Walking down the bustling streets of Berlin in the midst of the June breeze was perhaps the most eye-opening experience of my life. My German-hungry mind, and my paternal relatives’ lack of English seemed like the perfect ingredients for an educational summer well spent. We would sit leisurely on the terrace of the cafés in the middle of Alexanderplatz talking about life while watching the millions of people vigorously rush by us. Seeing the bruises, the scars, and the remnants of a hurt city once divided by the Wall was truly mind-blowing to see.
Observing these bruised people and seeing how they do life was an awakening for me. Bits and pieces of the Wall that once divided still remain—however, not to divide but to unify. Staring at the remnants of the Wall, and seeing groups of people still weeping at the sight of it left me with a phenomenal impression of the power of love.
As William Shakespeare once said, “Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds”. That being said, the most cherished concept that I witnessed during my summer in Germany was the power of love, and what it can do when put to the test. The power and physical intimidation of the Berlin Wall really put this concept to the test: I read numerous articles about innocent people still loving and still being hopeful to see their families and friends from whom they were separated. At the end of the day, no matter how far away people were from those whom they loved, their love always triumphed and eventually helped bring down the barrier that separated them. Secondly and finally, I witnessed this idea by the love and adoration I received from my own family. I had not seen my German relatives since I was seven years old; the fact that all this time they never failed to love me really stuck out to me. The language barrier (which was not as big of an issue and it could have been) also helps prove my point: no matter how big the barrier—whether it is an ocean, a wall, a language, or even time—love will always prevail and find a way.
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1 Reply to “Deutschland–June 2011”
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This was seriously such a life-changing trip for me. I got to see a whole other way that people live life. It really opened my eyes and made me EVEN MORE eager to learn German and to adopt a more frugal lifestyle.