SLA – Page 10 – SLA Profiles (2018)

Final Reflection: I mog di, München

The way I said goodbye to München was “typisch.” I went to the Biergarten Löwenbrau, had some currywurst and watched the world cup with my classmates. I had been there four times during my stay in this city but still did not develop the talent of drinking beer as if it were water. That day in class, we talked about the topic “stressor,” and I had to admit that it was my stressor to get up before 7 to catch the bus every day and argue with my impatient host about our misunderstandings. However, when I left the city, I knew I would miss it.

München is a “wunderschön”(amazing) city, with the gorgeous Englischer Garten, the startling Schloss Nymphenburger, many busy Platz and always vigorous Biergarten. It is a city of rain. Rain comes and leaves quickly. Despite the fact that I prefer sunny days, it was an enjoyment to see colorful umbrellas decorating Marienplatz like blossoming flowers and tourists waiting persistently for the King and Queen to come out of the tower and dance at 5 o’ clock. The Gothic Rathaus there made me wonder if it came out of Allan Poe’s novel.

I have improved my German language abilities as planned– now I am able to communicate in the everyday settings like buying things and having small chats with locals smoothly. I am also used to reading through a long informative article and guessing the new words according to the context. I got to know a Vietnamese friend at the beginning of my study and travel with her talking in German– we did so well understanding each other considering the vocabulary we had. After all, the greatest benefit of learning a new language is that you get to know more fantastic people.

But what makes my experience even more fulfilling than mere language improvement is the cultural opportunities here. From the dramatic life story of Ludwig II to Maximilian I’s love for Chinese decorations, from Dachau Concentration Camp to Nuremberg Trial, from the dark chapter of National Socialism to the fall of the Berlin Wall, I learned a little bit German history every day. I found it admirable that German people take historical education seriously. I also got to appreciate the charm of the Italian opera Rigoletto in the Bayern opera house and experience Germans’ passion for football in the Biergarten. I would not forget the typical Bavarian scene here: a beautiful lady wearing Dirndl stretched to play the accordion in the Biergarten and the old man with a white beard sang joyfully while playing the guitar. Their happiness seems an intrinsic ability rather than coming from the beer. The immersion in German and Bavarian culture makes this country and German language more intriguing to me.

I also cherished the chance to experience the global culture in our 10-people class: my passionate, super-friendly Brazilian classmates who insisted on coming to say goodbye to me with a fever, the Korean friend who was mostly quiet but turned out super talkative after drinking, the always considerate Japanese girl, the Russian boy who would debate Tibet Independence issue with me but became silent when I asked about Crimea (we are still friends lol), the ambitious, confident Italian boy who breaks my stereotype of the chilled Italians, etc. Though we all have strikingly different backgrounds and will lead our future lives in different places, I feel grateful that we ran into each other at this moment and struggled to learn each other’s ideas on music, politics, culture and what happiness is in German. I found people had many cultural stereotypes about China, and this could not be solved by a single word of explanation. It is clear to me: only through open, candid and personal communication can we build mutual trust and melt the ice between each other. It also prompted me to ask myself how much knowledge I had about other countries come from the mass media and how much of it belongs to stereotypes.

In the future, I hope to read and study more about German history, especially about the politics in the Weimar Republic and East Germany. I also want to enhance the language abilities I learned by reading children’s books and newspaper articles after getting back to ND. Watching the German musicals, operas and TV shows will help me learn the vocabulary. I also plan to speak more and write more in the Communicative German class to strengthen the active use of the language. After all, writing turns out to be the best way to correct the mistakes that stick to the mind.

I know I still have a long way to go on learning German, but I want to say “I mog di (the slang that expresses I love you)” to München. Ich werde zurückkommen!

A trip to the South

My dream has always been to visit the south of France, particularly the French Riviera. In fact, when I was deciding where to pick for my SLA I was almost compelled to choose Avignon, a small city close to the Riviera. Thus, when my father told me he would be coming over to France at the tail end of my time in Tours I knew that our shared dream of visiting the South would lead us there. My father has a very interesting attitude about international travel. Unlike me, who welcomes the unknown, he shys away from it and is unsettled by traveling to countries in which English is not the primary language. Recognizing this about him, I knew he would be relying on me and my recent French language study to carry us through.

