Ana Rowley, International Internship Program: Berlin Summer 2023
Traveling to Berlin for a summer internship was one of the best experiences of my undergraduate career. I would not have changed it for anything, and I would strongly encourage other students to take the risk and do it as well. During my time there, I was able to experience so many new foods, cultures, and events. Before I left for the trip, I felt comfortable with traveling because I had spent half of my life living abroad. I felt that I would know exactly what to expect when traveling and living in a new country. But, even with this experience, there was still so much that I didn’t expect. Of those experiences, the thing that surprised me the most was how homesick I was. Spending the first 10 years of my life moving around, as well as being mixed race, has made me never establish or be able to define what home really was. Being homesick didn’t even cross my mind when I was preparing for my summer. But, after a couple of weeks, I found myself calling my friends and family often during my spare time and thinking of all the things that I would do when I went back to Pitt. Mundane things that I took for granted like sitting in Schenley Park and talking with my friends sounded amazing. Even though I loved my time in Berlin, I still felt homesick and wanted a sense of familiarity. It made me realize that the community I built in Oakland was home to me. It was really interesting to find out that distance and sudden changes really do change your perspective on life. Not only did I come back to Pitt with a love for Berlin, but I also came back with a newfound love for Pitt.
My learning curve did not stop at my homesickness, but I also found that I learned valuable traveling experiences through my mistakes. I wish that during my time in Berlin, I hadn’t felt the stress of making every day worth it and overworking myself to make sure I was living life to the fullest. I would never say no to going to new places or meeting up with friends out of the fear that I would not make my time in Berlin “worth it”. Even if I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to lay in my bed to relax, I would usually go anyways. I was very mentally and physically exhausted and it caused me to burn out very quickly. I learned that even if you are in a new country, you are still yourself and your same limits apply. If I were to do this program again, I would have paced and listened to myself to prevent this burnout.
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