First of all... today was the first day after the CAHSEE. I hope you all did really well and I thought of you while you were taking the exam on both Tuesday and Wed. I can't wait to see your results and hope you are proud of all your effort! Great job!
Today was a busy day of meetings from 9-7 p.m. with a lot of walking mixed in. We met very official people today and the information included so many topics that it would be hard to list them all. Most of the discussions revolved around foreign policy and German-American relations, etc. Our first speaker discussed migration and immigration mainly focusing on how after WWII. Since Germany was so devastated bv the war and needed workers to rebuild its cities and infrastructure, they allowed immigration for people to work. However, they found out that workers continued to stay in the country and never left which created several different problems for the country. The effect mainly impacted education and health care. Education because of the migrant children struggle learning the language and succeeding in school. Health care is another impact. Germany is a welfare state which means it socializes health care all people are allowed to go to the doctor and the government pays for it-- regardless if you work or do not which can be very expensive. We have met politicians from all the political parties. Different politicians gave us their party's solution to these very complex issues, but the explanation will take a long time, so let's wait till I get back. The last topics included local and federal government and international relations. This is then when we went to the government offices in downtown Berlin. We met the federal foreign Officer who explained to us about foreign relationships with America and other countries (also very complicated which we will save till later). Then we visited a vocational school. The culinary program made us a delicious lunch and we heard about the program and saw a variety of classes. The vocational training included florists, hairdressers, seamstresses, plumbers, electricians, and machinists. From there was the high light! We went to the Federal Chancellery which is the equivalent to the White House and spoke to the National Defense Secretary. He also shared many topics regarding foreign relations. Then we met two other parliament members in a building that is similar to the House of Reps. What a day of meeting very official people.
Today was a busy day of meetings from 9-7 p.m. with a lot of walking mixed in. We met very official people today and the information included so many topics that it would be hard to list them all. Most of the discussions revolved around foreign policy and German-American relations, etc. Our first speaker discussed migration and immigration mainly focusing on how after WWII. Since Germany was so devastated bv the war and needed workers to rebuild its cities and infrastructure, they allowed immigration for people to work. However, they found out that workers continued to stay in the country and never left which created several different problems for the country. The effect mainly impacted education and health care. Education because of the migrant children struggle learning the language and succeeding in school. Health care is another impact. Germany is a welfare state which means it socializes health care all people are allowed to go to the doctor and the government pays for it-- regardless if you work or do not which can be very expensive. We have met politicians from all the political parties. Different politicians gave us their party's solution to these very complex issues, but the explanation will take a long time, so let's wait till I get back. The last topics included local and federal government and international relations. This is then when we went to the government offices in downtown Berlin. We met the federal foreign Officer who explained to us about foreign relationships with America and other countries (also very complicated which we will save till later). Then we visited a vocational school. The culinary program made us a delicious lunch and we heard about the program and saw a variety of classes. The vocational training included florists, hairdressers, seamstresses, plumbers, electricians, and machinists. From there was the high light! We went to the Federal Chancellery which is the equivalent to the White House and spoke to the National Defense Secretary. He also shared many topics regarding foreign relations. Then we met two other parliament members in a building that is similar to the House of Reps. What a day of meeting very official people.
On our way to the last meeting, we saw stopped to see one of the only remaining parts of the Berlin Wall that is still standing. Remember that the Berlin Wall was was created to divide the capitalists "west" and the socialists "east." The capitalist were free to travel anywhere they wanted, but East Germany was restricted and controlled by the German Democratic Party(GDP) (not really democratic) who was one of the Soviet Union's satellite nations. The GDP accepted money from the Warsaw Pact, the communist economic stimulus plan. When many people wanted to leave and go to the west, the party built the wall to keep them in. As we traveled closer to the government buildings, the wall is still seen, but only by a small row of cobble stones that are on the side walk to remind everyone that Germany is no longer divided but is united as one again. As we continued to walk around the city, we saw that line of 
cobblestone everywhere. It is really moving to think that where we are walking was not safe for some people during the Cold War. We had dinner in the part of town that was once only known for having the wall and being destroyed during the WWII bombings, but is now the modern urban center of Berlin. The buildings are a combination of old and new and really blend new global ideas and themes, but the cobble stones are still there reminding Berliners and visitors how much progress has been 
made.
