Us, as students and freinds, couldn't have asked for a better ending to this life-changing program. Week 6 ended with a bang and there's plenty of reasons to back that statement up. A lot of it had to do with the city of Berlin, but most of it had to do with the strong relationships that all of us made with each other, with our TA's, and with our phenomenal encyclopedia of a professor.
Week 6 took place in the historical city of Berlin. Berlin is rich in German culture, but it's historical past on WWII and it's division with the Berlin Wall starting in 1961 made this one of the most interesting places to be. This was my favorite city in Germany because I learned so much about its history. We started off our journey in Berlin with a guided bus tour through the city. Our guide was insanely intelligent on every monument, building, or memorial throughout Berlin. We were shown Checkpoint Charlie, The Jewish Memorial, The Bebelplatz, Humboldt University, The Reichstag, and The Lustgarden. We were shown much more, and we were given in depth stories about why each building mattered and the crazy stories behind them. For instance, I learned about the controversial chemical used on the Jewish Memorial because of who the city of Berlin purchased it from (it was the same company that made zyklon B).
The second day in Berlin was "My Berlin Day," which was hands down one of my favorite days on this entire trip. On this day, we explored Berlin through the eyes of our wonderful guide Edgar Guzman Ruiz, an architect from Colombia who lived in Berlin for 5 years. He spoke 5 languages and worked on a model of Germania for 5 years. He taught us all about Germania, which is basically Hitler's planned renewal for Berlin after they won the War. We learned about the Berlin Wall by visiting the panorama, we learned about the Jewish Memorial by visiting the towers of stones located near the Brandenburg Gate, and we learned about all of the architecture of Berlin and the stories that architecture can tell. Overall, it was an amazing tour that changed my perspective on the significance of architecture and taught me the true history of Berlin. On this trip, I got a lot closer to the people in my group (Catherine, Madison, Savana, Andrea, lil' McKayla, and Carol). We enjoyed some sushi, and we got to dunk our feet into the river by the Reichstag. Dr. Guzman was insightful and curious about our ideas on government, communist lifestyles, and religion. I will post the link to the power point we created below to get a feel of what it was like on this day. Dr. Guzman is a remarkable friend that I hope can keep giving this tour to future AIB students. After our tour, we gave our power point presentations in a cool apartment. All of our presentations were phenomenal, but the group that worked with the bees had the best presentation by far. They made a video that was hilarious and amazing. Every group had a different experience, but all of us enjoyed our unique times with our extraordinary guides. Later that night, some of us enjoyed some Indian food at a Bombay restaurant. We had dinner with Alexa, and she was hilarious as always.
Day 3 started at 9 am, and we headed our way toward the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. This was a work camp located about 40 minutes outside of Berlin. The camp was established in 1936 by the Nazis during WWII, and it was primarily used for political prisoners. The camp was designed as an equilateral triangle to maximize the view of the SS guards in the center and surrounding towers. At the front of the gate was the "Arbeit Macht Frei" phrase which means "Work Makes You Free." The Nazis wanted the inmates to believe and themselves to believe that what they were doing was good, and that they did not act without morals. About 200,000 people went through this camp from 1936 to 1945, and thousands of Soviet soldiers, homosexuals, and Jews died here. It was primarily not an extermination camp, but they did a great amount of damage here.
Later that day, we enjoyed our final dinner at a Lebanese restaurant right next to the Alex hotel we were staying at. We had a delicious meal, the boys wore the Henning shirts, and to top it all off, we had a belly dancer perform. Over a few bottles of wine, all of us had a good time that night dancing with the belly dancer. All of us had stained purple mouths, specifically Bryan, but we all had a good dance and better laughs. After the dinner, we all put on our "hoe clothes" and went out. We stopped at a kiosk and headed out looking for a club. We wound up at a club where a private event was going on. I think the club was called Roadrunner. We all got free drinks and the music was fun. Alexa came out with us, and we all had an awesome time. Some of us may have had a few too many, but we all made it back alive. This couldn't have ended better.
All in all, this entire trip was the best experience of my entire life, and I wouldn't even be mad if I never experienced something greater or more memorable than this. At the end of the trip when I was packing my suitcase alone in my hotel room, it kind of all hit me. I realized that I'm never going to have another experience like this, I won't ever meet lifelong friends like I did, and I won't ever experience a culture like I did here in Germany. This entire trip was a learning experience that was built around enjoyment. It's crazy to think that it all started with an email and a recommendation from a friend to partake in this program. Coming on the History of Medicine program in Bonn, Germany was the best decision I have ever made in my entire life. Studying abroad in Germany with 28 other Aggies who I can now call friends made this experience unforgettable. I've traveled to other places around the world with freinds for short periods of time, but studying abroad is an entirely different experience that one can't just explain. I couldn't thank my parents or Dr. Wasser enough for letting me be a part of this program. I am going to cherish the memories forever.
P.S. if you haven't heard the new Ye album, ya'll should give that a listen.
