To be honest, I selected my current study abroad program because I had always planned on studying in Spain. That was my number one requirement, as someone who has been speaking Spanish since middle school. Immersion, and all that good stuff, but — come on — it’s Spain! So, I saw that keyword and clicked “apply,” and here I am. Well, in Berlin, at least. Our program starts in Berlin, Germany, for the first three or so weeks of the quarter, introducing us to our main concepts, the linchpin of this entire adventure overseas: “The Legacies of Empires, Power, and Diversity.”Â
Led by University of Washington professors Erin Clowes and Anu Taranath, as well as program directors Vicente Rodriguez Fernandez and Daniel PunzĂłn, this program takes us through a variety of European cities, exploring the rise of Nazism, fascism, and imperialism in the 19th and 20th centuries. Through this, we will also highlight the voices of the most marginalized in these times, such as the Jewish and Roma communities of Europe and across the globe. These topics are deeply interconnected, not just to each other, but to our world today.
We’ve reached the final few days of Berlin before we head off to Spain, where the first stop on our docket is Barcelona, followed by Valencia, Madrid, and Seville in an order I am seemingly never sure of. So I’m left looking back, reminiscing on this once-in-a-lifetime experience before more once-in-a-lifetime experiences inevitably pop up while in Spain. That’s why college students love studying abroad, right? No amount of planning (or lack thereof) properly prepares you for any of it. Oh, some of the students are planning a weekend trip to Amsterdam? Well then, looks like I’m going to Amsterdam!Â
Amsterdam was wonderful, by the way. There’s almost no other word for it, simply wonderful and almost stereotypically “European.” Winding streets and alleyways, a canal cutting through the city, I could have spent hours walking through the city, and I did. I was my own personal walking tour, occasionally walking with a destination, though, most of the time, simply walking. But, what sticks with me the most is the Van Gogh Museum. The deep sense of understanding I felt with one of the world’s most revered painters was strange; perhaps it was because I couldn’t help but compare him to Kurt Cobain…Â
Yes, I was listening to the MTV Unplugged album at the time, but maybe that was a subconscious decision as opposed to a spur-of-the-moment selection.
Anyway, this trip has been more than the cool things I’ve done, even though I’ve done a lot of cool things. Everything we’ve learned and done as a class is all built around understanding how empires are built and destroyed. Starting with the Nazi regime in Germany seemed to be the right way to go about it. We, Gen Z, have a strange amount of knowledge on World War 2, don’t we? But, most of that is surface level. Dates and numbers, facts to remember for the next quiz. But history isn’t just words on a page or pictures on a screen. To quote Mark Twain, “History does not repeat, but it rhymes.” And that rhyme scheme is getting quite repetitive
We’re American students on this trip. While some have disconnected to the best of their ability from the state of the U.S., I haven’t. Same with many others. How can we, when learning about the rise of the Nazis looks so similar to something back home? It’s about as much of a rhyme as repeating the same word twice. Yet, we have each other, and that offers a strange comfort in the face of it all. The stuff we’re learning, it’s heavy and emotional. It’s also, sadly, relevant.
To end with yet another admission of honesty, I don’t know how to conclude this article. It’s probably because this trip isn’t over yet. So, check back in for the second installment of my Study Abroad Chronicles.
(Trademark pending, haha.)