It's been awhile!

Hi family!

It's been awhile since my last update; I'm killin' some time before I leave to meet everyone for lunch before our "excursion" today (whenever we go to a museum or something with the whole group they call it an excursion).

There's really too much to write about if I tried to do it all. Since September 14, the last time I wrote, we've obviously moved nonstop like always so we've done A LOT. Most notable: seeing the Berlin concert orchestra front row at the Konzerhaus, one of Berlin's landmarks built in the 1800's by an architect called Schinkel, who built everything in Berlin, and whom we studied for like three weeks straight. The concert was amazing, particularly the pianist, who looked like an autistic sevaunt when he played but played piano like I've never heard before. We also went to Potsdam awhile back, as you saw from pics, which was GORGEOUS. We went to a museum/memorial called "Haus am Wannsee" (Wannsee is a lake southwest of the city) where Hitler's men decided how they would go about killing the Jews. It was an extremely powerful experience for me. As much time as I've spent studying the Holocaust with my six years of German plus history classes, you would think the shock would have worn off, but it hit me just the same. Along those same lines, we watch movies every Monday after class and this week the movie was called "Der Untergang" or "The Downfall" and was about the last days of the Nazi Regime down in the bunker. It was a controversial movie because it portrays Hitler and his men more like people than any movie ever has, which I thought was really moving because that makes it even scarier to see those men as men, and not just monsters. You expect that sort of evil from someone who doesn't seem human to you, but they were human. They had girlfriends and wives and children, and it was extremely shocking to see. I hope I can find it in the States, because I really think some of you would like to see it (some not, it's pretty intense).

The most exciting news of late is the trip Rose, her friend Jackie and I are planning/have already planned for fall break (two weeks away)! We leave the 20th for Rome for three days, from there we go to Nice, France on the Mediterranean for three more days, and from there to Geneva, Switzerland for two days. It was so crazy booking flights and hostels all by ourselves, but kind of cool! The best part is that the week before fall break is actually a break, too, because it's our program trip to Dresden, Germany and Prague. So we get back from those two places on Friday the 19th and the next day we take off for Rome! It'll be two weeks of awesome European travels, and I couldn't be more excited. I will take a BILLION pictures. Although I'm going to have to buy a new voltage converter because I tried to straighten my hair and it broke the converter I had, and most likely the straightener also :-( Sad, sad times.

Anyways, I must leave now to meet everyone for lunch. I love my family!!
Mands