Berlin Trip: Summer 2024: On Friday, June 28th, the Excellence Center took their volunteers and interns on a day-long excursion to Berlin led by Rafat Shantir, the director, and Muaz Alabaid, one of their teachers. It was a long, fun-filled day that started at the Halle (Saale) Hauptbahnhof and ended at a park in Berlin, with the hours in between spent learning the history of the city, visiting important historical sites, and sharing food and conversation among all the roughly fifteen participants. 

When asked about how the daytrip went, volunteers MacKenzie Zwillman and Hugh Morrison only had good things to say. 

“I loved our trip to Berlin,” they both said. 

MacKenzie added, “Walking around with everybody and seeing the history was super nice, and when we all went to get food together, it was like a little family.”

Hugh also reflected fondly on dining with the group. “I feel like our center is so centered around food, so whenever we get a chance to eat with each other it’s really nice.”

For these two, it was also nice to get out of the usual circumstances they saw Rafat, Muaz, and the other participants in. “I think it’s always nice to see people outside of their usual environment because you can see them interact a lot more,” Hugh explained. “[Rafat and Muaz] were really excited to take us. It’s always nice when people are like, Hey, I really wanna take you here, it’s a part of my culture, where I live…”

Rafat and Muaz took the group to several different important historical and memorial sites in Berlin, including the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Checkpoint Charlie, and one of the separating points between East and West Berlin. As the group walked between different locations, Muaz explained the significance and history of where they were, grounding everybody in the history.

“I learned so much,” MacKenzie said. 

Hugh, who had already been to Berlin once before on his own, reflected, “I liked being in Berlin with people who had been there before because we got to learn a lot more about the city.”

And when the daytrip concluded, even returning to Halle (Saale), where the Excellence Center is located,  felt special. As Hugh put it, “It kind of feels like coming home.” This article was written by Phia Anderson.