Going to Germany of the SPIG trip was the best decision I have made in my time at Calvin.
I learned so much about so many things. Our engineering class taught me a lot, as did the German class we took. I also was immersed in German culture and learned a lot about living somewhere other than the United States. I gained independence and had to learn about public transportation and how to make my own travel plans too.
Berlin was a fantastic city, and even though we spent weeks there I feel like I didn’t fully explore everything there was to do. All of our weekend trips did a great job of showing us something new; Heidelberg and Köln were my two favorite cities we traveled to as a group. During the week we were free to travel, I got to spend time with the family of a friend I had made at Calvin prior to the trip, and living with him for a few days and experiencing life in a real German household was the highlight of the trip for me.
All in all, I built many new relationships with the other students, professors and some locals in Germany too. I learned a lot and broadened my horizons. The SPIG flew by, but it was definitely the best possible way I could have spent my summer.