Welcoming the opportunity to practice my newly found love of speaking French outside of classroom walls, I was transported back to one of our class discussions at the Institute where we were discussing the importance of accents in France. In the South, the language is spoken more slowly with each syllable being pronounced. This is counter to the accent that is spoken more so in Paris and the surrounding regions where words are seemingly “cut off” and shortened. For example, the word for Saturday is Samedi. In Paris, it would be pronounced in two syllables like Sam-di yet in the South it would be pronounced in three syllables such as Sam-e-di. When we watched a video in class the distinction is very difficult for non-French speakers to make because students of French, particularly Anglophone speakers are taught to pronounce each syllable in the word. However, since my time in France I have begun to speak more as the Parisians do and shorten words or swallow some of the syllables. Thus, I was concerned that my conversation attempts in the South would go less smoothly than they had been going in Tours.

However, I was quickly proved incorrect about my assumptions in my language abilities in another part of France. Upon our arrival to our hotel my father began speaking very quickly in English to explain a desire to change the credit card he had put on file. His quick speech confused the woman at the desk to which my father turned to me. Hesitantly, I started speaking to her in French. I was delighted when she was able to understand and respond to me perfectly. Linguistically, the rest of the trip went smoothly. The people were kind and inviting and the slower speech in the South was actually significantly easier to understand.

The view from the botanical gardens in Èze

Aside from the continued practice of language away from Tours, the South of France is a lovely place. We made our home base in Nice which appeared to me the largest of all the cities we visited. There is a flowers market in Vieux Nice each morning which is incredibly charming. While the French Riviera is a very touristic place, Nice seemed to me the most touristic of all the cities we saw whilst there. We took daytrips to the cities of Èze village and Antibes both of which were much smaller and more quaint than Nice. In Èze, My father and I spent time strolling the narrow, cobblestone streets that lead you up to an exotic botanical garden that offers the most magnificent views of the Mediterranean. Antibes offers a quite different experience as it is located right on the water. Thus, we strolled the sun-soaked streets with purple flowers reaching up the walls until we found an exit that led you right to the ocean.

A treasure in Antibes where we had the most delicious and fresh lunch

The final daytrip we took was to the city of Cannes, which is highly celebrated for its famous film festival, offered a very different experience than the others. The beach was the only sandy beach (the others had big rocks) and offered a slightly less touristic feel than Nice. For the day my dad and I decided to go out on a boat (because what’s a trip to the Mediterranean if you don’t actually sail on the Mediterranean). After a five hour boat ride and a long conversation with the boat captain, Pascal- who spoke no English but was an incredibly funny French comedian- we made our way back to Nice for our final night. The South of France is nothing less than the dream it promised to be. We spent our days sitting on the beach and exploring the small jewels the Riviera has to offer- if you ever get the chance, don’t pass up the opportunity to go!!

A Grand Tour of Arts

Munich is a city of arts. You can tell it simply from a walk around the city center. You will be marveled by the Neues Rathaus, a most resplendent 19th Century Gothic architecture in Marienplatz where Saint Mary guards Munich. Around Marienplatz, there are many beautiful churches, including Frauenkirche and St. Peter’s church. You could also enjoy amazing operas like Rigoletto and Ballet shows in the magnificent opera house (Bayerische Staatsoper) nearby. Walk a bit further, and the Neoclassical Königplatz will remind you of both the glory of the Roman Empire and Nazi’s mass rallies that took place there. Nowadays, young people enjoy partying there with loud German pop music. The Residenz München has a splendid dome and a grotto inside the palace.

The city also has a museum island of four art museums. I have visited two of them, Pinakothek der Moderne (still unable to appreciate modern arts) and Neue Pinakothek which I like better. However, I was most impressed by a private museum called Lenbachhaus near Königplatz. Lenbachhaus features der Blaue Reiter, an early 20th Century expressionist artists’ group by Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Gabriele Muenter and some other Russian and German painters. According to Wikipedia, expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas. In most cases, the term suggests the emotion of angst.

However, in Franz Marc’s painting “Der Blaue Pferd (the blue horse),” I felt peace and spirituality. Both his and Kandinsky’s paintings featured sharp, intense colors, but only Marc made them harmonious and divine as a whole. The horse that closes his eyes in the painting seems as if he was having a moment of contemplation during his destined life of struggle. He stood out of the colorful, messy background as a firm, tranquil symbol. This could be interpreted as a self-portrait of the painter’s inner world. Other animals he painted, including the deer that bite the clouds, the leopard growing out of the wood and the birds that break out of the oil, all have a spirituality of their own. I also appreciated Franz von Stuck’s Salome and the sculpture of the wounded centaur. Kandinsky’s many late paintings turned out too abstract for me.

