The study abroad adventure I chose was to Berlin, Germany. While spending a month in Berlin I learned an immense amount about the Cold War, WWII, the Holocaust, and their current culture. Attending many museums and interactive exhibits I learned more than I could have imagined I would before I left.
I gained a large sense of independence while abroad but, I did have a unique experience. I was in the hospital for the first week of my study abroad, so I got quite a difference experience than many other study abroad students. I was able to get through being in a foreign country, being extremely sick, and being away from everyone I know and love and I was rather proud of myself at the end of it all. I learned that I can handle whatever life throws at me and still make the best of the situation because I had a blast after I felt better and for the remainder of the trip.
My view of the world has greatly changed and because of this trip I feel as if I am more adventurous. By the end of the trip I was impressed with how well myself and the group adjusted to the German culture. I realized that other cultures have some things better than we do and some things worse but it was fun to be apart of another culture for an entire month and fully submerge myself. I did come to find a greater appreciation for the things we have in America like free water, free public restrooms, and people who enjoy being polite to strangers, that are not found so commonly in Germany.
I realized how universal English is as a language and honestly felt somewhat ignorant not being able to speak any other languages. I have respect for all those people in these professions that have to know English because of the variety of clientele they interact with on a daily basis. I saw one interaction between a German salesman and an Italian man where they switched to English to be able to communicate with each other. I found this amazing and really helpful to my adjustment into the culture with everyone being able to communicate or at least enough to get by with me.
We used public transportation (and walking) to get most places while in Berlin. When I say I’m impressed for our navigation skills, this is because it was something that was really hard to grasp at the beginning because it was something we were not used to. We were able to get most places without getting lost, of course with the help of our phones, but nonetheless we had gotten down most of the travel patterns by the time it was time to leave.
One thing that was a struggle and very frustrating being an American was having to pay for water and the restroom. Every restaurant you go to did not have water for free, it was sold in a glass bottle. I was extremely impressed with their recycling habits and environmental friendliness though. They would recycle all their bottles and they get money back for recycling plastic bottles at the grocery store. This made me want to be more economically friendly and watch what I do more closely.
This transformation has made me more open to accepting people for who they are and all the baggage they carry. Everybody has their own load they carry everyday and being able to accept people and help them will benefit me in my future career. I am studying to be a PA so I will be interacting with all sorts of people and being able to not pass judgement and just help their injuries for what they are will be beneficial. The language skills I learned while abroad will also be helpful when trying to communicate with any patients that speak German. Being able to provide some basic communication before an interpreter arrives will be better than none if it is an emergency situation. This trip as a whole has made me a better, well-rounded person who feels more confident and independent than ever.
