Category Archives: Where am I from?

Where am I from?

Not just another Book: Cold War Memories

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I have not posted in awhile.  I have been wrapped up with schooling, job hunting and preparing for my next adventure into Germany and Prague.  If you have been following me, you are well aware that I spent some time in Berlin and consider it a place very near and  dear to my heart.  I am approximately a week away from departing for Europe.  This trip is part solo and part group.  I will be flying into Munich, then taking the train to Prague for a few days  and then finally into Berlin for our reunion.  Mind you, this is not your typical high school reunion.  This one is pretty special.  I will meet classmates from several different classes and generations while we attend the 25th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

This is not a typical vacation. I do plan on sight seeing and enjoying the experience of visiting another country, however  I am preparing myself for not what is just a vacation for me, but a chance to reconnect with friends and make new friends.  Being a military brat is a unique experience where you moved from place to place, made new friends, changed schools, experienced different cultures.  I truly believe that living in Berlin during the Cold War was probably the best assignment as a brat that you could have.    One thing about myself and my classmates is that no matter what generation you were, how close you were in high school , we all share this unique connection that only those that lived in Berlin could understand.  The Cold War was something many of us remember.  It was the biggest threat of our generation at that time.  But to live in Berlin, a city in the middle of a Communist country surrounded by a wall, the Cold War had a whole new meaning.  I feel fortunate that I had such an opportunity to experience the life I did and it has made me who I am.  More importantly I feel blessed that I have friends all over the world that regardless how close we were in high school or even if we lived in Berlin at the same time, that we share that unique bond and experience that makes us family.

Recently,  two of my classmates gathered stories from Berlin Brats from various generations and put together a book that captures the essence of what life was like living in Berlin during the Cold War.  I just received my book today and look forward to reading and reminiscing about what life was like in Berlin at that time.   This is not just another book.  This is a glimpse of what mine and other lives were like living in a divided city during the Cold War in the sixties, seventies and eighties.  The book is by Yoshika Loftin Lowe and Trisha A. Lindsey.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of this book

https://www.createspace.com/4863523

Where am I from?

“Ich bin ein Berliner”.

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Hello fellow blogger or follower.  Welcome to my site. This is my first attempt at a blog and website.  At the moment you are reading this, this site is currently under construction as I continue to bring my thoughts,  ideas and memories together to share my passion and dreams about traveling the world as well as sharing some of the experiences I have had.

Growing up,  I was a “Military Brat”.  For those of you who are not familiar with the term “Military Brat”, it does not mean that I was a spoiled child with trouble listening to my parents.  In fact , quite the opposite.  “Military Brat” is a term of endearment given to children of Service Members.  The “Military Brat” lifestyle often consists of moving to various cities or countries and consequently having no real hometown.  Being the new kid at school is a feeling I became very familiar with.  The hardest question you can ask a brat would be “Where are you from?”.  Growing up my response might be where I was living at the time, maybe where I was born, or where my Grandparents lived although that was never my hometown. I once remember going with my Great Grandmother Wilson to Church and as she introduced me to people, one woman asked where I was from.  I shrugged my shoulders and answered  “I don’t know”. I remember feeling embarrassed as the congregation laughed at me.  At the time, it might be a funny answer from a shy girl, but the truth be told….where was I really from?

I was born in Fairbanks, Alaska.  My father was stationed there in the late 60’s and early 70’s.    I was born there, yes, however  I never saw a glacier, a polar bear or an igloo. I don’t remember the mounds of snow that would surround me for months other than through the slides of my childhood.  I have vary vague memories of living in Alaska since we moved when I was 3.  So, when asked if I am from Alaska, I think yes, I was born there but really, it was just the beginning of different places I would call home.

At the moment I live in Coconut Creek, Florida which is a suburb of the Fort Lauderdale/West Palm Beach area just south of Boca Raton. I moved to this area 26 years ago to go to college and have lived here ever since.  I do love Florida.  I love the warm weather and love being able to go to the beach. I love that I can wear flip flops all year long.  I love South Florida because there is so much culture and diversity. I guess you might say I am “from Florida”. I certainly have lived here my adult life.  I own a home here.  I had a job here.   There is an old saying that  goes “Home is where the heart is”.  When you really think about that statement there is a lot of truth to that. I do love Florida and would call it home but I am a Berliner at heart.  I found my love for traveling while living in Germany.

I consider myself from Berlin, Germany.  We moved to Berlin after living in Bad Aibling, West Germany. I went to high school in Berlin and only lived there just short  of four years.  Being that I do not really have a “hometown” per say, and have made my home in different places, I decided that Berlin is where I am from. Berlin is where I “grew up”.  It was where I have the most vivid memories of my life as a brat.  It is where I learned what growing up in the Cold War was like and where I first learned the difference between communism, freedom and  terrorism. It was where I lived my life in a place that most people only read about in history books or travel magazines.  Berlin is where I saw my first concert and  where I enjoyed my first beer. Berlin is where I had my first “Doner Kebab” and for years to come, I would crave that wonderful Turkish sandwich made famous at a food stand next to an U-bahn station.  Berlin is where I first fell in love and had my first heartbreak. It was where I gained my independence.  Berlin is where I really experienced and appreciated what living in a foreign country was like.  It was where I first began to travel and love being able to visit other countries and cultures and see how other people live.  Berlin is where I really truly began to embrace diversity and really value that people who may have come from different religions, cultures, backgrounds and beliefs could still share a common bond. On June 26, 1963 during a speech given in Berlin, John F. Kennedy made famous the statement “Ich bin ein Berliner”.  The truth is “Ich bin ein Berliner”.  I am a Berliner at heart and Berlin is where I found my passion for traveling. Berlin is my home.