Fulbright Conference 2005

Just got back from a week-long conference in Berlin for all Fulbrighters in Germany (and a few from nearby countries). It was rather interesting, since it was my first "official" conference and I wasn't sure quite what to be expecting. They put everyone up at the Park Inn Hotel, which is in Alexanderplatz right near the city center. Each day there were different sorts of events. We had research presentations, where people presented what they are currently working on. There were workshops, mostly about teaching and our experiences. There were also lots of lectures by administrators and officials in Berlin. My favorite lecture was by a man named Achim Meyer auf der Heyde, who heads up the German National Association for Student Affairs. He talked about the current state of university life and about a few of the current reform issues...i.e. it was right up my alley. Yay for continuing my thesis research! On top of all this, there were countless tours offered. Each had a different theme, so you could go on a 'highlights' tour one day and then a 'red' Berlin tour the next. Several of the nights also had scheduled events, including a Music Gala with the music grant recipients and a party out at a big brewery on our last night. On Tuesday night, I also went and saw the Three Penny Opera (Dreigroschenoper) at the Maxim Gorki Theater. It was an awesome production! Even though it was almost 3 hours long, I bareliy noticed the time passing. On my last day in Berlin, I saw an exhibition on the Stasi that focused on their growing influence, the extent of their efforts, and their decline.