Damn it, Iceland!

As if one needed more reasons to be angry at Iceland...a terrible volcanic eruption issued clouds of volcanic ash that prevented any flights from taking off Friday morning. I was supposed to be on a flight Friday to Munich! URGH! And so Steve called me with the news and we met at the train station to see if we could get train tickets, but they were like 300$ round trip, which is OUTRAGEOUS! So I was pretty much not paying for it under any circumstances. So, I am in Berlin this weekend, which isn't a bummer, because I love Berlin, but is a bummer, because I've never been to Munich and this is another time I won't be able to go.

In good news, I am officially an intern for a Senator in D.C. this summer. Kind of a big deal, right? I love when things work out for me, probably because it is a legitimately rare occurance. See Munich example. And as my trip is winding down I am starting to get a little panicky about having to leave Berlin. Not that I won't be absolutely thrilled to be home...it's just that Berlin is my place. It gets me. I get it. I love that it's kind of rough around the edges, and that there is an artists' squat in the middle of prime real estate that no offficial is making leave. I love that their are "renter's rights" that make it almost impossible for areas to be gentrified. I love that coffee is 1 Euro or less to go, (as opposed to Starbucks). I love that nothing ever closes and the S-Bahn runs all night. Ah Berlin. I feel like I'll be wierdly in appropriate for life in the U.S. Like I will have forgotten how to adjust. And the first time I'm at a party, and someone offers me beer...and it's a BEAST and not a Flensburger, I might cry.

Berlin has taught me a lot about myself. First of all, I can handle a lot. I am strong. I know that sounds like a creepy affirmation to be chanted at some sort of wierd camp, but it has proven to be true. People can throw a lot at me and I still come through, maybe not smelling like a rose, maybe not as gracefully as an Audrey Hepburn or Julia Roberts, but I come through. Secondly, I realized I bring the party. Seriously, I MAKE fun happen. I'm that girl that goes into a club with three people and starts dancing, but not only dancing, buying everyone shots and teaching them line dances. I am THAT girl. And I'm proud to be that girl. Some people are so annoyingly unhappy. People on the trip have complained about everything from A to Z, and it's like "you know what, you're in Berlin (Paris, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Edinburgh) get over it!" Like on our Russia trip, "If I have to look at another castle I'm going to f--ing die." Really? REALLY!? There are some people who never even get to see the fake castle at Disney Land and you're complaining about too many?! So because I never want to sound like THAT person, I am thankful for every opportunity I get. And studying in Berlin an entire semester, wow, that's an opportunity, right?

I have done some less serious reflections and I have a "Berlin by the Numbers" which will crack everyone but I'm sure. It quantifies my ridiculous experiences, which have been vast. I mean, VAAAAAST. Thinks happen to me that don't happen to anyone else in the U.S....imagine this in Deutschland, it is OBSCENE.