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Study Abroad and Domestic Study Away

Notes from Abroad: Michelle in Germany

Michelle in Cologne with the Lucky Bronze Statues Michelle in Cologne with the Lucky Bronze Statues
December 08, 2024
Michelle Silva '25

Michelle Silva '25, an International Relations and Latin American and Latinx Studies double major, studied abroad at Freie Universität Berlin

My experience studying abroad has been fantastic thus far. I have spent my past two months here getting to know the city and all of its beauty. During the time I have spent here, I have learned about German culture and toured some very interesting museums. Two of my favorite museums have been C/O Berlin and the Neue National Gallery. The C/O museum is one that showcases photographs of the city of Berlin throughout history. It shows what life looked like for many people during WWI and WW2, as well as more recent years. I also enjoyed the New National Gallery because it had a lot of contemporary art, showing many of the different styles that have become popular. I saw some films which showed women’s bodies in several forms through fashion and modeling, which was entertaining to watch. The museums in Berlin have been fantastic thus far, and I will be visiting many more during my last month here.

Another wonderful experience that I had was my trip to Cologne, Germany, and Utrecht, Netherlands. We took this trip together as a class from the FU-BEST Program and it was so much fun. We got to tour a couple of different places that are popular within the city of Utrecht and we got to take a look at the canals which were used for irrigation centuries prior. I took many wonderful pictures of the scenery and I will even be submitting a few to the photograph competition in the FU-BEST Program. In Cologne, we walked around the city together and looked at the Cologne Cathedral which has become massively popular, as well as the Dom Tower. The trip has been wonderful in learning about different cultures and their unique qualities.

Overall, this trip has been a wonderful experience and one that I will cherish forever. I am immensely grateful for the Speros Fund and the Suzanne T. Hotchkiss Foreign Travel grant that were awarded to me and have given me the opportunity to study in Germany. If I had the opportunity to experience the trip over again, I definitely would.

Krankenhaus Bethanien Berlin