The weather in Berlin is fickle, to say the least. Hot, humid and 85 degrees one day; cold, rainy and 48 degrees the next…it’s kind of like Boston, but worse!  Luckily we’ve been able capitalize on some of the beautiful days and do some inside exploration on the not so pretty ones. We live right next to Kollwitzplatz and have enjoyed many an afternoon or evening relaxing in the little park there. We’re also within walking distance from Mauer Park and Friedrichshein Park- both great places to spend an afternoon reading and lounging. We’re both really into the Game of Thrones books right now- Adrian’s on the last book- Dances with Dragons and I’m impatiently waiting for her to finish so I can get at it.

I have been very busy with work and school as well, not that that is anything too interesting to read about… This semester at HWR is very short, only about 4 months in total, far shorter than last semester. Unfortunately, my professors are forced to get the same amount of material out in a shorter time frame, so the weeks and months are pretty packed for me with coursework. I have an interesting slate of classes though, including Risk Management and International Asset Portfolios so I don’t mind. We have been assigned a lot of group work this semester, which can be annoying but also rewarding in its own way.

My internship has been busy as well. I am working at Global2015, a non-profit research organization quantifying the world’s most pressing humanitarian issues. Currently we are putting together a compendium of all the most relevant climate change statistics for the upcoming Rio2012 Summit in Brazil. Our deadline is approaching fast but the work is interesting. I also really enjoy my co-workers, whom are from all over the world, including Spain, the UK, the Ivory Coast, Kenya and of course Germany. I have also been able to put a fair amount of my skills from HWR to use, as I have been working hard on helping to resolve some of the statistical issues with our research.

Adrian and I have been working hard at settling in to our new place in Prenzlauer Berg as well which has proved at times challenging but also pretty fun, P-Berg is by far the most beautiful neighborhood in Berlin; I am now convinced. It really is nice to leave the apartment everyday and be surrounded by beautiful trees and architecture with nice looking people wandering around everywhere. But we are in an old building and noticed just the other day that a large portion of the wall is falling out, just below the window sill. Not good!

The months seem to go by so quickly and we both are really looking forward to our long trip back to the USA this summer, though I know I will miss Berlin while we are gone. Still, we can’t wait to see all our friends and family soon!