Home again!

*Monica, Leah and Julian Gonzalez*

I'm back in the USA! After 4 days, my jet-lag is officially gone. It's been wonderful to be back with my husband, and finally I have gotten to meet his sister. Of course I miss the EMCLers, and I've experienced a bit of culture shock with small things (so many cars, where are all the walkers and bikes? dogs aren't as well-trained and are on leashes!, strangers are super friendly and smile at you when you walk by! there aren't bakeries on every block!, etc).

We've been spending a lot of time seeing the area, since Julian's sister, Monica, is here for the summer and is really busy working during the week. So on the weekends, it's a whirlwind of taking pictures, driving to see new places and mainly having a lot of fun.

Last Saturday we went to Sandy Point State Park in Maryland to enjoy the beach at Chesapeake Bay! After an afternoon of sun and surf, we drove to Annapolis and spent the evening walking around the historic downtown-- it's so beautiful and peaceful there by the harbor.

*on our way we saw a big chair*

SANDY POINT:


ANNAPOLIS:

*in front of the replica of a 1760s schooner, which patrolled the waters to make sure taxes on imports were made properly*


*on the side of the schooner-- later a man yelled at monica for trying to climb onboard... whoops!*

On Sunday, we went to a picnic/potluck at some friends' house, then to the Smithsonian American Indian Museum and the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

*with new friends*

AMERICAN INDIAN MUSEUM:



AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM:

Auf Wiedersehen Berlin!

*cafe with kristina*

My last full day in Berlin! It seems crazy, and although I'm very excited to go home, leaving is bittersweet. I love it here in Berlin, and I'll miss my classmates a lot. We'll all see each other again in Greece, but other than that we're all going our separate ways. So, these last few days I've been going into the city and exploring a bit more, but mainly trying to spend time each day with EMCLers. Now I just have a bit more packing and cleaning to do, and then tomorrow I'm off for a long day of traveling!

*communication museum with Mixaela and Olha*

*robots in the communication museum foyer*

*mailboxes*

*telephones*

*hanging mail wagon*


*gendered communication*

*cafe, with Daria and Mixaela*


*memorial in sidewalk to those killed in the 17th Juni demonstrations*


*zoo gate, downtown*


*nikolaikirche, potsdam*


*dome, nikolaikirche, potsdam*


*Peter and Paul Church, Potsdam*

*last day on campus in Golm! (notice the heavy jackets-- it was freezing!!)*

*"Mother with twins" Sculpture by Käthe Kollwitz (an artist from Berlin), outside of the Käthe Kollwitz museum*

*"The survivors-- Fight the war!" a famous sketch by Kollwitz-- after losing a son in WWI, much of her work revolved around death, suffering, revolt and war*

*Enjoying a Berliner Weisse-- Grün, which is apple flavored beer*

*with kristina in front of the Gedächtnis Kirche*

*goodbye house*

*goodbye bathroom*

*goodbye kitchen*

*goodbye bedroom*