After learning about the German political system, and comparing that to what I know of the United States system, a bunch of differences stand out but the biggest one would have to be representation in the legislature, as far as the party system goes. Germany has what is known as a multi-party system, which allows room for smaller parties to participate in government. There are two main groups being the CDU/CSU which is center right, and the SPD which is center left. In the United States, these two groups would be the only real players because of how the US system is set up, a majority take all. Rarely do we even here of other parties, besides the one that is starting to gain memento, that being the Greens. Germany on the other hand has a handful flourishing parties like the Left Party, the Greens, and the FDP. By using both first-past-the-post and the additional member system when electing the Budestag, the little parties have a much better chance.
As far as which system I think is better, I'd have to go with the German political system, especially after these past eight years. Not only does the coalition system/electoral system allow for a greater of representation of ideologies with the presence of smaller groups; but also it benefits the population, in that compromises have to be made daily. If the United System had this type of political system, I would like to believe that things would be pretty different and perhaps we'd be seen better in the eyes of European citizens. Many times during my seven weeks traveling in Europe, politics have come up. Many of these people thought that George Bush's stance was the stance of all American citizens, it was nice to be able to correct them and say actually, most of us we do not agree with him. Does this emphasize a of lack of knowledge about different political systems, or does this just point out how the US system is not so representative? Seeing as they were able to have pretty good conversations about US and other foreign politics, I'd have to go with the stance of highlighting the lack of representation. Perhaps after this administration, we could find someway to make this system more representative. I'm all about the people, and about equality; equality in life and equality in politics.

I want my luggage

I want my luggage.
All of my new clothes are in it, none of these clothes fit me... if I don't get it soon I may be forced to go shopping...

blog question 4, fav. part of the trip/ language difficulty

This is a particularly hard question for me to answer since I hate picking and choosing favorites, but I suppose if I had to pick out one of the best parts of the trip it would have to be the bike trip in Potsdam. Not only was it cool to see the town but riding bikes around the city made it a thousand times better. It was an all around great day, the city was beautiful and quiet, definitely relaxing compared to Berlin. And of course the comradery produced through out the day, it definitely sticks out in my mind.
Other than that particular adventure, I also would have to cite the meeting of international people as another favorite aspect of the trip. First of all, it’s always great meeting new people, but it’s just an added bonus when they have cool accents. No but really, I met some awesome people on this trip, some I hope to stay in touch with, and others I will just hold dearly in my memory. Some that come to mind would be the four Finnish guys I met one night at the bar: Marco, Ollie, Ollie, and some other guy. They were awesome guys some of whom were studying in Berlin, and the others who were just there to visit. I said I really wanted to go to Finland, they told me all about and said that I should come and stay with one of them. With no intention of truly going I set up tentative plans with them to come to Finland one weekend, it was awesome.
Another that stands out are the people a group of us met in Prague while trying to find a club. We met two awesome Canadians who we hung out with all night, and also met a group of random people from all over (England, Australia, and so on). I had a great night getting to know these people and it’s definitely a memory I won’t forget. Lastly another highlight of the ‘international meeting people incidents’ as I have to titled these experiences, would be the lovely and lively pub crawl. Here I didn’t tend to get too in depth with the people, but it was fabulous getting to meet some of these people. I met this guy Valentino and his comrades from Italy, and another randomly mixed group of guys from Ireland, Liverpool (England), and Australia; all very friendly and very cool.
In all I had an unforgettable time on this trip, and learn some great things about myself. It was definitely a growing experience in more than one way. I’m certainly more confident in my abilities to survive in a foreign country seeing I was in one place for more than one week, and started growing accustom to their norms. Also I feel more confident about myself as far as meeting new people. I tend to be a shy person but found it to be pretty easy to get to know new people while on the trip.
And as far as language went, it was an obstacle, however it wasn't as big as I would have expected. With the use of miming, and pointing it didn't take too long to come to a common understanding. Also it was cool seeing that towards the end of the trip I was recognizing words, and even using them semi correctly. I definitely have no reservations in coming back to visit Berlin, because I know it's not impossible to communicate.


WOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO I’m lovin’ it.

