I attended a program in Berlin. This program was in the area that was once known as East Germany. This was historically interesting because the line for the old Berlin Wall was just outside my apartment. Furthermore, the well-known Checkpoint Charlie was just a few blocks away. While staying in this part of Germany, I felt like I was walking around a live history book- seeing the places that I had only read about.

When I first arrived, I spent a day exploring a part of rural Germany where my family had lived before immigrating to the US. This was fascinating. However, I found that leaving the city meant leaving access to people who spoke English. Thus, I learned to communicate in an area where I was the linguistic minority by smiling, pointing, and learning a few key words in German. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked. This gave me an opportunity to consider what it must be like for those who come to America without
fluency in English.

I really learned to appreciate the transportation in Europe. Germany and the surrounding countries have extensive train systems that allow me to travel from country to country on my weekends. The trains are safe, affordable, clean, and sometimes have sleeping quarters and robust Wi-Fi. This meant that my time out exploring Berlin was utilized well as I saw the European countryside out of my window.

Affording the program to study overseas was my biggest barrier to going to Germany for the month. I appreciated the information and financial support that I was given through various agencies at MSU. I learned what my options were for accessing student loans and how to minimize the amount of loans that I needed because of generous donors in multiple scholarship programs. I come from a family that would not have been able to send me if I had not had those support.

Name: David Hitts
Status: Senior
Major: Biomedical Laboratory Science
Hometown: Charlevoix, Michigan
Program: History of Medicine: Eugenics in Germany