Category: Germany

I’m beginning my second week of classes and really falling in love with Bavaria. I can tell that even after only one week of class here at the CDC, my German skills are improving greatly. Speaking the language for several hours each day has helped me gain new vocabulary and given me an immense deal of practice.

Everyday I’m done with class at 1 o’clock, so I’ve been spending my afternoons exploring Munich and the surrounding areas. One highlight from the past week was visiting the town of Freising, which is about 30 minutes outside of Munich. I was able to tour the beautiful cathedral there, which sits on top of a hill overlooking the town. I’m really beginning to love the design styles present in the churches of Bavaria, which are much brighter and light filled than the gothic styles of most major European churches. I found out while reading a pamphlet in the Freising cathedral that Pope Benedict XVI was ordained a priest there in 1951 and taught at the local seminary for a number of years. The offices of the Munich archdiocese were attached to the cathedral, so I  was able to go inside and see the private chapel the pope formerly used when he was Joseph Ratzinger, the archbishop of Munich.

Last saturday, I took a bus to Nuremberg for the day. The city was beautiful and offered a nice change from the faster paced atmosphere in Munich. The city was an important center for the Nazi movement, so I was able to visit many sites relating to national socialism and World War II. I spent a significant amount of time at the Nazi Documentation Center, which focuses on the growth of the Nazi movement, with a particular emphasis on Nazi activities in Nuremberg. The museum is built into Congress Hall, a building intended to serve as a Nazi party legislative meeting place, but left unfinished by Hitler. In a symbolic gesture, a metal beam cuts through the building, displaying the death of National Socialism. I also visited the courtroom where the Nuremberg trials were conducted, which is actually still an active court room today. To bring my visit to these sites full circle, I visited Dachau concentration camp the next day. It’s an eerie place that just has a strange air about it. It’s hard to describe, but it’s almost as if the land itself remembers the atrocities committed there.

Celebrating Independence Day here in Munich was fairly uneventful. Since there are very few Americans at the CDC there were no big events going on. However, it was interesting to see reactions from other students when I told them it was our national holiday. Many students come from countries with no comparable level of nationalism to the United States, so some, while not surprised about the concept of a national holiday, and were surprised about people actually wanting to celebrate it. To have a bit of an American celebration, I went with Nathan O’Halloran, SJ, and Daniel Rashid to one of the local restaurants and we had a beer, toasting the good old U.S.A.

After many long hours of travel and flights through New York and Reykjavik, I arrived in Munich early on Sunday morning. I took the bus from the airport into the city and walked to the Guesthouse where I’m staying , which is located on site at my language institute, the Carl Duisberg Centrum (CDC). I slept for a few hours to start working off the jetlag and then went to explore a bit of the city. The CDC is a pleasant 25 minute walk from the heart of the city, and walking helped me to get my bearings in the neighborhood. I strolled around the historic “old city” for awhile, and visited several of the churches and shops near the Marienplatz. I was fortunate enough to visit the main cathedral, the Frauenkirche, just as evening vespers was beginning, so I stayed for that as well as the mass immediately afterwards. There were two cardinals and about fifteen bishops in attendance, which made for an interesting liturgy. I didn’t understand most of the mass, but caught parts here and there.

I walked for a couple more hours and ate my first dinner at a Bräuhaus near the Englisher Garten. The restaurant gave me a great taste of Bavarian hospitality, and I was able to speak only German with my waiter. Everyone I’ve met here in Munich has been extremely kind and happy to chat. It seems like a very friendly city.

I started my language course this morning with an introduction to the CDC’s services and teaching philosophy and a quick interview in German before being placed into a specific coarse. There’s a great diversity of students here, with many from Italy, Switzerland, Japan, and Taiwan. I’m the only native English speaker in my class, which forces us to communicate with each other solely in German. I was surprised at my ability to carry on a conversation in German with my classmates, and it felt great to be speaking the language again . After class, one of the tutors took 5 other new students and I on a walk through the city and showed us many of the important sites. It was interesting to speak with him about the upcoming elections in Germany as well as politics in the United States. It seems that there are as many political and social cleavages in Germany as in the United States, and as if to demonstrate the point, there was a massive demonstration against Antisemitism taking place in one of the main squares. I hope that this month gives me greater insight into the social views and political attitudes of German people in addition to improving my speaking abilities.

I’m very excited for the next few weeks!

