From Berlin

Hey Everyone,
I do not have much time to write, but want to let you all know that I am healthy and doing well. I continue to be amazed at this trip and all that I am learning. It is truly a priceless experience. Classes have been amazing, and even studying for the midterm I had yesterday was good. Not really fun because of the pressure to perform well, but the material is fascinating.
Berlin has been amazing. One daz I took the S train (faster than the Underground and mostly above ground) all the way from heart of East Berlin to into the woods outside of West Berlin. The line of economic development between East and West is still apparent, and that land is beautiful. I got out at a random stop by a forest and walked through a tunnel of brightly colored leaves falling in the wind up a hill to a large lake. It was just beautiful, and really made me miss the prominent change of seasons that I have not really seen since Nebraska.
I continue to have a great time with this group. A few people I would not have imagined becoming good friends with have become great companions, and it is an amazing blessing to have Becca alongside me as well. It would have been incredibly hard if just one of us went on this trip, because the experiences are impossible to convey and share with someone who did not actually experience it themselves. I am anxious to share stories and experiences with all of you, but it will also be great to have Becca and other Europe semester friends around to really remember the trip together. Hopefully my words and pictures (I updated the captions finally on those that are online) will be able to communicate mz experiences as much as possible.
Well this internet cafe is closing, but maybe I will get more time to write later. Tomorrow is a free day, but we have another Mid-Term Monday and there are several sites in Berlin I am still hoping to hit, so we will see.
Missing you all,
Joe