Exactly one year ago on the 4th of July, I officially arrived in Germany. I landed at the Dusseldorf airport with my German grammar book in hand, took a train to the city of Bonn, the Ubahn to Tannenbusch, and schlepped by suitcase to the Acora hotel just in time to meet my fellow BuKas for an American-organized Independence Day BBQ. Maybe you remember... there is probably a blog about it. What followed was an extraordinary year. My time in Germany is of course not yet over, but exactly one year after my arrival we fellows met together one last time as a family of 30 for our three day closing meeting.
Monday the fellows not based in Berlin arrived, and we all had dinner together at a Lebanese Restaurant near the hotel with representatives from the foundation as well as Friedrich, who has organized all of our gatherings and meetings, and in the meantime become a friend to us all.
Yesterday was our big political day which began with a meeting at the Auswärtiges Amt (the Office of Foreign Services), which funds our fellowship and had the opportunity to ask questions of representatives from Germany who specialize in relations with the US, China, and Russia. Then it was on to the Chancellor´s office to... meet the Angela Merkel. Ok most of the day was a tour of the facility, which is actually quite modern and beautiful, and only 5 minutes actually consisted of meeting with Angie herself.
Nevertheless Angela Merkel was a pants-suit wearing delight. She asked us what we thought of Germany, and when we told her we were having a nice time, she claimed we hadn´t been here long enough. Then she poked fun at the Deutsche Bahn. We stood ready for our photo op, and she said "Say cheese, or as we say these days in Germany - Greece".
After some more official meetings and meals with important people, plus a visit to the Neue Museum to see Nefertiti´s head - the highest insured object in any museum in the world at €550 million compared to the Mona Lisa at around €220 million - it was time to say goodbye.
It was weird to say goodbye. For one thing, my fellowship is not over. It will last at least until the end of August, and hopefully a bit longer. But mostly I just can´t imagine that I won´t be seeing my 29 colleagues and friends in just a few weeks for some meeting or trip. I think one of the biggest surprises about this year was how close I ended up feeling to the other BuKas. I had hoped I would find a friend or two among the group, and then of course there were times over the summer and throughout the year when Germany was incredibly lonely, and I felt very much alone. But, somehow when I wasn´t looking, probably on a long bus ride, or sitting around the dinner table, or posing for one of our many group photos, they started to feel like my family in Germany. There are some I know better than others, some I can talk more openly with, but we are a group - 30 BuKas in Deutschland, and I can´t quite grasp that we will probably never all sit in the same room together again.
This is the sad truth about the globalized world, which seems like the phrase that is always on everyone´s tongues. The ease of technology helped bring us together, and it may very well allow us to stay in touch - I hope it does - but it won´t solve the logistical challenges of bridging 3 continents, 30 busy schedules and separate lives on distinct tracks. I will miss them, but I am excited to find out where they each end up next. I am grateful, more than I can express, that we got to share one year together in Germany.
Monday the fellows not based in Berlin arrived, and we all had dinner together at a Lebanese Restaurant near the hotel with representatives from the foundation as well as Friedrich, who has organized all of our gatherings and meetings, and in the meantime become a friend to us all.
Yesterday was our big political day which began with a meeting at the Auswärtiges Amt (the Office of Foreign Services), which funds our fellowship and had the opportunity to ask questions of representatives from Germany who specialize in relations with the US, China, and Russia. Then it was on to the Chancellor´s office to... meet the Angela Merkel. Ok most of the day was a tour of the facility, which is actually quite modern and beautiful, and only 5 minutes actually consisted of meeting with Angie herself.
Nevertheless Angela Merkel was a pants-suit wearing delight. She asked us what we thought of Germany, and when we told her we were having a nice time, she claimed we hadn´t been here long enough. Then she poked fun at the Deutsche Bahn. We stood ready for our photo op, and she said "Say cheese, or as we say these days in Germany - Greece".
After some more official meetings and meals with important people, plus a visit to the Neue Museum to see Nefertiti´s head - the highest insured object in any museum in the world at €550 million compared to the Mona Lisa at around €220 million - it was time to say goodbye.
It was weird to say goodbye. For one thing, my fellowship is not over. It will last at least until the end of August, and hopefully a bit longer. But mostly I just can´t imagine that I won´t be seeing my 29 colleagues and friends in just a few weeks for some meeting or trip. I think one of the biggest surprises about this year was how close I ended up feeling to the other BuKas. I had hoped I would find a friend or two among the group, and then of course there were times over the summer and throughout the year when Germany was incredibly lonely, and I felt very much alone. But, somehow when I wasn´t looking, probably on a long bus ride, or sitting around the dinner table, or posing for one of our many group photos, they started to feel like my family in Germany. There are some I know better than others, some I can talk more openly with, but we are a group - 30 BuKas in Deutschland, and I can´t quite grasp that we will probably never all sit in the same room together again.
This is the sad truth about the globalized world, which seems like the phrase that is always on everyone´s tongues. The ease of technology helped bring us together, and it may very well allow us to stay in touch - I hope it does - but it won´t solve the logistical challenges of bridging 3 continents, 30 busy schedules and separate lives on distinct tracks. I will miss them, but I am excited to find out where they each end up next. I am grateful, more than I can express, that we got to share one year together in Germany.
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