Sincerely, Robert Saldana
PowerPoint of Berlin: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1SZwSuTF1VoXM432HIcTyAdI8sM8HY36dze-GjFdTyhY/edit?usp=sharing
Week 6 took place in the historical city of Berlin. Berlin is rich in German culture, but it's historical past on WWII and it's division with the Berlin Wall starting in 1961 made this one of the most interesting places to be. This was my favorite city in Germany because I learned so much about its history. We started off our journey in Berlin with a guided bus tour through the city. Our guide was insanely intelligent on every monument, building, or memorial throughout Berlin. We were shown Checkpoint Charlie, The Jewish Memorial, The Bebelplatz, Humboldt University, The Reichstag, and The Lustgarden. We were shown much more, and we were given in depth stories about why each building mattered and the crazy stories behind them. For instance, I learned about the controversial chemical used on the Jewish Memorial because of who the city of Berlin purchased it from (it was the same company that made zyklon B).
The second day in Berlin was "My Berlin Day," which was hands down one of my favorite days on this entire trip. On this day, we explored Berlin through the eyes of our wonderful guide Edgar Guzman Ruiz, an architect from Colombia who lived in Berlin for 5 years. He spoke 5 languages and worked on a model of Germania for 5 years. He taught us all about Germania, which is basically Hitler's planned renewal for Berlin after they won the War. We learned about the Berlin Wall by visiting the panorama, we learned about the Jewish Memorial by visiting the towers of stones located near the Brandenburg Gate, and we learned about all of the architecture of Berlin and the stories that architecture can tell. Overall, it was an amazing tour that changed my perspective on the significance of architecture and taught me the true history of Berlin. On this trip, I got a lot closer to the people in my group (Catherine, Madison, Savana, Andrea, lil' McKayla, and Carol). We enjoyed some sushi, and we got to dunk our feet into the river by the Reichstag. Dr. Guzman was insightful and curious about our ideas on government, communist lifestyles, and religion. I will post the link to the power point we created below to get a feel of what it was like on this day. Dr. Guzman is a remarkable friend that I hope can keep giving this tour to future AIB students. After our tour, we gave our power point presentations in a cool apartment. All of our presentations were phenomenal, but the group that worked with the bees had the best presentation by far. They made a video that was hilarious and amazing. Every group had a different experience, but all of us enjoyed our unique times with our extraordinary guides. Later that night, some of us enjoyed some Indian food at a Bombay restaurant. We had dinner with Alexa, and she was hilarious as always.
Day 3 started at 9 am, and we headed our way toward the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. This was a work camp located about 40 minutes outside of Berlin. The camp was established in 1936 by the Nazis during WWII, and it was primarily used for political prisoners. The camp was designed as an equilateral triangle to maximize the view of the SS guards in the center and surrounding towers. At the front of the gate was the "Arbeit Macht Frei" phrase which means "Work Makes You Free." The Nazis wanted the inmates to believe and themselves to believe that what they were doing was good, and that they did not act without morals. About 200,000 people went through this camp from 1936 to 1945, and thousands of Soviet soldiers, homosexuals, and Jews died here. It was primarily not an extermination camp, but they did a great amount of damage here.
Later that day, we enjoyed our final dinner at a Lebanese restaurant right next to the Alex hotel we were staying at. We had a delicious meal, the boys wore the Henning shirts, and to top it all off, we had a belly dancer perform. Over a few bottles of wine, all of us had a good time that night dancing with the belly dancer. All of us had stained purple mouths, specifically Bryan, but we all had a good dance and better laughs. After the dinner, we all put on our "hoe clothes" and went out. We stopped at a kiosk and headed out looking for a club. We wound up at a club where a private event was going on. I think the club was called Roadrunner. We all got free drinks and the music was fun. Alexa came out with us, and we all had an awesome time. Some of us may have had a few too many, but we all made it back alive. This couldn't have ended better.
All in all, this entire trip was the best experience of my entire life, and I wouldn't even be mad if I never experienced something greater or more memorable than this. At the end of the trip when I was packing my suitcase alone in my hotel room, it kind of all hit me. I realized that I'm never going to have another experience like this, I won't ever meet lifelong friends like I did, and I won't ever experience a culture like I did here in Germany. This entire trip was a learning experience that was built around enjoyment. It's crazy to think that it all started with an email and a recommendation from a friend to partake in this program. Coming on the History of Medicine program in Bonn, Germany was the best decision I have ever made in my entire life. Studying abroad in Germany with 28 other Aggies who I can now call friends made this experience unforgettable. I've traveled to other places around the world with freinds for short periods of time, but studying abroad is an entirely different experience that one can't just explain. I couldn't thank my parents or Dr. Wasser enough for letting me be a part of this program. I am going to cherish the memories forever.
P.S. if you haven't heard the new Ye album, ya'll should give that a listen.
Sincerely, Robert Saldana
PowerPoint of Berlin: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1SZwSuTF1VoXM432HIcTyAdI8sM8HY36dze-GjFdTyhY/edit?usp=sharing
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