Farewell boat trip down the Spree River with German class

Author: Caden Williamson | Majors: Computer Science, German | Semester: Summer 2023

This Summer, I spent an entire month immersed in the German culture, studying in the most historically rich city that I have ever had the privilege of visiting: Berlin, Germany. I had wanted to visit Germany since before high school, so this opportunity was extremely exciting for me. Now a German major, I also stood to gain a great deal of valuable language practice, as I was surrounded by German speakers and had to use my skills to navigate day-to-day life.

I took two courses through Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, a historic university located in the heart of Berlin just down the street from the Brandenburg Gate, as a part of the HUWISU summer program. These courses were Global Cities as Centers of Knowledge Production and Intermediate German. In Global Cities as Centers of Knowledge Production, we learned about how knowledge is created and spread from major cities, and how major cities present their cultures in order to further grow. We took a couple of class excursions throughout the course, including a visit to a local Gymnasium (the German equivalent of a high school) where we learned about the differences between the higher education pathways of Germany and the United States.

My intermediate German course was very constructive and was a great opportunity for asking questions. Each day after class, I could practice that day’s material and return for the next class with relevant questions. Being immersed in the German language has been the most effective learning experience so far and has given me a lot of confidence in my speaking skills. My instructors were great, and the course projects encouraged students to explore Berlin.

I plan to return to Germany in my fourth year as a part of the International Engineering Program. In my second semester when I return, I will intern with an engineering company in a German-speaking country. Having now visited Berlin, I plan to apply for my internship with a Berlin-based music technology company.

During my month abroad I also visited Prague, Czechia and Warsaw, Poland on my free weekends. Both cities were stunning, but I think I enjoyed Warsaw a bit more. In Prague, I hiked to the Prague Castle across the Charles Bridge and later attended a medieval dinner in the Old Town. The following weekend when we arrived in Warsaw, we were met by a tour guide, who took us on a tour of some major historic sites of the city like the homes of Marie Curie and Frederik Chopin, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which was erected after World War One. We spent the rest of the weekend hanging around downtown Warsaw, eating pierogi and döner kebap.

After my weekend in Warsaw, we took a train back to Berlin and finished our last week of classes. The program concluded with a farewell dinner at a biergarten near Mauerpark, where all the students and faculty from the HUWISU program met one last time to reminisce about the past month.

If you are a German major or have any desire to visit Germany, I would highly recommend this program. Berlin is by far the coolest place I have visited, and the immersion was invaluable for my German education. It’s important to know that culture shock comes in waves. After an initial “honeymoon phase” of overwhelming excitement, you will start to be met with small challenges that force you to adapt to your new environment. You may find difficulties with things like using kitchen appliances, not having access to air conditioning, navigating public transportation, etc. Although these things may be agitating, if you meet each challenge as an opportunity to learn, you’ll begin to enjoy the unfamiliarity of wherever you visit.