As an engineering student at Northwestern, it has been a while since I’ve had classes which required me to read primary sources and write essays or memorize vocabulary lists, so these past few weeks have certainly been a ride. I particularly have enjoyed the different type of critical, analytical thinking a history class requires and I’ve gained a finer appreciation for the humanities I can say. But not only has my coursework been my only shock in Berlin, as the city itself has been a significantly great experience. There are aspects of Berlin life and culture that are quite relatable to American life, but almost everything has a slight difference only an entire ocean’s distance can cause.
Berlin’s internationality has been the largest surprise to me by far. It’s been crazy to take a bus for 10 minutes sometimes and appearing as if I’m in a completely different nation when I get out. Of course, for someone like me who only started learning German while on German soil, the fact that so many speak English here also makes Berlin a city I can already feel more connected to in a foreign nation.
Such language wow
The tours and excursions from our history and culture class to museums and plays have been a pleasure because quite often they were a trip into the mysterious city of Berlin in addition to an artistic exposure that I’ve rarely seen lately.
It’s pretty wild to me that already so much time has passed, and it makes me feel like I have to step up my game in experiencing Berlin, because there seem to be never-ending interesting things to do in this global city in the center of Europe.