Our orientation came to a close last Thursday in Berlin, although my attention span dropped off about a week earlier.  Even so, it was totally fantastic.  I learned a lot from the speakers we listened to, but I learned even more from the 30 people I spent every day (and many evenings) with.

Spending time with 30 people from three different countries, you start to recognize that as a whole, we embody many of the strengths and weaknesses of our cultures.  For example (in my opinion), the Americans were most prone to: being under-dressed; asking a question in English at a seminar or lecture; and throwing parties.  The Russians were most prone to: making toasts; falling asleep during a presentation; and asking Germans questions about the Georgian crisis.  The Chinese were most prone to: cooking all of their meals, even in the hotel kitchenettes; always looking sharp; and asking questions about Germany’s critical media coverage of China.

Keep in mind these are sweeping generalizations, and there were many many exceptions. And that there was also lots of cross-cultural exchange, dialogue, and feelings of goodwill and friendship.  Not too bad for folks from three countries generally at odds (or should I say, two countries that are generally at odds with mine?).  I wonder sometimes if this exchange is one of the main reasons that our fellowship is offered.  So that we can exchange ideas here in Germany, in a somewhat “neutral” middle ground (which has its own crucial history with each one of our countries).

In any case, it is still pretty amazing to me, and I look forward to holding on to these lessons as I move forward with my fellowship in Hamburg — I started with my project today, and know that I have an exciting and challenging year ahead of me.  Much more on that later.  For now, you can take a look at all the pictures from our September orientation here.