Over the last 6 days, I went to more cultural events than I ever remember attending in a single week. This is exactly what I meant in my first blog post when I said that I was particularly excited about learning opportunities that only a big city could offer.
Some of the highlights this past week included:
1) Going to see the Swan Lake at the Deutsche Oper, which was packed. A friend and I got 10 euro seats because we had signed up for a special card that allows students to get into any opera, classical music performance, musical or ballet for 10 euro an hour before the show starts. It was breathtaking. It also felt so special to be sitting there with hundreds of other people, all closely observing every movement of the prima ballerina.
2) Stumbling upon a movie premiere of an independent documentary about immigrants in Germany, followed by a Q & A session with the filmmakers afterwards.
3) Attending a concert at the national concert hall with other IES students. Incredible violinist, fantastic orchestra, stunning architecture – all contributed a memorable night.
4) Hopping on special museum buses back and forth between 6pm and 2am on a Saturday night during the “long night of museums.” It’s a biannual event that is always a huge success. Basically, you buy one ticket for the night, and it gives you rights to visit any museum in Berlin on that night. The city offers free bus shuttles between museums, and many museums put on special programming for the night. I started off the night by going to the Deutsche Kinemathek, where I geeked out about German film from the 20s (the golden 20s!). They also had a special exhibit on Martin Scorsese’s work that included a few impressive artifacts.
I also happened to stumble upon a crazy lindy hop presentation shortly before midnight at the Kulturhaus, and at midnight I headed over to the Musikinstrumenten Museum, where a silent film was presented with accompanying LIVE organ music. Powerful stuff.
5) Enjoying a puppet show at a small independent theater in Prenzlauer Berg. I don’t remember the last time I laughed until I cried the way I did on Sunday.
Culture shock…[redefined]?
Marta Misiulaityte
<p><span style="color: rgb(29, 29, 29); font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(237, 237, 237);">Marta is a Sociology and German double major at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, but has a hard time staying within the boundaries of these two disciplines just the way she cannot stay in any one place for a long time. The thirst for knowledge and adventures is her biggest drive; over the course of her college career she has taken classes ranging from film studies to psychology, and she just spent a semester studying Arabic in Jordan. Originally from Lithuania, Marta has been fortunate enough to call many places her home. When she is not devouring books, she coordinates and leads campus tours, serves as a proctor in a first-year student dorm, works at the Admissions office as well as helping out at the Registrar’s office at Bowdoin. In her free time, she can be found either taking photographs or swing dancing. She can’t wait to check out the Berlin lindy hop scene!</span></p>
