Germany : Malachi Clark (Learning on Excursions)

September 28, 2023

Learning on Excursions

CIEE Berlin is kinda interesting in how it sets up its classes. We’re on a block system; so instead of the semester long classes worth 15 to 18 credits, we have 3, 6 week sprints. In this first block I was able to take a class about Grimm’s Fairy Tales. We learned about the Grimm Brothers, other fairy tale authors/curators and how to define fairy tales compared to other similar genres. IT WAS AN AWESOME CLASS, truly 10/10 recommend if anyone is taking the program, Eric Ginola, who is the program director of CIEE Berlin but also the professor for this class was phenomenal and truly a gem.

A circular fountain inside of a courtyard, surrounded by a stone brick building covered in ivy. — Picture of the inner-courtyard of the Staatsbibliothek, super cool, right?

During the class we went on an excursion to the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, which is the state library of Berlin. The excursion took us through a tour of the library as well as the main exhibit, where we spent most of our time. The exhibit told the story of the development and progression of the library throughout the years. It showed how the different literary artifacts that are stored there were found, restored and displayed. We were able to see so many varying artifacts ranging from the Deutsches Wörterbuch by the Grimm Brothers to original copies of pop-up books collected by the chancellor. It was truly a dope experience. The exhibit was this dark concrete all around and then it was white and glowing around the artifacts. I’ve never seen a museum set up in this way but it was truly phenomenal. The connection between the class and the museum is pretty clear but being able to see actual notes from the Grimm Brothers within their original dictionary was BIZARRE to say the least. We also went on some other excursions during this class but I think this one was really interesting and definitely one worth noting. So if you’re ever in Berlin go take a look at the Staatsbibliothek! It’s free!!

Malachi Clark

Major: Computer Science and German

Hometown: Glen Ellyn, Illinois

Program: CIEE Berlin Open Campus

As a German major, I’m going into this program with previous knowledge about the language and culture, but I’m extremely excited to finally gain first-hand experience about all that Germany has to offer. I can’t wait to come back and share my experiences in my future German studies courses.