Day 1- Orientation

AMAZING - That is how I can best describe this trip so far! Monday was as exciting as ever. The group of 11 fellows met for the first time as a whole in a conference room of the Relexa Hotel. Our RIAS Hosts Rainer Hasters and Sandra Fettke immediately informed the group we have the 1,000th participant among us (so it is a pretty big deal).

We watched a brief 10 minute video on what the RIAS is all about. It stands for Radio in the American Sector. It was the 'Free Voice Of The Free World' and it was funded by the U.S. Information Agency. RIAS (Berlin Kommission) was functioned as a binational government organization; made possible with the interest of $10,000,000.00 Euros from Germany and $10,000,000.00 Euros from America. The Director of RIAS was an American.

We then finished up at the hotel and took the S-Bahn (public transportation system; somewhat similar to the way the NYC subway system functions) to the Dressler Restaurant in another part of Berlin. There are basically a bunch of different pockets of the city; each with its own center. I am staying near Potsdamer Platz or Potsdamer Square as we Americans would say!

It was there we met with Mr. Karsten D. Voigt. He was a very interesting individual who is the Coordinator of German-American Cooperation at the Federal Foreign Office. In a nutshell, he helps explain to his people why America makes some of the decisions it does. He talked about a whole plethora of issues, but what I found most interesting was the people of his country and their clear bias toward Senator Barack Obama for President of America. He described how they view him as a cross between JFK and Martin Luther King. Did you know there is a museum dedicated to the Kennedy Family here? Kennedy made a very popular visit here in the 60s I believe WBRE Photographer Cholly Hayes covered during his tenure in the military as a young man! The Germans apparently are looking for more security and cooperation throughout Europe and Germany with this new administration in America.

We had the opportunity to interview Karsten before we hopped on a coach bus for a guided tour of Berlin. What a fantastic time that was!

After the lunch meeting with Karsten Voigt we took a guided coach bus tour of the city. We got to see all the important landmarks like the Bundestag, The Chancellory (Angela Merkel is the first female Chancellor and the first from the Former East Germany), the Train Station, the Spree River, the Gedachtniskirche (in the former heart of West Berlin).

This old church monument is crumbling and funds for needed renovations are few and far between. Berlin is about 60 billion Euros in debt, but driving through the city you wouldn't have a clue. It is so new and clean and up and coming. I absolutely love it here and feel I fit right it (aside from the language barrier of course).

The day doesn't even end after the bus tour. Then at 6:30 that night we took a guided tour of the Bundestag. This is the German Parliament; basically equivalent to Congress in America. The tour guide was hysterical talking about all the people in the assembly hall who come to watch sesssion and basically fall asleep!

The Bundestag was created in 1949 - when Germany created the constitution. The Bundestag is the 'lower house' or the 'second house.' Together with the Bundesrat, the Bundestag forms the legislative branch of Germany's political system. Members of the Bundestag focus on assessing and amending the government's legislative program. They are well attended mostly when a major piece of legislation is up for debate. Members of the Bundestag are the only federal officials the public puts in office. They in turn elect the Chancellor and oversee the executive branch. The seats in the Bundestag are all purple in color because it is considered a neutral color. They also hold a lot of 'question hours.' According to statistics there have been more than 20,000 questions posed during the 1987-1990 term.

There are five different political parties in Germany including the biggest CDU; or the Christian Democratic Union. Chancellor Angela Merkel is part of the CDU. The other parties include the SPD (Social Party of Democrats), the FDP in the middle, the Greens and the Linke which some call 'The Communists.'

One of the biggest differences when comparing the United States Congress is that the members don't spend as much time serving they're constituents. Only half of the Bundestag deputies are elected to represent a certain geographic district, the other 50% are elected as party representatives. One thing I noticed here is how informed Germans are when it comes to American politics. I (and many others I believe know little to no information about German politics).

At the end of the tour we were taken to the roof of the Bundestag where we were given the opportunity to walk up the dome of the Bundestag and take photos. The view of the city was breathtaking and I thoroughly enjoyed it. What a long day, but it was worth it. I love Berlin!

Here are a few words that will come in handy throughout this trip:

1. guttentag or tschius - goodbye
2. danke - thanks
3. felin dunk - many thanks

jill konopka