Berlin Blog question 2 alone in Berlin

I started off my day getting to know a 20 year old Israeli guy on the elevator of our hostel, he gave me his email and I told him I would 'facebook him'. Upon leaving the hostel I decided I needed to buy a map to figure out where I wanted to go. I hopped off the U. at Alexanderplatz figuring that I could find a map there. However I was wrong, I spent a good 40 minutes wandering from store to store not a map to be seen, one in English at least. I decided to head to the next area/stop that I knew well, Potsdamerpaltz, I figured I could find something to do there. I was wandering around looking at street signs when I stumbled across a big guide map in the middle of the sidewalk. Low and behold on the map I saw 'Berlin Philharmonic' excitement shot through me; I had been wanting to visit the building. Before continuing on my journey I decided I really needed to find some sort of map, so for a second time I went wandering from store to store in hopes of finding an Berlin map. This time around I had better luck, I found a bookstore with an English map, and I also purchased a guide book titled 'Berlin 1933-1945', talk about exciting. While exiting I saw H&M and had to stop and shop. After H&M I tried to start my adventure, when I realized the map I had just bought sucked! So I went back to following the ever so handy street signs. Being the picture taker I am, I stopped at a corner to take a picture of a unique looking yellow building. Like a gift from God I discovered that building was in fact the Berlin Philharmonic. Ecstatic I ran to the entrance of the building, only be flooded by melancholic emotions; my beloved philharmonic was closed to tours from July 4th through August 28th. Feeling dejected I roamed around the area hoping for something to pop out. After an hour of no such luck I decided to head back to the U. While approaching an intersection and blue sign popped out with a long word which I determined meant musical instrument museum. Suddenly it was like the clouds parted and the sun began to shine, I skipped to the museum. All of that excitement for nothing, the doors were locked and the lights were off. I stood looking at the hours posted on the door in disbelief, until I could snap out of it. Upset I decided to go to the film museum, my last resort. On my way to the museum I saw the IMAX and decided to go in and take a gander, I picked up a pamphlet with the hours on it, and the one next to it titled ‘The History of Berlin’. Upon reading it I bypassed the film museum for the U. and took it to the Zoolander stop. Now I thought it would be easy to find this place, but again I was wrong; I walked up and down the street 4 times before I realized the museum was in a mall. The museum was ok, it was a bit scary due to the use of audio, and visual effects. Nothing really stood out to me besides the lack of information about victims of the holocaust, it mainly focused on the Jewish. Upon exiting I stopped and ate some great pesto pasta, and started writing this. While eating and thinking I patted myself on the back for avoiding Starbucks while in Germany. I mentioned this only because on my way back to the U. I was stopped by a seducing sign outside of starbucks. Sadly this is where I finished my day in Berlin.

Berlin Blog question 3

When comparing the German Chancellor, British Prime Minister and the United States President, there is greatest contrast between the U.S. President and the other two. To start off, the United States President is both the Head of Government and the Head of State. In the other two European countries mentioned above, the Head of State is a separate entity. The British have the queen, and the Germans have their president. Also the German and British Heads of Government are brought to their position in a different manner than is the U.S. President. In Germany and Britain the Heads of Government are appointed by the lower house in their legislature (the House of Representatives, and the Bundestag). Where as the U.S. President is elected by the people (technically the electoral college).
Also their ease in the passing of bills are different due to the difference in electoral systems and the way in which the government functions as a whole. The Prime Minister of Britain is part of the legislature and his/her part is the majority, therefore the likelihood of getting bills past are extremely high due to party unity. The Chancellor of Germany usually has to form a majority coalition with usually a minority party (except in the case of the Grand Coalition), this requires a lot of compromise; however bills tend to be passed easily due to the compromises in the legislation process during the drafting of a bill. The U.S. President could be from one party while having a legislative majority from the other party, this obviously makes getting bills passed a little more complicated. And lastly all of these Heads of Government are alike in the fact that they get to appoint their own cabinets.

Berlin Blog question 1

One of the most distinct ways in which the U.S. and Germany memorialize their history differently, is where it's memorialized. In Germany there are plenty of public/random bits of history, such as the graffiti in the Reichstag, the line of the Berlin Wal, and the tower of the kaiser wilhelm church. When thinking about U.S. history memorials, most of them can be found in museums, taken from their original home, or constructed in such designated areas like around the Washington D.C. Mall. In contrast the German Holocaust Memorial is in it's own area, an area frequented by it's citizens daily.
The only memorial that comes to mind that contradicts my argument of memorializing bits of history where they originally stood, would be the Pearl Harbor memorial of the US Arizona. For that particular artifact of history, one needs to charter a boat to the middle of the harbor and the memorial is built around the sunken ship. However if I remember correctly the sunken ship had to remain under water, because it couldn't be brought up or maintained correctly.
Also when watching a Frontline documentary about the process of creating the German Holocaust Memorial (link found on d2l), the argument was brought up that this was Germany displaying something they as as nation were at fault for. The man in this video then pointed out that the United States had never really done that, his example being the United States mistreatment of the Native Americans (Trail of Tears). When trying to think about American memorials the ones that comes to mind are those in D.C., the Oklahoma City bombing, and 9.11 memorials. The Oklahoma City bombing was done by one man, not the government, 911 was a result of terrorist attacks, and the DC memorials are mainly war related. Even such a frowned upon, mainly U.S. war, the Vietnam War, doesn't recognize U.S. faults and blatant disregard for human life.
There is a wall commemorating all of the U.S. fallen soldiers, as there should be; however what about the U.S. treatment of the Hmong, our unfulfilled promise to grant them all U.S citizenship. Still today it's been documented in TIME ASIA, that there are still a great percentage of the Hmong population hiding in the jungles of Loas, afraid of being prosecuted and killed by the Government for aiding the U.S. during the war. And what about the live of our ally Hmong that were ostentatiously ruined by the use of Agent Orange along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. No where that I know of, does the U.S. memorialize these faults or even the Hmong who gave their lives while aiding the U.S. military.
Lastly I would like to bring up the U.S. Civil War. I'm not much of a history buff and I've never really paid attention to Civil War memorials; however I think that it is an interesting debate when it comes to the Confederate (rebel) Flag. Some people view it as a way of memorializing family members that fraught in the war, some view it as just a flag displaying southern pride, and then there are those who use it and/or who view it as a blatant symbol of racism. One country, one symbol, a variety of views.