The main language is German, but a lot of people speak English since Berlin is a major international city. This has made it hard to practice my German because a lot of the locals can easily detect my accent and switch to English. The English language actually originated in West Germany about 15 centuries ago, but now the two languages sound and look vastly different.
The euro (€) is used in Germany and across the European Union, which includes 27 other European countries. The notes include denominations of five, ten, 20, 50, 100 and 200. The coins include denominations of one, two, five, ten , 20 and 50 euro cents, as well as one and two euro coins. My wallet is a little heavier now because this currency uses more coin money.
€1 is nearly equal to one $1, which makes it easy to judge how much things cost. Berlin is different than other major cities, though, because it's primarily a cash society, meaning there are a lot of places that don't accept credit or debit cards. This is a lot different than what I'm used to back in the United States, but it has also helped me become more familiar with the language and interactions involving money.