 

This past week I was fortunate to meet up with three friends from home, all in separate instances. I’ll first comment on the experiences as a whole – it was undeniably nice to finally come into contact with some level of familiarity. The dinners and meetups had this odd recharging effect. As fun as it’s been to be the only native english speaker in my language classes or hostel, the day-to-day can be quite exhausting. In talking to these three individuals – a friend from ND, someone from my hometown who now lives here permanently, and my high school german teacher – I didn’t have to psychologically drain myself to keep my brain in german mode all day.

The first meeting was with close friend from ND who’d home base is in Berlin for the summer. He made a trip down to Munich with some other classmates and we were fortunate enough to be able to meet up, get lunch, and walk around a bit. We talked prospectively about the way in which being abroad will affect our view of our lives in the US, the nuances of German culture, and his economics courses. Our conversation about post WW2 german economic development was particularly interesting and thought provoking to me; I thought in that instance about pursuing the subject as a research foray, with an emphasis on the philosophical and political side of the coin rather than the economic.

My second meeting was for dinner at a Biergarten with someone from my hometown. For an economically stagnated town of 14000, finding out from my mother that he resided in Munich was an absolute treat. And the dinner did not disappoint. He is an extremely bright guy – I think personally connecting with novice (I use that term strongly) intellectuals is easier for me. We talked about the transition from American to German life, differences in cultures, and so on. Our most interesting discussion was on the idea of leisure in Europe versus America and how the continents’ respective leisure habits can say things about the people that live there and what it’s like to live there. This blew up into a full scale unpacking of the European condition – seemingly more wise and aged than the United States – full of appreciation for life that arises from massive levels of death and destruction. Our conversation really inspired me to possibly live overseas for awhile; it firmed up the idea of the necessity of globalism in leading a rich, wise life.

Finally, I had the absolute treat of meeting up with my former high school german teacher and a group of her students for dinner. The above hometown friend also attended. I could tell my teacher was elated, teeming with pride over two former students whose life course she affected so greatly. It was an unbelievably laid back dinner, which was aided by her insistence that I try both the Weiß and Weiß Dunkel beers. We finally talked on a peer-to-peer level, which was enlightening. It gave me an even deeper respect for her than I had before; I was finally able to see the world through her eyes. It made me grateful to have such a positive presence in my formative years.

My first week here was a whirlwind of emotion and experience. Not surprisingly, I’m still adjusting to the new time zone and sleep schedule, but that should wear off this week (fingers crossed). On the personal adjustment side, I had to really force myself to get over the fear of breaking a cultural norm and risk being seen as an outsider – especially when going out in public to restaurants, stores, and tourist destinations. My first night, I walked around my immediate area to get a sense of my surroundings and wandered into a small cafe to get some food. It seemed like a good idea from the street, but when I walked in I was overcome with nervousness. I realized in that moment I didn’t even know where to begin: whether to sit down or flag down someone who looked like they worked there, whether to try to power through the conversation in German or revert to English, and, after my meal, whether or not to tip. The waitress seemed surprised that I gave her a three-euro tip for an eight-euro meal; I realized later this was much overdone, and in fact it wasn’t customary to tip at all in an establishment of an informal nature like a cafe.

This experience was isolated and specific, yes, but it illustrated to me the massive cultural learning curve I was about to embark on – the tidal wave of new customs, norms, and decorum for any and every possible situation I may come across. I realized I had a lot more to learn than just the language. This may seem obvious to the outsider, and it is, but it was though this experience that I realized the monumental change in my comfort level that lie ahead. And of course, the best way to become versed in cultural norms is to try them, and fail, and try again. This easier said than done, but even in one week I’ve come a long way.

On the language side, things are going swimmingly. I am the only native english speaker in my language institute, which I met at first with apprehension. But a week into my experience I can say with confidence that it is the best possible scenario for accelerating my language-learning. I am forced, on lunch breaks and excursions, to speak German all the time. There is no alternative to fall back on, especially in large group where it is the only common language. While some of my classmates speak some english, it is rarely used. Everybody wants to learn as much German as fast as possible; and most kids here need to learn the language with a greater urgency than me. Most are training to go to university in Germany next year, whether for undergraduate or graduate school, so their language abilities are very, very important. In addition, my instructor for B1+ level is top notch.

Great stuff so far. I already know I’m going to have a hard time leaving. I’m eager to see what the next six weeks will bring.

Daniel