A quick history lesson: East and West Germany were two separate countries until 1990. The border between the two was a wall that ran the entire length of the nation. Both countries were established immediately following the end of the second World War after the defeat of Nazi Germany; the French, British, and Americans occupied the western sections while Soviet forces occupied eastern parts of the old Germany. The biggest difference between the two was their economic systems, a reflection of the countries they were occupied by. West Germany was capitalist. This meant people made business to sell things. You could buy whatever you wanted from whoever you wanted. Private businesses provided things like electricity, water, and heat. East Germany was socialist. This meant the government decided what stuff would be made and you bought your items and services from the government. This is pretty hard to imagine as nowadays socialist economic models like this are rare, but it was the way East Germans lived up until 30 years ago.
My week was spent in Jena, which is a small University town about 160 miles southwest of Berlin. I got the chance to stay with a family there, which was a great change of pace from dormitory life. My host parents Angelika and Jacob were extremely welcoming, while their two children Roberto and Indira were tons of fun to play with.
