First Week in Berlin!

Here is a small clip of my first week!

https://vimeo.com/343979301

Guten Tag! Let me introduce myself as this is my first post for CIEE! My name is Brenda; I am originally from Los Angeles, California. Currently, I attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). My major is World Arts and Cultures, and I am planning to minor in Portuguese. I am super excited for this summer as I am studying abroad in Berlin, Germany, through a program UCLA offers in conjunction with CIEE. The study abroad program I am doing is an internship (for credit) in the city. The placement process was very personalized, as mentioned on the website for the Summer Global Program. For this summer, I got placed with a  start-up company, Craft Initiative Agency, whose work focuses on art, community, and event management.

Leaving Home

Leaving home, was bittersweet, I felt strong emotions as I moved out of my dorm the day of my flight to Europe. This left me feeling sad as I had to say my goodbyes to my closest people at school. However, I was excited to arrive about three weeks before the program started to travel with my mom. I had the best time visiting Europe as it was my mom's first time abroad and she loved it. My last stop with her was Berlin, which was nice to let her see the city that is now my home for the rest of the summer. As it was my first time in Berlin, I fell utterly in love with the city.

Arrival to CIEE

Orientation was slightly overwhelming as there was various information thrown at us since there were some housekeeping things we had to go over. Upon finishing the orientation, we headed out to our housing as we got placed in city apartments. The layout was slightly "weird" compared to American arrangements that I usually see. When you enter, it is my roommate's room, then the bathroom, kitchen, lastly the living room and my room (they are in the same room). Essential items are provided, such as utensils, bed sheets, towels, toilet paper, and furniture. My roommate and I get along very well, so I am super excited to live with her! Our night ended with a brief neighborhood tour and dinner with fellow CIEE interns. The internship cohort is not the most diverse, but the diversity that is here is very much appreciated and makes the transition a little bit easier as Berlin is a very international city.

Final remarks

Upon meeting my internship supervisor at Craft Initiative Agency, he is entirely the best person I could have asked to intern with abroad. His start-up has a vision that is headed somewhere as it works around the future of art, marketing, and branding. This has made me extremely excited about the coming weeks and projects I have been tasked to assist on. This week I am working at an open gallery for Glogauair, an artist in residence program alongside a music event being put up in the city. My hopes for this summer are to meet locals, explore the city, learn basic German phrases, sharpen my academic and professional skills. I hope to learn a lot within my internships about my interest relating to art and behind the scenes of events related to the field.

Danke schön (thanks a lot) for reading!