Gonzaga in Berlin: Carnival of Cultures

This weekend hosted Karneval which is the Carnival of Cultures. Because of COVID this is the first time this has been hosted since 2019 so it was a big deal. The parade went right down the street of our host dorm and lasted for several hours long. Watching the parade really showed me how there is a place for everyone in Berlin. Some of the sections I saw were Korea, a roller skater group, hip hop, and Cancun. There were also many more sections that I didn’t get to see. Many of the parade watchers were dressed with lots of glitter and fun unique colorful outfits. It was really enjoyable to see so many people celebrating. Many of the shops near our location transformed for the parade by setting up decorations. There is this crepe and coffee shop next to our dorm that is transformed to sell alcohol to parade goers.

I ended up spending some time with this European family that I met at the parade. We walked down to the festival a few streets down from the parade and tried some dishes that I have not tried before. Such as African fried fish, puff puffs, and a tapioca crepe filled with guava for dessert. I talked a lot with this family and learned what it's like to live in Europe and to grow up here. One of the ladies was originally from Chicago so it was interesting to talk to her about the differences between living in the U.S. and moving to Europe. I really enjoyed the celebration of this carnival and feel lucky that it happened while we were here and that it was just outside of our host place. I also learned a lot talking to the European family and the cultural and daily life differences between Europe and America.