A little bit of politics...

Berlin being the capital of Germany, you can't avoid seeing the politics of the town - from the gleaming new government office buildings to motorcades rolling through the streets. The FUBEST program wouldn't let us get away with being in Berlin and not getting more intimate with the political side of the city. So this week, not only did we have a planned excursion to Bundeskanzleramt (like the White House), but we also took a class field trip to the Auswaertiges Amt (Foreign Ministry).


[The Bundeskanzleramt]

On Tuesday, we took a field trip to the Bundeskanzleramt, where the Chancellor, currently Angela Merkel, has her offices and staff. After going through airport-equivalent security, we met with out tour guide, who was going to give us a guided tour of the building. He not only gave us information about the functions that go on inside the building, but also the architecture and it's relevance to Germany.


[Giving my press talk...]

Honestly, it was a pretty dry tour, but it did have some good moments. Especially interesting was all the modern art that was in the building (which reminded me of all the art that they have in the Reichstag, which is basically representative of the fact that the Germany government supports art), and the presents that have been given to Chancellors from other Heads of State.


[One of the murals]

The best gift was probably the one from our very own George W. Bush. Our guide explained to us that all the gifts that are given in "official" situations to a German Chancellor become property of the German people and simply go on display in the Bundeskanzleramt. I don't think Georgie got the message. Here is what he gave his pal Angie:


[From George, with love]

What is that, you might ask. Well, it's his own home-made box set of musical DVDs and CDs. I guess I don't really know if George and Angela had bonded over that at some point, but even if they had, Angie can't watch the movies or listen to the CDs - they just have to sit in the case for silly tourists to take pictures of.


[Me on the balcony of the Bundeskanzleramt, looking over other government offices, the TV Tower, and the Reichstag]

On Thursday, instead of having German class, my class and the Advanced kids went to the Foreign Ministry, to get a better idea of what their role in German politics is.

First, we got to watch a video about the Ministry, which showed a couple of examples of what they do. This included how the ministers work with the EU, how they use cultural events (like performances by the Berlin Symphony) to make connections with other nations, and how their office in Cairo (as an example) helps Germans living and visiting there.

Then our guide, who couldn't have been more than 25, gave us a short Power Point Presentation and gave specifics of what each division of the ministry worked with. During this part, we had the opportunity to ask questions of their work. One thing that I was surprised by was that there is a section of the ministry that deals with foreign affairs planning for the 20-30 years in the future. First of all, it was amazing to be to think about foreign affairs plans 20 years in the future, when everything in Washington can change in 4, but moreover, how do they have any idea what will be important in 20 years? Although I asked how they determine what will be a focus in 20 years, I didn't really get a good answer. He basically explained that things of national and international interest will most likely be the most important...

All-in-all, it was more informative than the Bundeskanzleramt, and more exciting - but only because they gave us free coffee, pens, a writing pad, and a tote bag.