in bed for a while before getting up, showering, and making some breakfast. I still had some work to do so I powered through about an hour before having to take a break. I made some lunch then got back on the grind. The rest of the day was mostly just chores and work. I had an early dinner, finished up some work, and watched some TV before heading to bed early. Time to lock in for finals week!