It is fascinating to meet the expressionist painters who experienced the turmoil of WWI and expressed the wild joy and angst in their paintings. Unlike the Baroque-style painters before, they did not evade the unpleasant emotions but stared deep into them. They bridged the classical paintings and the modern ones.

The Interviews: How do you Feel About the United States?

I am proud to be an American. I love the United States and could not be more thankful to be an American citizen. For the first time in my life, I was not in the United States for the 4^th of July. Peru, of course, does not celebrate our holiday, so all the other Americans at my home stay and I felt very strange. No fireworks, no barbecues, no red, white, or blue.

Suddenly, I started to think about the world’s attitude toward the United States. What do they think about our traditions, our people, our country? How do their thoughts differ from ours? As my first time out of the country, living in Peru for the summer has been the first opportunity I’ve had to look for these answers in an authentic way. I interviewed three friends on their views toward the US. I asked a lot of questions, but the two most interesting were “What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about the United States?” and “What do you think about the politics of the United States?” Here were the responses:

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about the United States?

“A big country. I don’t know what language a person from the US might speak. I think of the states I know: San Francisco, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Washington D.C., Miami, North and South Carolina, and New Jersey. I also think about New York and 9/11.”

-Woman from Cusco, age 40

“California, money, army and war, good education, and my volunteers.”

-Man from Cusco, age 33

“Disney, fast food, the mountain with the heads [Mount Rushmore], Hollywood, the Statue of Liberty, Liberty Bell, Hamilton [the musical], and Donald Trump”

-Woman from Australia, age 21

I noted that the two citizens of Cusco talked about the states themselves. Further conversation indicated that the states mentioned are where family members and friends live. Both said that if given the chance to visit the US, they would first go visit friends and family before thinking about sightseeing or other activities.

This reflects how highly family ideals are placed within Peruvian society. Instead of sending them to a hospital, most children live with and take care of their older parents until death. Mealtimes are lengthy and rarely spent alone. Family and friends gather to enjoy food and each other’s company, another indication of the strong family values held here.

What do you think about the politics of the United States?

“ It is different than Peru; Peru is very corrupt. The United States is corrupt, but not as corrupt as Peru. A lot of people do not agree with the current President. Something that is different to me is that the people who elect the president [in the US] can elect by computer. In Peru, voting is not an option. We need to be present and vote by paper.”

-Woman from Cusco, age 40

“I admire them because they keep their word. They are honest. Here in Latin America there is much dishonesty. They have the best system of democracy in the world because they respect the Constitution and the laws.”

-Man from Cusco, age 33

“The political system is different. It is much more complicated than in Australia. Money makes law. Voting should be mandatory but should last longer than a single day to account for work and class schedules.”

-Woman from Australia, age 21

I did a little bit of research on the “corruption” mentioned in the first response. Peruvian politics have been experiencing a lot of change recently. The former president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (PPK for short) did not have favor with his people. Elicitations caused corruption and promises he made to his people were not kept. In March, PPK resigned and a new president came into office. However, because of the major corruption caused by PPK, Peruvian citizens have lost faith and trust in politics. Peruvians want a leader they can trust and someone who will keep promises made to the people. This explains why the second response focused on the honesty and trust the man had seen in American politics. These qualities are something that he desires for his own country.

In contrast to the Peruvian values of trust and honesty, it is interesting to note the progressive focus of the Australian response. In a more developed country like Australia, it makes sense that efficiency would be important. Once a good voting system has been established, it needs to be perfected. More efficiency means more progress, and progress is good. While I don’t believe any voting system is 100% flawless, but I think it would be interesting to see how the US voting system could change with these suggestions.

Having these discussions was very interesting and insightful for me. As my friends talked, I understood how their opinions formed based on the cultural values of their own country. Not only did these conversations reveal things I never considered about the United States, but also things I never considered about other countries. This was another big reminder of how diverse the countries of the world are. These conversations showed me that when I engage with cultural differences, I not only learn more about the world around me, I learn more about myself and my own perspective. I can’t wait to see what more I can learn from my last week here in Cusco!

San Fermin

Sanfermines, or the Running of the Bulls may be one of Spain’s most famous traditions, well-known throughout the world and hosted annually for a week each July. The celebrations take place in Pamplona, where over a million people gather each year to participate, watch, and party during the festival. The fiesta draws foreigners and locals alike, and other cities throughout Spain often host similar events during the year. Most famously, six bulls are released, while hundreds of people run in front of them through the narrow, old streets. Other traditions of the festival include “el chupinazo”, a rocket that is set off to signal the beginning of the week, and “Pobre de Mi”, a song sung at each closing ceremony. Each night to conclude the day there are fireworks and bullfights, in which the bulls that ran earlier are killed.

