Learning Across Borders: Studying Abroad in Tübingen, Germany
In November, I received an email from the Office of Global Education about a study abroad opportunity in Tübingen, Germany. Now, I’d never been to Europe, and to be honest, I wasn’t even sure where “Tübingen” was. But the program offered a course on international human rights and European institutions, and that piqued my interest enough to take the leap.
I applied and was accepted. Just like that, I knew how I was going to spend my summer. I watched endless TikToks of influencers fantasizing about their "European summer"—sunsets, late-night walks, cobblestone streets, and of course, gelato. It’s safe to say I got all of that and more. The only thing better than the aesthetics was the opportunity to study something so niche to my interests. It was truly a transformative experience.
There were six of us from Tufts who traveled to Germany together, and when we arrived, we were met with dozens of students from all over the world. It was such a multicultural experience, studying alongside people from so many different walks of life and backgrounds. Taking a class on international relations and learning directly from the firsthand perspectives of people from around the globe made our case studies richer and the program that much more impactful for me.
I made friends from Mexico, South Africa, Finland, Spain, China, Singapore, and more countries than I can name. Many of these people I still keep in touch with today. I have fond memories of us eating fresh blueberries along the Neckarbrücke, grabbing doner kebabs at midnight, taking an impromptu weekend trip to Greece, enjoying fresh baguettes in France, or hosting a potluck right before we parted ways. I made so many memories I will never forget. That experience has become such a core part of who I am and the person I’m growing into. I truly cherish the moments when I get to meet new people who challenge the way I think and expose me to things outside my little bubble.
The biggest life lesson I took away from that experience is simple: no matter how different we may seem—whether it’s our appearance, our accents, or our backgrounds—we are all just human, navigating this world for the first time and doing our best at this thing called life.