Back to SummaryLindsay Rand - Student Profile

…let alone lived in a foreign country. Not to mention that as a high school and college student I’d studied two foreign languages — neither of them German. Fortunately in the fall and winter the Stanford in Berlin program offers German 1Z, intensive beginning language for, well, beginners.

The courses offered looked interesting and I’d heard that the Stanford Center was awesome, but I truly made the choice to go to Berlin because it is a city on the rise and I was curious.

The experience of getting settled and figuring my way around a major European city (I’m from suburbs back home) was exhilarating and a little nerve-wracking. It took a while but I got used to the way of life, got accustomed to my U-Bahn (subway) commute to school, made friends with the local grocer who on more than one occasion saved me from making terrible food mistakes because I couldn’t read labels, practiced German with my host, and came to love the city of Berlin and the country of Germany. I’ve never learned so much academically (taking language and econ. classes in the actual country you’re studying is incredible!) or personally in my life.

I tend not to be terribly outgoing in foreign situations but I really wanted to embrace my experience abroad and make an effort to get to know local people (I played IM soccer with German Students at the local University — talk about language skills under pressure!) A friend from the Stanford in Berlin Program and I would go on Monday night after Econ class and play Fuβball (soccer) with about 40 German students. We even played in the snow! Participating in something like this really made me feel a part of the place I studied.

And the Stanford in Berlin Program was outstanding. I took a class that was essentially a survey of the amazing things Berlin has to offer. We looked at architecture, took walking tours of old areas of East and West Berlin, visited museums, saw the seat of the German government, and visited a palace outside the city. I also had the chance to travel with friends both new and old who were studying abroad with me in Berlin or in other countries and see several surrounding countries and much of Germany.

From my time in Berlin I learned a lot about myself and my own ability to adapt and explore. I truly got what I wanted — an amazing adventure. But by far the greatest thing that studying abroad taught me was to keep an open mind and not be afraid to try things. If you are considering going abroad — especially to a place that seems remote or foreign to you now, keep this in mind — nothing ventured nothing gained!