Guest Blogger: Elise Spanglerloch

Guest Blogger, Elise Spanglerloch, shares what she has learned since coming to Berlin as part of the CIEE Berlin Language and Culture Program Session 1.

Coming to CIEE in Berlin, Germany was the best decision I’ve ever made! I’ve met so many people on this program that have helped me build my confidence in who I am and I have made new friends. Germany is the one place I’ve been wanting to go to for a least nine years now and CIEE has made this possible for me so I first want to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to come to Germany to learn the German language and the culture!

I absolutely love Berlin and all it has to offer! The music here is so unique, like nothing I’ve ever heard before - it makes me feel kind of jazzy. The art over here is absolutely astonishing. What I love the most is that graffiti art is accepted here but that is not the case back in the States. The fashion here is pretty cool but kind of strange, it gives me this modern funk/hipster vibe which I really like. Most importantly the food is the number one thing I look forward to every day here. The ice cream here makes America look bad in my opinion...it’s true! Also, 99% of the people here are actually pretty nice. At first, they have that typical mean German face on but once you actually go up and talk to them they’re actually pretty chill and fun people! I’m serious! If I had the option to come back I will take the chance to come back to Berlin and never leave.

My first expectation of Berlin, Germany was that the streets would be very dull, colorless, and not very appealing to the eye. This is coming from people I know that have been to Berlin, Germany. Dude, they were obviously blind when they went because it is absolutely beautiful over here. Berlin holds so much history and I love it! Visiting the Sachsenhausen concentration camp is one of the places I highly recommend if you plan on coming to Germany. I left that place with a heavy heart, it almost had me in tears but it’s a really good experience to have. The biggest thing I have learned since I’ve been here is that we shouldn’t identify someone to be a certain way because of their cultural background. If you keep an open mind you will be pretty surprised!

Thank you, Elise, for your perspective on the program!

And for those of you reading this,

Danke und bis bald!