New Places New Faces

July 27, 2016

Originally our trip was supposed be two weeks in Istanbul and two weeks in Berlin. Due to security reasons our DOC was moved to four weeks in Berlin. It was due to this sudden change in our program that finding hostels was extremely difficult for our team leaders. We are staying two weeks at the Karl Marx hostel and two weeks at the Cat’s Pajama Hostel. Both hostels are located in Berlin. So far we have had an extremely negative experience in our first hostel. Female students have been experiencing countless instances of harassment and feeling uncomfortable walking out of the hostel at all hours of the day. There were young Germans protesting gentrification outside of our hostel by playing music, smoking and drinking. In Germany, protesters are required to leave the streets by 10 PM. They usually get cleared out around 11:30 – 12:00. It can feel extremely uncomfortable because we are the guests participating in the gentrification. We were completely unaware of the situation at this hostel before we arrived. Gentrification is extremely upsetting and it happens more often than not in Boston. We don’t want the community members around us to think that we’re being disrespectful. Due to the fact that students have been feeling so uncomfortable we have been going out to eat in different parts of Berlin and walking back home together at night. Our professors have this situation under control to the best of their abilities. There are some things you can’t predict and our hostel placement was extremely last minute. I appreciate how much effort our professors have put into ensuring that we are safe. They constantly check in with us and they have set up a self-defense class for us to participate in. Our entire group is looking forward to switching into our new hostel. The area that we are switching to is better suited for us.

One aspect of this trip that was surprising to me was the fact that our group is extremely racially diverse! We all come from different backgrounds and enjoy sharing our experiences with
one another. Our group split up very quickly but this was not in a bad way. Naturally, people tend to gravitate towards others they have the most in common with. There were people that knew each other previously so they stuck with each other and that was visible right at the airport. Before this trip started I only knew one other person. Everyone on this trip is extremely kind and ready to learn, this has made the process of adjusting and makes friends easier. It has been easy to connect with people that have had the same experiences that I have and that study similar topics that I do. I get along extremely well the Human Services majors because I am one. I’m very excited about this experience overall because I get to interact with students from different majors. We are all experiencing different things while we’re here but using our own lens’. When we use what we have learned in our major to interpret what we’re studying it makes for excellent classroom conversation.

Written By

Thalia Carroll-Cachimuel

My goals for studying abroad are being able to immerse myself in a new environment as well as apply classroom concepts to our travels. I have chosen the Politics of Space: Islam, Gender, Sexuality in Berlin to continue expanding on my fervor for travel as well as explore personal topics of interest. I have a passion for social justice and viewing and interpreting social issues from critical and different lenses. A fact about myself is that I have participated in the Alternative Spring Break program at NEU twice. My first trip was in Tahlequah, Oklahoma where I worked on a Cherokee Reservation in the Early Childhood Unit and my second trip was in Jinotega, Nicaragua where I worked in a local learning center that provided educational services to children from low-income areas.