The 2018 San Fermin festival occurred last week, and was a topic of discussion in many of my classes. The natives I talked to were all of the same opinion regarding the festival; they believed it to be cruel and unnecessary, yet acknowledged the tradition and history behind it. This dichotomy is what creates some of the controversy related to the festival and its continuation. Some believe that the cultural and historical aspects of the fiesta do not justify or excuse the cruelty they see present, while others value the preservation of the tradition despite that.

La Finale

This seems like a fitting title, considering France will be playing in the final against Croatia this Sunday for the first time since 1998. But also in what feels like a bittersweet moment, this week marked the end of my time in Tours and in France. Although I feel as though I have been living in France for about 3 months, this week has quickly passed. Tuesday was quite exciting, as my host family and I decided to eat dinner an hour earlier just so we would be afforded the opportunity to fully invest ourselves into what was actually quite a boring match. Although a slightly undewhelming game, my host father’s commentary throughout the spectacle made up for my unsatisfied angst. After the match, however, the celebrations began. My house was situated just on Rue Nationale, providing me with a great view of the sunset each night, the ferris wheel, the tram, and the many passerbys who roam the streets throughout the day. Just outside the window, I heard people chanting “Umtiti”, the defender who scored the goal for France. Others chanted “Allez, allez, allez finale” as drivers honked their horns and pedestrians draped the flag upon their shoulders. I decided I would go to the guinguette, and even as I walked towards the river, it proved difficult to cross the street as traffic ensued and people filled the streets.

Wednesday, I visited Amboise, just about 30 minutes away from Tours. It was the first castle I had taken the time to visit, after receiving many recommendations. It was interesting to see something such as that–that was a combination of both Gothic and Renaissance architecture. But what surprised me most, after visiting Amboise and then Clos Luce (where Leonardo da Vinci stayed whilst in France), was that I was able to understand a significant portion of what was being said by our tour guide and the teacher who accompanied us. Being forced to speak the language for 5 hours straight while also having to interpret and translate everything from French to English can be a tiring feat, but as I have made minor improvements, I recognize that translating is now becoming a passive process.

Yet, I still have many days where I am able to speak French well and many others where my French seems just as bad as when I first arrived. I have become cognizant of when my French seems to suffer the most and when it seems to thrive. Typically when I find myself in difficult situations, French isn’t as difficult because I see it as a necessity. Yet, when I find myself in an uncomfortable situation, amongst a new group of people in a new setting, I seem to stumble upon my words, unable to put together a sentence with a subject, verb, and object. Wednesday’s class seemed to be a good example of that. While I do not typically have trouble speaking or interpreting, we were required to take an oral exam. I felt slightly unprepared, considering I did not know what to expect, but I assumed it would be fairly easy for me to listen to some audio recording and identify the main idea. Yet, as my teacher continued to replay excerpts and exercises for us to listen to, I failed to comprehend every single one. Instead, I was only successful with a particular portion of the exam. It is in moments like these that I become a little insecure about how much I truly understand French. With my host family and those living with me, I have explained to them that I am not entirely sure if I actually know French or I am just capable of understanding particular words and piecing together a conversation because I am able to utilize context clues. I assume that this is what we do in English when first acquiring the language, but I can truthfully say that during the past year or so that I have taken French, this is the first time I have become attentive to how it is that I am learning. It’s a very intuitive and personal experience–to take note of how one has learned and continues to learn when mastering another language. On occasion, I have moments where I am presented with new words, and typically just before I am getting ready to look them up, I quickly realize I am able to understand its meaning without the use of a dictionary.

Today was my last day in Tours. Before leaving, I had an exam that covered two particular areas, “comprehension ecrite“, and “production ecrite“. I found the exam to be quite easy, and after receiving my marks, I was pleased to see that I had improved in the areas of written comprehension and production, as well as French and oral production. While parting ways with my professor, she mentioned that I should continue to study French, making note of the fact that I had developed quite a vast vocabulary and developed better speaking skills.

I don’t find goodbyes difficult, but they are always a bit awkward. I had spent the past 7 weeks saying goodbye to all the people I had come to know, but today, it was my turn. As I hugged the people I met throughout my time in various courses, one girl said to me, “you always meet twice in life”. I now know that it is German saying, but I find truth in that, regardless. I have met many people from other states who I have run into at airports, so I am hopeful that we may all meet again.

