Coming from a different background than most people in Cincinnati, I walked the streets of Berlin with a sensitive attitude towards the local social norms.
Walking from the CIEE institute to the Ubhan station is about one minute, within that one minute, you see people of all backgrounds.
Berlin surely surprised me; I went from being afraid of getting around or even fitting in, to feeling as though I was home. The busy streets walked by people from Turkey, Syria, Ethiopia, and more. What caught my attention was the large population of Turks. There were at least six-plus restaurants ran by Turks; coffee shops, street foods and more.
Alongside the Turkish restaurants were Vietnamese restaurants as well as Indian Restaurants. These are some of the main foods that were all over the streets nearby my place.
One of the typical German cuisine I saw a lot is the Currywurst; Another street food. The Currywurst consists of German sausage and fries. I had the Currywurst once, and I loved it!
I had to discipline myself on how to get around, how to act when I am around Germans and especially how to communicate with those who didn't speak English. One of the main challenges for me was making sure I had enough food on Saturday for Sunday. Most shops close on Sundays, so you have to make sure you have almost everything you need for Sunday by Saturday. Because of this, I found myself eating street food more than I have done in my life. I grow up loving street food, but there isn't anything like that in Cincinnati, so it had been years since I had street food. Most street foods are of Turkish or Arabic background. I've probably eaten more Dürüm and Doner than most people living in Berlin!
As weeks went by, I got to learn of the socials norms of those around me and compared to one another. What I found out was that German people are somewhat cold; They are of a cold culture, and that was a shocking thing for me because I am a warm person. Two of my coworkers are from Costa Rica, and I seemed to have connected with them faster than my German coworkers, mainly because they are of a warm culture as well. I was also able to relate to my student faster than I expected! In the beginning, I suspected I'd have a hard time teaching people my age or slightly younger than me. After interacting with them, I realized that although our cultural backgrounds and languages were different, we were both of warm culture, which made it easier for both of us to connect.
I was able to learn something fundamental about Germans. People in Germany are very disciplined! They do everything with a sense of discipline; this is something I had to learn, and I believe it became an essential part of the person I am now.
From the streets to work, I encountered people of all background! What this taught me about Berlin was that Berlin is home not only to Germans but home to people of all races, religious believes as well as sex-orientation. Berlin became MY home!