What do you get when you mix about 500 American Fulbrighters in Germany, American Fulbrighters in other European countries, and future German Fulbrighters going to the US?
Answer: a very loud week that was definitely not designed by introverts.
For me, the week of networking kicked off on Saturday, when I met J and E's ETA friends from Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland. Since Berlin was actually sunny, we headed to Treptower Park and the former Tempelhof airport (now a park). I also brought Puppy because she's always up for a little exercise. :)
On Sunday, several of my friends and I went on tours of Berlin. I've been to most of the government buildings, major museums, and tourist attractions, so I decided to go on a tour of Neukölln. It wasn't quite what I had expected (we only went to a mosque, and I thought we were going to see more parts of Neukölln), but the mosque was beautiful, and the tour guide was informative. After we got back, we had dinner with plenty of free wine* and chatted with a few Germans who are heading to the US next year.
(*I mention this only because we supposedly drank more wine than any other previous Fulbright group. Of course, that's also because we had the highest number of participants.)
I attended panels, of course, but I think my favorite part was the music gala on Tuesday night because the performers had such different talents and interests. (The Marlene Dietrich impersonator was definitely a hit amongst the German-speaking crowd!) Closing with "Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso" is also always a good choice. (Wenn ich nur fleißiger geübt hätte...)
During our trip to the Rotes Rathaus, someone asked Ingeborg Junge-Reyer (Berlin's mayor and senator for urban development) where you could find the best Döner in Berlin. She gave a very diplomatic answer about finding the best döner stand next to a very busy, very good currywurst stand. Unfortunately, most non-Berliners thought that this was general commentary on the ubiquitousness of good currywurst and döner stands. She was actually referring to Curry 36 and Mustafa's Gemüse Kebap in Kreuzberg. :) (Sadly, that day was the first and last time that I ate/will eat at Mustafa's. I'm allergic to one of their spices, most likely cumin.)
Since I live in Berlin, I had to commute to and from the Park Inn Hotel. However, that didn't stop me from taking full advantage of the breakfasts and dinners! Even as a vegetarian with food allergies, I was able to find plenty of things to eat. I also greatly appreciated the free trip to Weimar that I won through the nametag lottery. :)
When I got back to My Gymnasium, one of the teachers (Musik/Ethik) approached me and said (auf Deutsch), "I didn't know that you're a Fulbrighter." (One of the English teachers interjected, "I didn't know that, either! Not bad.") Musik/Ethik teacher: "My daughter was at the conference last week and saw 'My Gymnasium' in the program. She had such a great time, and she came back raving about the Fulbright family atmosphere." I told him that if she has any questions about studying in the US, she should email me, and he responded: "See? Networking in the Fulbright family."
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