I am now writing this from Paris, with the intentions of returning back to the United States tomorrow. I am more than thankful for my time here in France. I would never consider myself well-traveled as I have only been outside of the US twice, and now thrice, but it has been an invaluable experience that has left me feeling empowered.

Blog Post #3: Good Night with Good Friends

7/17/2018

This past weekend my friends and I decided to hang out to celebrate finishing our midterms. We all met up at Hansoo Oppa’s (a friendly term a girl uses to call a guy older than her; the word that a boy would use is hyung) airbnb. We decided to have 치맥 (chimek), which is fried chicken and beer (the drinking age in Korea is 20 in Korean years or 18 in international years).

A couple of things that I want to explain about Korean culture before moving on:

1. Korean hiearchy/relationships: Korean culture is based on Confucian beliefs and thus, the respectful relationships between people of different ages is very important. Therefore, there are different terms to call people even if they are a year older than you. For example, you would call an upperclassman (no matter how many years above you) 선배 or 선배님 (sunbae or sunbaenim). This term is gender neutral meaning that both males and females call both male and female upperclassmen by these terms with the latter being more formal. However, once you get close enough with your sunbae, they will tell you to call them by one of these four terms: 형 (hyung), 오빠 (oppa), 누나 (noona), or 언니 (unni). Hyung and oppa both mean older brother whereas noona and unni both mean older sister (note: brother/sister is a loose translation and is used to call anyone older even if they are not a blood relative). Now the difference between hyung and oppa and noona and unni depends on the person using the term (aka you). If you are a male, you would use the terms hyung and noona, and if you are a female, you would use the terms oppa and unni.

2. Korean age: Everywhere around the world when a baby is born, they are considered zero years old, and on their next birthday they are considered one years old, so on and so forth. However, in Korea, this is not the case. When a baby is born, they are considered one years old. Then when New Years passes, the baby is considered two years old, and on their birthday, they turn three years old. Thus, after New Years but before your birthday, your Korean age is your international age plus two, and after your birthday, your Korean age is your international age plus one.

3. Korean Fried Chicken: If you have never had Korean fried chicken, it is really hard to explain. Basically it is completely different from American fried chicken. Therefore, if you ever have a chance, you should definitely try it. Ten out of ten would recommend. You will thank me later.

After we enjoyed our chimek, we decided to head over to 이태원 (Itaewon) for some night life. Itaewon is known as the international hub of Korea. I had never been before, so it was very interesting and different from other places in the country. I was shocked by how many foreigners there were! While walking around, I had to remind myself that I was in Korea and not the States . To me, it seemed like there were more foreigners than native Koreans!

Lockdown!

The lights go dark. The alarms go off. The security wall lowers around the entryways. We had just entered.

Confused faces look around and the security guards try to deal with the barrage of questions in various languages. Was ist passiert? What’s going on? [However you say that same idea in other languages].

An unwitting museum visitor, seconds before crisis struck

As the brilliant and beautiful Benedikt Graf told the future international travelers at the Notre Dame safety summit, emergencies–while not likely to happen– can occur while traveling abroad.

Luckily for us, this was just a technical problem at the BMW Museum… or possibly the latest corporate guerrilla warfare marketing stunt from competitor Porsche. Either way, after hurriedly becoming acquainted with some of the exhibitions in the museum mid-lockdown before being told to leave, we were able to return the next day and see the rest of the exhibits with the lights on. But which visit is more memorable?

What this has to do with German, you may be wondering, is that I explained the situation to the front desk lady the next day using only the German language, hand gestures, and onomatopoeia for the alarm sound.

Myself and friends rallying at BMW Welt the next day in a test car that comes with a customer support servant and plays Migos songs

Furthermore, I feel that a major aspect of international travel is learning about oneself. And in those several minutes where we thought anything could be happening, I learned a lot about myself. And even more about my friend who was in line and chose to enter the lockdown area as the walls were descending instead of going outside. Until next time, regular readers (and there is at least one of you s/o @kate_feldman_eh).

First Host Family

Time flies fast. HIF assigned me two host families for my stay here in Hakodate, so I just recently moved into a new house a few days ago. Second semester will start tomorrow, and to say I’m ready for the homework and daily quizzes would be a lie.

It’s been a month here, and I’ve made some irreplaceable memories. I actually want to dedicate this post to my previous host family, since I am no longer living with them for the remainder of my time here in Hakodate.

