Annika Penzer
Annika Penzer (she/her) - Stanford in Berlin
Major: Philosophy
Minor: Human Biology & Archaeology
College year while abroad: Junior
About the photo: This is a photo of me enjoying a favorite restaurant in Kreuzberg with friends.
Contact
Email Annika or schedule an appointment
Q&As
Why did you choose to study in Berlin?
I chose to study in Berlin because of its rich history, vast cultural institutions, passionate sports and nature cultures, walkability, food scene, diversity, and nightlife. Being from NYC, I wanted to study in a place that had a similar buzz — infinite places to explore and things to do. I knew when I couldn’t count the number of major museums or clubs on two hands that Berlin would be right for me.
What were your expectations before you went and how did they change once you were in Berlin?
Before going to Berlin, I didn’t know what my schedule there would look like and how much time I would spend at the Stanford center vs. exploring the city vs. at my homestay. I didn’t know anyone in my program prior to arriving, so I went in without clear expectations about the social dynamics or the level of independence I would experience, as well. When I arrived, I quickly realized that this would be a ‘choose your own adventure’ kind of experience — that I could really tailor it to my own goals about how and with whom I wanted to spend my time. I found myself to be much busier than I expected, often returning back to my homestay late at night because I couldn’t turn down the chance to explore a new gallery, see a new movie, or try new food and drinks with friends.
What were some of the academic benefits from studying abroad in Berlin?
All of the classes I took were about German language, history, or culture, and our professors used the city as a backdrop for our learning. Going on field trips to engage with the concepts we discussed in the classroom firsthand made the classes in Berlin really memorable. From visiting Holocaust memorials and synagogues to touring museums and taking hikes (before the snowy weather hit!), we were constantly enhancing our learning experience by engaging with the city around us. This immersive experience is something we rarely get on campus, and it was a good reminder that there is so much more to learning than sitting in a lecture hall.
What did you learn about yourself while studying abroad?
My time abroad taught me to take my learning seriously while not taking myself too seriously. Amid engaging with the dynamic, complex, and oftentimes heavy ecosystem of histories, cultures, architectures, languages, aesthetics, belief systems, and generations, there was a sense of joy and levity at getting to have these loaded experiences as a cohort. The tension between joy and horror, divinity and profanity, and vibrance and loss that permeate the city resonated with me and instilled the importance of honoring the seriousness of what I learned about without letting the heaviness overwhelm me.
What was the most challenging experience you encountered while abroad and what did you learn from it?
Conversing in German was a challenge for me, but not in the way you might expect: because Berlin is such an international, multicultural city, most of the people I encountered in my day-to-day life spoke English. As a result, many people would switch to English the moment they heard my broken German, making it harder to practice. Finding older Berliners to chat with — who either didn’t speak English or had more patience to let me stumble through a sentence in German — helped me to improve my German language skills outside of the classroom.
What was the biggest cultural adjustment you had to make?
Not jaywalking was really hard for me at first. In New York, you’re crazy if you don’t jaywalk, but Germans are real rule-followers.
What was your favorite part of everyday life?
I loved the feeling of leaving the Stanford center or a field trip with friends after class and still having so much of the day ahead of us with so few responsibilities tying us down. Deciding to take the U-bahn to the end of the line to walk around an unexplored neighborhood or check out a museum or park we hadn’t been to yet on a whim was so wonderful. I formed really amazing friendships and learned so much about life in Berlin by taking advantage of these free moments.
What was the most memorable experience you had while in Berlin?
Coincidentally, there were a lot of birthdays among my German section classmates throughout the quarter. Every time there was a birthday, our professor, Diana, would bring the student a Schokomuffin and we would all sing “Happy Birthday” together in German. Zum Geburtstag viel Glück! Zum Geburtstag viel Glück! Zum Geburtstag liebe [ ], Zum Geburtstag viel Glück!
What 5 words would you use to describe the experience?
Energetic, cold, wholesome, exhausting, exciting.
What was your favorite food or music?
I hate to admit it but I love techno now.
What was the most valuable item you took on the program?
At risk of sounding like a screenager: my phone was a really handy tool to have in Berlin. My friends and I spent a lot of time studying Google Maps and creating a curated map with pins of all the places we went to or wanted to go to together. This map proved especially useful when I returned to Berlin in the summer for my Krupp internship. Going back to old favorite spots with new friends and pinning new places to check out in our map was really special. I also used my phone to check the app “Resident Advisor” for fun club events and Instagram pages “tipberlin”, “explore.berlin”, and “theberlinermag” to learn about cool things happening in and around the city throughout the week. I’m all for unplugging, but my phone helped me make the most of my time in Berlin.
Please share some details about your internship experience. Who did you work with, what did you do and what did you learn from it?
I completed my Krupp internship at The Berlin Ethics Lab, a research group at Technische Universität. During my time there, I conducted research on topics related to machine-learning and artificial intelligence ethics, helped with facilitating and analyzing workshop for project evaluating the global reception of an emerging technology that tests for antibiotic resistance, and assisted with developing the curriculum for a new course about biomedical ethics with a focus on reproductive technologies. This role helped me to hone my research skills and exposed me to German work culture in academia.