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.