Berlin! Come Back to Me: Seven Things I Miss About Meine Lieblingsstadt

1)   The Bahn.  I took a flight from Berlin direct to Boston and when I hopped on the T, Boston’s subway system, I was already missing Berlin.  If you’ve ever ridden on the T then you probably know that ‘hopped on’ is actually never a verb associated with it.  You usually have a painfully long wait before another two-car subway comes screeching leisurely down the tracks.  Nine stops, forty five minutes and two homeless men later I had arrived back home.  This is a far cry from the humming efficiency and cleanliness of Berlin’s public transportation system.  It gets you anywhere you need to go, and it gets you there fast. 

2)   The Parks.  Granted I studied abroad over one of Berlin’s longest and coldest winters recorded, but in the finals weeks I still got a taste of how enjoyable the public parks and gardens could be.  Aesthetically the parks themselves couldn’t hold a candle to others, like say, Paris’ parks, but that’s not why I miss them.  Take Gorlitzer Park located in Berlin’s Kreuzberg neighborhood for example.  It’s very Berlin—a mash of cement seating areas and steps amongst a fair, but not thick, stand of grass laden with cigarette butts.  However, I’m certain as a center of intrigue, Gorlitzer Park goes unmatched.  The locals scour the terrain, playing music of every kind, barbecuing, throwing Frisbees, picnicking, chatting, drinking and doing it all in that authentic, carefree, stylish way that only Berliners can do.  If you enjoy people watching, I can imagine no better place in the world. 

3)   Open Containers…  And why won’t I ever enjoy a park as much as I enjoyed those in Berlin? Open container laws.  Oh how nice it is to sprawl on the grass with friends, music and a cold, sixty-cent beer you just picked up from a kiosk down the street. 

4)    … And Open Airs.  Once the weather starts warming up in the spring, Berlin puts on free public concerts in the parks, open airs.  They are really just a mass of dancing, drinking Berliners surrounding a DJ booming his track into the dense of the night.  A club without the club. 

5)    German, and Germans.  I think you’ll find a lot of people who have the perception that the German language is harsh and unpleasant.  I believe quite the opposite is true; German can be fascinating to turn an ear toward.  I’m not sure what my love for German is founded on but I suspect it’s the German people themselves.  The way the Germans carry themselves, interact and function is entirely different from Americans.  Each one I imagine has a brain-chest of interesting ideas and stories if only you could break through their shell.  And you can’t, which makes them mysterious and all the more fascinating. 

6)    Late Nights, and Laaaate Nights.  If you end your weekend night at four in the morning here, you say to yourself, “Wow, what a late night.” And it is.  If you end your night at four in the morning in Berlin your friends might tell you, “Why are you going back so early?” Eight in the morning was the new four in Berlin.  And others had impossibly late nights that lasted into Sunday afternoon.  Berlin redefined the word nightlife for me, and nowhere in the States even comes close. 

7)    The Subtleties.  This was probably the one time in my life when I was not traveling, not visiting, but I was living in a different country.   And there were so many things everyday that brought me back to this fact—clocks attuned to military time, Mercedes taxi cabs, little or no tipping at restaurants, strict adherence to cross-walking signs, mayonnaise on french fries, getting a haircut and them leaving more hair on the top than you wanted (German style), supermarket cashiers who sit in a chair, different cereals, different currency, different toilets—all of the differences, good or bad, that reminded me everyday that I was in a new, exciting place and made me glad to be a part of it all. 

A brief debriefing

Boston College’s 2013 Commencement is over, and with that the 150^th class has been pushed out into the “real” world.  There’s no good way to make your exit, really.  Two thousand plus seniors just pack up and leave campus (on the same day as the graduation ceremony, no less), each one heading off in a different direction as though the past four years have been an extended summer camp. 

Before the beginning of the rest of our lives happens, I want to take this chance to pause and look back.  Elaina, a recent grad of BC, has been so kind to answer a few questions about her time at Boston College to get a little more perspective on these past four years.

What is one perception you had coming in on your first day of freshman orientation about Boston College or college in general that held true and one that was completely off base?

Elaina—I think that one perception that didn’t hold true for me was the feeling that I had that I wasn’t going to fit in at BC.  To say I was excited for Freshman Orientation would be an understatement.  I couldn’t wait to immerse myself in this new college culture.  However, when I entered the elevator on campus with my penguin shaped backpack and glow in the dark Converse, I was hard pressed not to ignore the judgmental glances the mothers in their Express outfits were throwing my way.  When I read that BC’s campus was a J Crew catalogue with a slight hangover, I thought that was an exaggeration.  I’d never even been in a J Crew before!  However, after four years at the school, I realized that there was more to the school and the student body then their brightly colored cardigans.  And I’ve still never been in a J Crew.

One stereotype that did hold true was the crazy college parties a la Animal House.  Long live the Mods.

You have one million dollars to donate to Boston College, how would you improve it?

Elaina—As a Studio Art Minor, I’d give it to the art department in a heartbeat.  The art students can only nourish their creativity and inspire awe on the change left over after supporting the football team and the bio department for so long.

What is the most important thing you learned while in college?

Elaina—During my time at BC, I definitely learned how to deal with different sorts of people.  From adjusting to living with complete strangers freshman year to realizing that living with your best friends senior year doesn’t always go as planned, BC puts you in situations where your people skills are really tested.

You’re eighty years old, and your two grandchildren who are about to enter college want to hear a story from your college years.  What do you tell them?

Elaina—I would tell them how I got to meet James Franco once while at school, but they probably wouldn’t even know who that was, which is depressing.  I’d probably end up telling them how I met all my roommates since the grankiddies would only be about 18 at the time and I wouldn’t want to give them any ideas.  I’ll have to think on that one over the next 50 plus years.

Give the incoming freshman a piece of advice that the OL’s aren’t going to be telling them.  

Elaina—I’ll tell you what I told the yearbook: the Comm Ave bus, while a convenience in trying weather, is not a necessity on a day-to-day basis.  Or rather, should I say a night-to-night basis.  Walk to the party on Foster Street.  Standing on a full capacity bus of intoxicated students is not a great way to start your night.  Especially not on Halloween, trust me.

What will you miss most?

Elaina—Without a doubt, having all of my friends a short walk away.  The people who have grown to be my family over these past four years are now all over the country.  It’s a necessary change with life, but I’ll definitely miss running across the hall to see the girls who crept their way into my heart as sisters.

Special thanks to Elaina Donofrio for setting this Q&A up with me, and good luck.