Guest Blogger: Shivneet Nag

Guest Blogger, Shivneet Nag, recounts his CIEE Berlin Language and Culture Session 1 experience, after being home for one week.

What’s up, readers? My name is Shivneet Nag but I go by Shiv as well. I’m 17 and I’m from Oak Ridge, North Carolina. I just want to tell you a little bit about my experiences in this program.

I chose to do this program because I wanted to improve my German speaking skills and was also encouraged by my dad and granddad because they both lived in Germany for a few years, speak the language, and always spoke highly of the country. I’ve taken two years of German in high school and I’m going into my third year starting in the fall; we learn a lot about German culture in class (along with the language, of course) but nothing beats being in the location in person. I didn’t really know what to expect out of this program when I applied, when I got in, when I committed, and even when I got to Berlin and was on the way to the CIEE institute. I had heard many great things about what we would be experiencing, but I had to see it for myself. From the moment I entered my classroom though, my expectations were smashed. On the first day of classes, I was captivated by the colorful desks, large TV, nice and new electronic learning equipment, etc. Not to mention the fact that my class was nice and small, so there was a lot more focus and time with the teacher. It means a lot more when you come from an extremely large public school. My teacher, Kat, was probably one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. She had a very likable personality and she was just a nice person overall. She was really patient with us and taught us with great depth and detail in every subject and I learned so much from that class. My German speaking skills improved to the next level because of that class and I feel prepared for the AP level class I’m taking next year. 

The food scene in Berlin was one of my favorites. I’m a person who enjoys new, good quality food (not too exotic though) and Berlin offers that and more. Let’s start off with Döner. It’s basically the Turkish version of a Greek gyro, but more flavorful and in my opinion, just better. I probably ate five in my first week, though I promise I chilled out after that. Currywurst was another great German specialty, sausage with ketchup and curry powder usually served with fries. I underestimated the Asian cuisine scene as well. I had some delicious Vietnamese and Japanese during my trip. My friends and I went to one of Berlin’s top 10 restaurants named “Schnitzelei”, which I highly recommend for quality, well made German food. I don’t recommend falafel though, I got food poisoning from it but in the end, it was worth it! Now you’re probably wondering how much weight I gained from all the food I tried but that leads me to my next point. The lifestyle in Germany is so healthy. Between not eating junk food, healthy meals, running and working out daily to train for cross country, I ended up losing weight on vacation which is a surprise, but a welcome one for sure.

My number one highlight of the whole trip was the people who were in the program with me. I could go to any single person and have a decent conversation for a few minutes because everyone was approachable and friendly. We all shared a common liking of German and the language and that fueled plenty of friendships. The people in this program helped me feel more confident in myself as well. It was so cool to step out of my one-dimensional community and meet people my age from across America and get a bit of knowledge on American subcultures. Everyone in my program thought outside of themselves and were all truly solid people with great personalities.

CIEE gave me the opportunity and allowed me to be free in a big city and explore it all, wherever, until 10pm curfew of course. All our cultural activities were enriching and engaging. I’m not a person who enjoys going to museums for 3 hours but the types of activities CIEE planned for us were perfect. I have no bad memories from this trip (except getting food poisoning in the last week) and I believe my decision to go on this trip was a very good one. I’m thankful for my parents allowing me to go on this trip and funding my trip as well. I’m also grateful to CIEE for designing this program for high school students. As colleges may put it, this was a “capstone experience” (colleges love complicated lingo), but for me, it was simply an unforgettable experience. If you’ve reached this point, I commend you for withstanding my long-winded recollection of my trip. Thank you for letting me share my experience with you and I hope you enjoyed my not so short story. Keep traveling! Bis bald!

Thank you, Shiv, for your reflection. I hope this will inspire more high school students to look into all the amazing programs and opportunities through CIEE.

Danke und bis bald!