Happy New Year!

   Every New Year's Eve, I watch the ball drop in NYC on TV. I have been to a few parties over the years, but never in my life have I experienced New Year's like we did in Berlin. It was as if the entire city, and an additional million tourists/students, showed up to ring in the new year. I'm told there were about 2 million people celebrating with us at the "festmile", an annual celebration that spreads out over a mile of street, terminating at the Brandenburg Gate. Along the way, there are a multitude of vendors, selling hats and New Year's paraphernalia, hot food, and of course, drinks. Music booms from small stages along the street, as well as from a tent where people are dancing excitedly.
   I was happily surprised to hear a significant amount of American music, and even more surprised to hear Germans joining in. The atmosphere was one of electric excitement, and it was a pretty young scene, although I did see a number of middle-aged and elderly couples who chose to brave the crowds.  
   The closer we moved down the festmile, the more crowded the street was. I would estimate we only made it the first third of a mile before we simply could not move forward any more. Holding hands was necessary to navigate the crowds, and as we snaked around clusters of people, we managed to have little conversations with other young people. In addition to Germans, we met a happy group of Australian girls and several Canadian boys, who seemed thrilled to have found some Americans with whom to talk. The boys were about our age, and Quebecois, so I was finally able to practice my French! :) A group of six from TAMU stayed together and spent time talking with these young men for the hour and a half before New Year's. I was so happy to learn about school in Quebec and discuss various cultural differences and commonalities between America and our Canadian neighbors.
   As the New Year drew closer, the performers at the Brandenburg Gate became increasingly animated. We could only see them on a giant screen, but we could hear the music loud and clear. Everyone began counting down, and soon there were cries of "Happy New Year!" and "Einen guten Rutsch!" It wasn't long before we began trying to make our way back down the festmile and toward the train station, but so were over a million others. We did our best to stay together, and thankfully we didn't lose anyone even for a second. After about fifteen minutes of just being squished by the crowds of excited people, we managed to exit the street and begin making our way more quickly toward the station.
   The streets of Berlin looked as though a bomb had gone off. There were firecrackers and little fireworks exploding near our feet, and broken glass lay everywhere. The smoke from the fireworks left the city in a foggy haze; it looked like we were facing another apocalypse. It seemed as though we were the most tired people around. While others continued cheering and partying, we hurried to find Alexanderplatz and our correct train. It felt like a miracle when we finally made it back to our hotel.
   Everyone was truly exhausted, but we agreed we had been part of an incredible night. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. If there's one thing I've learned, Berliners sure know how to throw a party!