cobblestone everywhere. It is really moving to think that where we are walking was not safe for some people during the Cold War. We had dinner in the part of town that was once only known for having the wall and being destroyed during the WWII bombings, but is now the modern urban center of Berlin. The buildings are a combination of old and new and really blend new global ideas and themes, but the cobble stones are still there reminding Berliners and visitors how much progress has been 
made.Friday: Today we woke up and went to the German Resistance Center which is housed at the Ministry of defense. This memorial is dedicated to show that there was a significant resistance movement to Hitler and the Nazi goals. There were more people involved than popular stories like Oscar Schindler. Like another speaker explained to us, there was anti-semitism, but when many individuals found out what was actually happening the anti-semitism stopped or slowed. Everyone knew that Jews were being deported and many did feel badly about this. However, many did not know details beyond this. Even when some heard about concentration camps by listening to the BBC, illegally, they couldn't believe that such a terrible thing could happen. I can see this... it is really hard to imagine that these types of crimes against humanity could happen. Yet, there were a significant group of people who led resistance movements like those who helped Jews hid, several coup attempts against Hitler, the White Rose group, and the Red Orchestra. I would suggest that you look up some of these groups to obtain more information on how they resisted. The movie Valkyrie is about the resistance and the attempt to end Hitler's control over Germany. Many parts of that story took place in this building. In the end, the purpose of this memorial is to acknowledge that a dark history did occur, but to look back and recognize that there were people who were committed to humanity and sought to help their neighbors (the Jews). This memorial is dedicated to honor those victims who were executed by the Nationalist Socialist Part for resisting Nazi goals. This memorial and others demonstrate that the Germans really have been transparent with thier history and use this dark period as a time to "always remember, so we don't repeat the past."
After this memorial we went to Microsoft Berlin to see how Microsoft and the goals of this business impact Germany and the rest of the world. Microsoft's goals are to invest in innovation and stay current in the rapidly changing global business world. The interesting part for teachers is that they, like other companies, are dedicated to supporting philinthropic endeavors. They support students in Germany and the rest of the world's in computer skills. They have several programs to support student learning. One important note though! Schools here do not have the same type of technology that we have. I feel really blessed because even computers are not seen in every classroom. READY... many parts of the country also do not have basic internet because 
the infrastrcture does not support them at this time. This is one of the issues parliment is working on... how can we get internet wiring or wireless to the places who are currently without access to the internet? This is a very difficult concept to understand. I'm used to getting on the internet whenever I want.
the infrastrcture does not support them at this time. This is one of the issues parliment is working on... how can we get internet wiring or wireless to the places who are currently without access to the internet? This is a very difficult concept to understand. I'm used to getting on the internet whenever I want. From there we went to the Newspaper where we learned how important print journalism is to the Germans. Since the internet is not fully supported for everyone, they still rely on the newspapers. We went to Axel Springer publisher who is the major publishing house for local and regional papers. Their best seller is Bild which sells 12 million copies per day. Yearbook students look at these pictures. We went into the journalists area. Look how many pictures they looked at when deciding which dominant photo to use. They lay out all the best photos to scrutinize and then decide which photo will be used as the dominant. Then you can see how the layouts are on the monitors for everyone to see the progress. Wouldn't that be great to have?? Currently 3/4 of Germans 
are still reading the newspaper, but many expect that the number will decrease as the internet becomes more available to more people in the future.
are still reading the newspaper, but many expect that the number will decrease as the internet becomes more available to more people in the future.
Now is a bit of free time before we have our special dinner with the group who sponsered this trip.
We just returned from our honorary dinner where all of us are now fellows of the Atlantik-Brucke foundation. It was a wonderful dinner with excellent political, social and global converstation. Also a time for reflection upon our time so far.
That's all for now. I hope everyone is keeping up with daily assignments and doing well. If you can think of questions, please ask them in the comments and I can work on finding the answers. I miss everyone family, students and friends.
We just returned from our honorary dinner where all of us are now fellows of the Atlantik-Brucke foundation. It was a wonderful dinner with excellent political, social and global converstation. Also a time for reflection upon our time so far.
That's all for now. I hope everyone is keeping up with daily assignments and doing well. If you can think of questions, please ask them in the comments and I can work on finding the answers. I miss everyone family, students and friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment