Jessica Moskowitz, CNN, New York

My RIAS Fall 2019 trip has been all about giving up assumptions about European politics and German society and being open minded to experience all that may be possible. I read ten books to prepare for this amazing opportunity but once I landed in Brussels I thought: time to dive in. And that I did, quite literally. I cold plunged into the freezing pool at the Stadtbad
Neukölln after participating in a nude sauna ceremony. Ditto (but with a bathing suit) on the last day of the season at the Badeschiff on the Spree. I ended up front and center singing Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic” at Bear Pit Karaoke on a Sunday at Mauer Park. It was a joy to share delicious alkoholfrei beer with my blind date Dirk Steinmetz in his home. His wife and adorable children showed me their plum and apple trees as he prepared an appetizer spread of Oktoberfest treats. I devoured a Mustafa Gemüse Kebap in the studio of Kani Alavi – and went back again a few days later for more of that amazing food. Of course there were many spirited intellectual conversations and lots of introspection as well. So thank you, thank you, thank you: over the past two weeks I leaned into this opportunity and I leave drenched in gratitude.