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Published: January 17th 2012
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My workplace isn't perfect. Whose is?! But, I have decent colleagues and students in a nice town with a good amount of vacation days, health insurance, the whole shebang! One extra perk of my line of work, in my current franchise, are the training workshops! Most people complain, or even dread, training for work but I've been on to courses since my arrival and I loved them!
This particular entry takes place in Berlin for my second training weekend. You mean to say, you're sending me to Berlin for the weekend? And you're going to pay for my train and hotel? Uh, yes, please!!
The first training session was held in Fulda, a very small city about 5 and a half hours from Kiel. A nice city, to be sure. Very pretty, old neighborhoods and buildings. And Lord knows I'm a sucker for old buildings! It was an enjoyable training course. I met a great group of teachers who work all around Germany, and I learned a great deal from them. Of course, I was more than eager to spend another weekend away. And in Berlin! Woo hoo!
I caught an early train with one of my colleagues
who was also participating in the workshop. We watched the sun come up over dew covered fields as we traveled through German countryside. In a few short hours, we made it to Berlin just in time for the workshop. Unfortunately, it took us a little while to figure out which U-Bahn to take and arrived a bit late. Only to find we were the first ones there. :-)
Everyone in the group was fantastic. A smaller group from the last time, and so different. I learned so much from all of them in a such a short time. They had such wonderful ideas, and we were all able to share our experiences, ask for opinions or advice and practice techniques with each other. I laughed so much that weekend it began to hurt by the end! I ended up being a kind of class representative somehow, elected to present the class' feedback to our trainer, to pass around the contact list, etc. Have to say, felt pretty good! It was also nice to the be youngest one there! Oh, the small achievements of life. :-)
Another bonus was my boyfriend meeting me in the city. The two-day workshop
was on Friday-Saturday. I got my employer to book my return train on Sunday so I could spend the extra day in Berlin. My boyfriend lived in Berlin for a bit over a year and was happy to go back for a weekend to catch up with some old friends. He also got us a pull-out bed to sleep on at a friends' place. Well done, Schatz!
So at night the two of us explored Alexanderplatz and Jannowitzbrucke. The Christmas markets were on, as it was the last week of November. Needless to say I wanted to take my time strolling through these adorable and wonderfully smelling booths with my man. Oh, how romantic, right?!
He then took me to a place called C-base, which I can only describe as Nerdvana (thank you, Big Bang Theory, for that term). The place is covered, and somehow decorated, in computer and other electronic equipment. Star Trek memorabilia, space suits, aliens, lazer guns, everything you could possibly think of! It was a maze that made me think I was exploring a UFO or a space station of some kind. What was a bit incongruous was the recording studio for bands. Upstairs
there was a bar and big area with couches, tables and chairs, filled with young men (I saw three women altogether) watching a live Star Craft tournament that was being projected on the wall. I felt a little out of place, and this time not because of the language! But, to be honest, this was one of the most interesting places I've ever been! I was incredibly happy to have an insiders look at C-base (my boyfriend used to be a member, and so we were able to go into the "members only" areas ;-) ).
We spend most of Sunday together before my boyfriend made his way back to Kiel. I had a few hours to kill before my train left so I wandered from Alexanderplatz to Brandenburger Tor to the station. Stopped at a Christmas market, took my photos, asked for directions, fought the wind and made my train. On Monday I told my boss I would go to any other training sessions he could find for me. :-)
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