Monday, January 14th was orientation day. The CIEE faculties had organized activities that would teach us cultures, people behavior, and how to get around Berlin.
I woke up around 7:00 AM. I was very exhausted having that I couldn't sleep the night before because of jet-lag. I don't remember getting ready for the day, but I remember falling asleep a couple of time throughout orientation. During orientation, we went on a tour of the institute and then a session on the cultural norms of Berlin. Through orientation, we were told to discover and get lost in Berlin! Robby, one of the faculty members, said, " get on the Ubhan and get lost, Berlin is the best place to get lost!" Let's just say that I had my fair share of that! I cannot count how many times I got lost in Berlin and how I somehow always found myself back to the CIEE institute.
Two hours later, we had a 30-minute break before we went out and learned about the neighborhood that would be our home for the next 12 weeks. Walking through the streets of Kreuzberg, smells of exotic cuisines, coffee, and vibrant personalities of people from all over the world welcomed you. There was a food place, coffee shops, shoe stores, and boutiques on every corner.
We started the tour by first stopping at grocery stores, then made our way to restaurants and parks. They showed us the "cheap." markest and the "expensive" markets. We then went to have lunch at a burger place that tasted nothing like anything I've had in the US.
After lunch, we walked back to the institute to conclude the orientation. I was so tired that all I remember is seeing myself waking up the next day.
