Pre – departure:
I had already accepted that I was not elected when I got a cryptic email in the first week of my holiday. I had been nominated for one of the places in the Berlin Winter school programme. I had visited Germany before as an exchange student, but I have always dreamt of going to the capital. I have been told that it is nothing like the other German cities; it was a city bursting with culture and new possibilities. As I am interested in History and Politics, the yesteryears this city promised to reveal excited me. I chose a course in European City and Regional Development Planning. At home I study Political, Philosophical and Economic Sciences and thought this course would complement these subjects well whilst taking a new, anthropological approach.
As there was barely a month before the course started I had to get started on the technicalities right away. I found the Postgraduate & International Office very helpful in booking my flight tickets and making a visa appointment at the German Consulate. We were each granted R11 000 by the university as part of our travel bursary. The course started on the 6th of January, but I had decided to visit my German host family for a few days prior to the course’s kick-off. I had gotten a flight to Frankfurt on the 28th, one of the days people apparently do not prefer to fly as it was a little cheaper than the other days. I was to take to the train or bus from Frankfurt to Berlin and then fly from Berlin on the 25th of January. My visa application was nerve-wrecking. I was afraid that I might have forgotten one of the million documents we were supposed to present so I took all the documents that they could possibly ask for. I had to take new pictures as mine did not meet the requirements for some reason. The man in the photo shop assured me that the new ones are in precise German format. After that it was smooth sailing. My visa was delivered to my doorstep an astonishing three days later.
As my flight ticket, visa, course tuition, student apartment and transport pass was taken care of all that was left was spending money. I worked all December and to my mother’s great dismay only started packing a day before my departure. However, I finished all on time and with less than 30 kg in my suitcase to leave space for pretty little things to bring back home, I was on my way. I had an afternoon flight and arrived in Germany the next day at about 11 am. I was lucky to have my host family waiting to take me home as I was exhausted after the 20 hours it took to reach my destination.
Experience:
To say it was an amazing experience would be an understatement. I arrived on the 29th – my birthday. I spent about a week in the West of Germany visiting my host family. Thereafter I took a cheap bus, although surprisingly fancy, to Berlin. It took about nine hours. I arrived in the complete opposite side of Berlin. Although I speak relatively good German, I had no idea where I was. I asked for directions and received a map with instructions from the information desk. It took at least another 45 minutes to get to the subway station nearest to our apartments. Night arrives quite early in winter and so at four when I got to Sewanstraβe (a place that literally became my home), it was already dark. I met my flatmate and got comfortable.
The next morning we had a welcoming event where all the students met each other. It was amazing to meet people from all over the world with open minds ready for learning and having new experiences. There were people from Australia, China, Japan, USA, Brazil, Canada, Russia, Ukraine, Malaysia, Turkey and the Netherlands to name a few. When I look back on my adventure it is not only the valuable knowledge about Europe that I acknowledge, but the things I learned about the whole world. Getting to know people from other parts of the world is so educational. Just being with them teaches you a lot about their culture and their ways of doing.
I had a weekly schedule that included three lectures. However, as my course was specifically on the changes Berlin had experience in the last 15 years, we had two excursions every week. This was typically visits to parts of East Berlin where change, shrinkage and growth were most easily observed. This left one lecture per week in which every student in class eventually got a chance to do a 20 minute presentation on a specific topic allocated to us before our arrival. As we were only 11 in class we became quite good friends. Our lecturer was a very capable doctor in the field of economical geography. It was very interesting to learn about certain phenomena and to see the changes first hand.
The university’s winter school programme arranged weekly visits to museums and galleries. Furthermore I had a lot of free time to roam around the city and explore. I visited a lot of museums and exhibitions and went on a few alternative tours of the city. We got a tour of the German parliament and chancellery. On Sundays I walked around at the markets.
All the students who lived in the student apartments socialised quite often. Most nights we ended up at my apartment, as it turned out to be the nicest. We would make food together and compare our countries’ politics, economics and histories. Some nights we would go out for dinner or have drinks. The Russians hosted a Russian party and the Australians an early Australia Day party, all with traditional food and drink. I have learned so much about the world in these short three weeks.
Return:
After saying my last goodbyes to the beautifully snowy Berlin and all the wonderful people I have met there, I took the train to the airport. It was quite a sad ride. Berlin, with its endless opportunities for growth, makes you feel like anything can happen. It is a tough feeling to leave behind.
We boarded the plane a little past three in the afternoon after a quick fit of panic regarding my slightly overweight luggage. Berlin was stunningly cold and we flew away with as much clothes on our backs as possible. We stopped in Doha for about two hours. Thereafter, we flew to Johannesburg. It was a long flight, but we arrived safely in South Africa the next morning. The two and a half hour flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town seemed longer than it was. At noon we arrived in Cape Town where our families were waiting. We were greeted by an overwhelming heat. It was the sign that we were back in our country.
This experience has enriched me beyond understanding and I am very grateful to have had this opportunity. I definitely recommend anything similar to everybody as it broadens your knowledge and understanding of all people.