A Food Comment Continued... and more

First, let me preface this post by saying that so far the food has been absolutely great. Really it has. Unfortunately, Robert and I stumbled upon an inexpensive Italian Restaurant tonight, and I felt it might be necessary to warn the rest of the class, and as Janet said, make it well known not to go there.

In a daze hunger, Robert and I missed some glaringly obvious red-flags, that I can now assume know no cultural borders:

1. A glaring orange store front, similar to a Pawn shop

2. 50% off signs, not too different from a liquidation sale sign one might see in the states

3. An empty dinning room, with a waiter all too eager to seat us

The three cheese pasta, that tasted strangely close to cheez-it's still isn't sitting well with me. So, if anyone happens to stroll down Torstrasse and sees Restaurant Patagonia (trust me its hard to miss) AVOID at all costs.

On more of a serious note, though, the last couple days have been pretty amazing. The tour of Potsdam and the tour of Berlin were great. I learned more about European history, than I ever did from my 12 years in American schools. Our guide for the Potsdam tour was extremely knowledgeable, and was a very interesting person. Our guide for the Berlin tour was great as well, and detailed some very important buildings and areas in Berlin, that I would have never known about. The art and architecture here is amazing, and it's great to hear how much thought and discussion it provokes. The architecture in the Jewish museum was striking, and definitely some of the most impressive I've seen. I have been taking a lot of good pictures.

I had my first tutoring session, and it was very interesting. I had expected these kids to be extremely different from American kids their age, but after meeting them and taking part in this tutoring session, I'm learning that aside from their situations they aren't too different. One still sees a similar range of personalities. The boys, at least, seem to have that bit of mischievous spirit, which is all too familiar to me after working with kids of their age.

Anyway, I'll post another update soon. Until then, thanks to family, friends and and everyone who helped support this trip. It's been amazing and it's been something I'll surely never forget.