Hello to all from brisk Berlin!
There are many other adjectives I could use, but I will keep my color to a minimum. For now.
I am currently half-way through my grant period and I wanted to check in and answer some of the most frequently questions I have received about my experience.
Los geht’s!
What is the grant?
Through the Fulbright organization, there are many grant offerings for students and professionals with the intention to promote cultural exchange through various experiences, such as research, study, or in my case, student teaching. I applied in the Fall of 2024 for a reward period of 2024-2025 lasting 10 months in my host city.
Stipend
I earn a stipend of 1.000 Euro per month and an additional housing stipend of 200 per month. I was also granted 1.400 to reimburse my travel fees.
Work life
I work no more than 12 hours a week. I arranged my schedule back in the fall with my mentor teacher, who is the Vice Principal of the school. I work a few hours for 4 days of the week with Fridays off. I work at a Grundschule, which is an elementary school, with 5/6 grade students who are about 9-12 years old in their English language class.
Why Germany?
While Italy may be the birthplace of my truest life, Germany is a place where it undoubtedly thrives. Each state has a funded opera house. Berlin has three renowned houses as well as independent theaters and the Philharmoniker. I minored in German studies at UNCSA and worked closely with my mentor, you know how I feel about my mentors, who encouraged me most of all to consider Fulbright Germany as a part of my path.
Initial impressions and thoughts?
I have never lived in a big city before. I have never had such an abundance of places to hang out on a week night. Concerts, museums, libraries, cafes, galleries, shops, restaurants, social gatherings, life happening every second of every day! Although I moved away for undergrad, we had a strict schedule and I lived in a dorm. I have never moved to an unknown place, so far from home, and not known a single soul. I have never used public transportation regularly. Growing up, I thought it only existed outside of the US. Sure, I have visited NYC, but my metro lines were concise. It seemed like an entirely new language I had to learn. It is easy for me to laugh and say, thankfully, after 6 months of utilizing the amazing transportation system that Berlin has, I can easily navigate my way around the city, and any other city I visit. I love my neighborhood and it is so easy to explore, if you are wearing the appropriate Winter accessories, that is.
What have I learned?
I now understand why people say that their time spent abroad altered their perspective in a permanent way. I will return to the US with an entirely new outlook on the future of my career as an opera singer.
I treasure my adaptability in new environments and I have a deeper appreciation for the world around me.
My ambition has always been within me, but unleashing it in this way has changed me for the greater. I now have the confidence to show up to a new city, alone, and figure it out. This is not to say I did it alone. I had the support of my friends and family back home while I forged new relationships to further ground myself in this new place to call home.
Even the times I felt more alone than ever, I remembered all the people that helped me get to where I am today and trusted that I would only continue to make them proud.
Home is wherever my dresses are. And they are currently out of my immediate possession, which pains me.
But that only fuels my dramatic arias.
Do I recommend it?
If you want to improve whatever language you are learning, go visit the place that speaks it natively. If you have an inkling of intrigue about experiencing a different way of life, live in a new country. If you are like me and want to take time before your next degree, travel during that time.
If you want to fulfill your dreams, go and live them! They are so immediately before you, though you may not even realize it until you change your perspective.
The most important lesson I have learned so far since moving to Germany may sound surprising to faithful blog visitors.
My biggest inspiration in life is not the divas of the past or the singers I admire onstage today. It is not my stylist, though boy, can she inspire. It is not my incredible teachers, or everyone I have met and sought encouragement from along the way. And it is not my adoring Team Queen B, though you have been with me always.
My biggest inspiration is myself.
If I continue to follow my path, even through the turns and twists, I know that I will achieve all of my goals and make my dreams become reality.
Make your biggest inspiration you. Then you will do exactly as your idols and role models have done. See how that works?
Yet—we never truly arrive. But we can keep arriving.
And keep achieving.
And keep dreaming, people!
Dream HUGE! You might not know what happens if you do.
If you want to read more about my thoughts on Berlin and my time here, subscribe to the blog!
XOXO
Bentley