Well they certainly are friendly in Denmark!

Today I arrived in Germany after a full day of travel. I left Charlotte at 1:30pm, transferred in Newark, took the long flight to Copenhagen, and last but not least caught a connecting flight to Berlin for a 9:30am arrival. The travel was largely uneventful. My long flight was very comfortable with plenty of entertainment to keep me occupied during the 7 ½ hour flight. However, two things surprised me upon arrival in Copenhagen…
#1 Instead of going through customs in my destination city of Berlin I was required to go through customs when I arrived in Europe at Denmark…not so bad. I already had a Deutschland passport stamp and now I have a stamp from Denmark added to my collection.
#2 After deplaning I was required to go through Danish airport security. Although I had already been through two security checkpoints without problems, for some reason I set off the metal detector in Copenhagen. To my surprise a middle-aged Danish man waves me over and motions for me to stand on a platform and raise my arms to the side. Before I could stop to wonder when they were going to send a woman over to give me the TSA-esque pat down, this mild-mannered gentleman was going to work. All I could think was that maybe I should insist on him buying me dinner before we got so personal. When I thought he was done I stepped off the platform only to hear a Danish version of the phrase “Please turn around”…oh my. As I turned around I saw my travel companion, Michael, standing and staring with a look of shock on his face.
Now I must clarify that the security officer was completely professional. It is just a shock when you come from a country that insists on women and men sticking to their own gender when dealing with security checks, but you know what? This is a part of foreign travel experience. Not every country does things the way we do in America. Complying with other countries’ laws and customs is a requirement when traveling abroad. Moreover, if you’re going to complain about how different everything is in a foreign land and how it’s better in America, you might better stay in America. To me the fun of traveling is seeing new things, eating new foods, experiencing new cultures, and getting a little outside your comfort zone. Today I butchered the German language but I made sure to be polite, ask questions, smile, and always leave people with a friendly “Tschüss!”

Bis Morgen,
Margaret

PS – I have not slept in 32 hours…I love jet lag.

So I'm down to my final semester at UNCC and I can't think of a better way to finish my time here than with a return trip to Berlin in March.

For those of you that don't know me, I am a senior finishing my bachelor's degree in history with minors in American studies and German. I participated in the 2009 spring break trip to Berlin with Dr. Youngman and consider it one of my favorite travel experiences. I have traveled to Europe several times, visiting the countries of France, Switzerland, Italy, Czech Republic, and Ireland, but the most time I had ever spent in Germany was driving through on the autobahn and using the Frankfurt airport. So, with three semesters of German under my belt, I decided to go on the spring break study abroad trip and learn a bit about the country that gives me 1/4 of my heritage.

This blog will chronicle my experiences this year, including planning and preparation for the trip as well as the trip itself. I'm expecting a slightly different experience this year. Last year I did not know anyone going on the trip, and I had only met Dr. Youngman at the pre-trip meeting, so I was a bit outside my comfort zone. This year I know at least a couple of people from German classes and I am familiar with the city of Berlin. This time I will make an effort to see some of the things I missed last year...like the German museum of history. I heard it was awesome from a few travel companions that went on some free time.

A positive attitude and a willingness to learn are the two most essential items you can bring on this trip (outside of your luggage and some good hand sanitizer*). There is so much more to Berlin and Germany than a different language. You need to experience the culture. Walk around the city without a clear destination - but stay on busy streets and bring a map, just in case. Go shopping, eat in a cafe, use public transportation, experience the night life, sit at ein Passant and talk with Sven...he has lived in East Berlin his entire life. Use the language! Yes, I am in my sixth semester of German. Yes, I have spent time in Germany, but heaven help you if you try and use me to help translate. My German is so bad (ask Michael or Daniel who have witnessed this first hand in class) that when I walk into a shop and start speaking in German, they answer me in English. It doesn't matter, as long as you try! I'm sure just about everyone has heard JFK's famous line, "Ich bin ein Berliner." Sure he meant to say, "I am a Berliner," and that's what it means when you translate it literally. What he ended up saying was, "I am a jelly donut," (yes, there really is a donut called a Berliner and it's delicious) the correct way would have been, "Ich bin Berliner," but people knew what he meant and the quote lives on to this day.

*Oh and the hand sanitizer...I am not a big believer in the stuff. However, I acquired a particularly bad head/chest cold the last few days of the trip...I soldiered on but it was extremely difficult. I will definitely be bringing some hand sanitizer with me this time.