Our first outing: We went strawberry picking on a cloudy Sunday morning to early afternoon, and although the strawberries were a bit small, they were very delicious.

The boys played with their friends while I tagged along with my host mother and sister. I remember picking and eating the strawberries constantly, so my tray never filled to the top. I could definitely sense the communal aspect that came along with strawberry picking because people from various areas all joined together in this activity. Some individuals even spoke to me, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Aside from making gyoza and takoyaki (mentioned in my first post), I also had the chance to make bread and pizza! やっぱり作った料理の方が美味しいね〜！Making food was a simple but fun way to bond with my host family and exchange interesting conversations. I definitely want to try these activities with my own family when I go back to America! They’re very easy to make and super delicious as well~!!

Because of the homework load, I couldn’t play with the children as much as I would like to. However, every night before they went to bed, we would play in my room for approximately 30 minutes. Our games ranged from hide-and-seek, blue demon, and zombie tag. It was fun but also a lot of work. Sometimes I can’t keep up with their energy.

July 7th is a special holiday in Japan called Tanabata. On this day, people write their wishes on a slip of paper and hang it on a bamboo tree. In Hakodate specifically, young children are able to go to nearby houses and stores and receive gifts. There’s a special Tanabata song that they sing in order to receive their snacks and/or toys. It reminded me a lot of Halloween, and running along with my host sister and host grandmother was so much fun! My host grandmother talked to me so much, and though I couldn’t understand everything she said, I was able to comprehend the overall meaning. I’m not a talkative person in general, so I appreciated that she spoke to me majority of the time. Besides, she was always laughing and smiling, so I greatly enjoyed her presence. I don’t think I can ever experience a Tanabata like this one since it is special only to the city of Hakodate.

The last family outing that we had was at an izakaya, which is an informal pub. We were placed in a separate non-smoking room that had toys for the children, and it was so much fun! Definitely one of the best nights 🙂 We were able to order unlimited food for the price of 30 dollars, karaoke our hearts out, and dance to the music. The highlight of the night was when my host parents sang I just can’t wait to be king. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I really can’t describe my feelings in words when it comes to my previous host family. I’m so grateful for everything that they have done for me. I wish I can write all the memories down in this post, but it would be so long and, unfortunately, do it no justice. Although I lived with them for only a month, they’ve grown to be a comfortable presence. I feel like myself with them. (They know that I love taking naps more than I like studying). I hope that you, the reader, can understand these feelings I’m trying to convey (though done poorly). Thank you so much Ishii-san <3 I cannot wait to visit you again in the nearby future.

Germany: Politics and Culture

My time in Munich is coming to a close, but I want to talk a bit more about the culture in Germany and some observations I made about the political scene there. It’s really striking how very different the German culture is, even while it’s becoming more and more similar to the American culture. For example, I saw

A lovely little garden in a quiet spot in Munich

American flags on t-shirts and handbags everywhere. Nearly everyone I met, when they heard I came from America, peppered me eagerly with questions about the American lifestyle. They were keen to discuss American films and sitcoms with me, and everyone was curious what I thought of President Trump and American politics.

Before my journey abroad began, I knew that American culture was popular worldwide, but experiencing this firsthand was truly eye-opening. I was very impressed by the awareness of everyone I met in regards to international news

A royal palace just outside the heart of the city

and culture; I was struck in almost every way by the remarkable difference between the German mindset and the American concerning the international scene, so to speak. Germans are very attuned to the political workings of other countries. It was always fun to ride the tram and watch the brief news clips cycle through on the televisions in the tram. And every day, then news dealt with different areas of the world. Of course Germany featured heavily, but there was always at least one segment about a country outside the EU. In their politics, too, the Germans I met tended to be reluctantly patriotic. Perhaps they wish to avoid seeming nationalistic, or maybe their reluctance is based on some other reason; I really don’t know. But unlike America, you won’t see many national flags flying in the streets or in front of people’s homes.

Germany, like America, is facing a political divide regarding the treatment of migrants and refugees. This has been a huge topic during my time in Munich,

A charming little house in a suburb of Munich

with the result that the German chancellor had to compromise on a new immigration law in order to preserve her chancellorship. It’s very intriguing to me to see the similarities and yet the differences in the way Germany functions compared to my home country. The culture is heavily American, yet also firmly grounded in the German way of life; the global perspective that is common to the German citizen is something I find truly impressive and admirable; and the politics of Germany, though not so sharp and divisive as those in America, deal with some of the same issues.