{"id":2129,"date":"2025-12-05T12:10:45","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T11:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/fubest\/?p=2129"},"modified":"2026-02-13T14:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T13:29:10","slug":"sarahs-fu-best-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/fubest\/2025\/12\/05\/sarahs-fu-best-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Sarah\u00b4s FU-BEST Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hey, everyone! My name is Sarah El-Hefnawy, and I am a senior at the University of Pittsburgh. As a Museum Studies major focusing on Weimar art, I decided to come to Berlin to do some more research for my senior thesis. What I didn\u2019t anticipate is how much I would fall in love with Berlin and studying abroad – even the parts I was skeptical about!
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you live abroad, there are unexpected things you grow to love. If you told me five months ago that I would actually enjoy the one-hour commute to campus every day, I would have laughed. But now, I have extra time to reflect, perfect my fall playlist, catch up on reading, or finish homework (oops!). I find myself taking the time to observe everything, whether it\u2019s people
watching on the U-Bahn or looking at familiar sights out of the window on the S-Bahn. The campus commute was something I was originally dreading, but now it\u2019s become a favorite part of my daily routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Another thing I didn\u2019t expect to love as much as I do now is my German class. I remember asking my thesis mentor for advice on which German course I should take – the experiential class that met twice a week, or the intensive class that met four times a week. When he insisted that I take the intensive course to get a better grasp on German for my thesis, I absolutely dreaded the idea! While it\u2019s not always easy to get up for a 9 am class, I forgot how much I loved learning
languages since I haven\u2019t taken a formal language course in a while. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On top of that, my professor makes sure our classes are never dull, and I met some of my best friends through a class that I take 12 hours a week. If you\u2019re on the fence about which track to take – I suggest the intensive track. I know it\u2019s more work, but you\u2019ll be surprised at how much you\u2019ll enjoy it and how quickly you pick up German!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being abroad for so long, I didn\u2019t realize how much I would not only miss my friends back home, but the experiences that come along with the American college experience. I realized pretty early on that I would miss the entire football season at my D1 university. I was never big into sports at all, but something about missing that first homecoming game felt like I was leaving
a part of home behind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeing all of my friends post about their first week of classes, snapping pictures with our favorite professors, and going to all of my favorite bars and restaurants was rough. But I found my own experiences here that I can indulge in, and can\u2019t wait to share with my friends back home.
I\u2019ve always been a vintage enthusiast – I collect records, lowball sellers on second-hand clothing apps, and have a wide variety of tchotchkes in my apartment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I knew Berlin had a good vintage scene, I didn\u2019t expect it to be nearly as widespread as it is! From massive open-air flea markets in Fehrbelliner Platz and Boxhagener Platz to antique stores owned by eccentric Swedes in Neukolln, there\u2019s a whole world out there for vintage lovers in Berlin. I\u2019m definitely going to miss this vibrant community when I leave, but I\u2019ll have souvenirs in the form of records, jackets, and other vintage goodies!
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another thing I appreciate about Berlin is how open-minded its inhabitants (generally) are. As an alternative queer person with a ton of tattoos and piercings, I never felt judged for my appearance. Rather, I fell in love with the open, proud LGBTQ+ and alternative communities in Berlin, and living here has made me even more confident in my identity and presentation. I even have a few tattoos to commemorate my time here – from a spur-of-the-moment flash piece from a visiting artist to a tattoo I\u2019ve wanted for years and even a free tattoo I got at a special event in Neukolln! I never would have predicted that I would get a tattoo for free from a trendy millennial funeral company serving gin and tonics on a Saturday, but magical things happen in Berlin!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
An ad for the free tattoo event I attended in Neukolln. My friends and I saw this while
we were walking around, and we decided to go in and get tattoos!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back at my time in Berlin, I realized just how quickly four months went by. I feel like I just got to Berlin yesterday, and as I prepare to leave, I remember how many wonderful people, experiences, and places have made my trip worthwhile. From my meditative morning commute to more exciting outings exploring Berlin\u2019s vibrant nightlife, I am grateful for every moment I\u2019ve had here. If you\u2019re looking for a sign to study abroad, this is it! This is the best choice I\u2019ve ever made in my college career, and there is so much to discover while abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarah El-Hefnawy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hey, everyone! My name is Sarah El-Hefnawy, and I am a senior at the University of Pittsburgh. As a Museum Studies major focusing on Weimar art, I decided to come to Berlin to do some more research for my senior thesis. What I didn\u2019t anticipate is how much I would fall in love with Berlin … \u201eSarah\u00b4s FU-BEST Experience\u201c<\/span> weiterlesen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8948,"featured_media":2133,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-allgemein"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/fubest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/fubest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/fubest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/fubest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8948"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/fubest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2129"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/fubest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2258,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/fubest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2129\/revisions\/2258"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/fubest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/fubest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/fubest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.fu-berlin.de\/fubest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}