germany – Summer Language Abroad 2022

Post Return: Reflecting on my Unforgettable Time in Germany

I returned back home last Tuesday after just over six weeks in Germany. I learned so much and really enjoyed the experience. After being immersed in German language and culture for an extended period of time, it was interesting to look at my language acquisition as compared to taking my German classes in the United States. One observation is that even while in Germany, my language acquisition was gradual. It still took focused time and a dedicated effort to remember all of the vocabulary I learned in class that day. With such a large amount of input every day, I had to accept that I would not master all of the material after just one class day. Rather, I needed to review verb conjugations, grammar patterns, and vocabulary each night to truly “digest” everything I had learned that day.

This language acquisition was certainly accelerated by my engagement with the community around me. Learning cultural differences came from experiencing cultural differences. For example, German culture takes Sunday as truly a day of rest, where most supermarkets and stores are not open. Although I had heard this from various German professors as well as from my own research, it really took me experiencing this difference to understand how it impacts the society and the people living in it. Everybody seemed to be relaxed and happy on Sunday’s, as this was sort of a guaranteed day of rest. I also found it important to ask questions. When I noticed that I had to bring my own reusable bags at the supermarket, I talked to my host about this cultural difference. She said that the plastic bags that I am familiar with at supermarkets are really not used in Germany and it is expected that shoppers bring their own reusable bags. This was a very interesting insight, and I am very grateful I was able to stay with a host who was very happy to answer my questions about German culture and language. In this, I think the expectations that I wrote about in my pre-departure post were very accurate. I wanted to learn not only about the language, but also about cultural differences.

This experience certainly impacted my world view. It was one of the first times that I was immersed in a culture where English is not the primary language. Other times when I have traveled internationally, I had my family with me and we would speak English together. However, during this program I was challenged to speak German nearly exclusively. I saw that there are so many different cultures and ways to live. Most of all, this experience challenged and inspired me. It was not always easy and I certainly felt homesick and uncomfortable at moments. However, I would do it all again in a heartbeat. As advice to others, I would say that if you want to experience a new culture, language, and part of the world, the SLA grant is a phenomenal way to do so. Even if you feel anxious or nervous to pursue the opportunity, go for it. You never know what you may discover, encounter, and learn. Thank you again for this experience, it is one I will never forget!

A photo of Basel, Switzerland, where I took a short vacation with my Dad before flying home. Basel sits at the corner of France, Germany, and Switzerland and is a beautiful and historic town that sits on the Rhein. Although Switzerland has multiple official languages, German was the primary language spoken in Basel, so I was able to continue to practice my language skills!

Perspectives on Americans and Tschüss, Köln!

Last Friday (July 8) I completed my last day of class in Germany. These past six weeks have gone by extremely fast and I am so grateful for this once in a lifetime experience. At the end of my trip, my dad came and met up with me and we took a weekend trip to Switzerland. It was an awesome way to end off this trip.

However, for my last blog post I want to discuss some of the perceptions of Americans that I encountered while in Germany. It has been very cool to be in an environment where I was often the only American. This put me in an interesting position of hearing different opinions and views on the US.

Throughout my time in Germany, I had many meaningful and insightful conversations with my host. Towards the end of my stay, I explained to her that my dad would be coming to visit me in Germany and we were going to visit Switzerland for the weekend before flying home. She then explained to me about a certain perspective that many Germans have towards Americans. She said that there is a stereotype that Americans try to experience “Europa in einer Woche” (Europe in a week). It is apparently very common for Americans to come to Europe for only a short amount of time, but to try and see as many countries, cities, and sights as possible. I thought this was very funny and also quite true. However, I think the reason is that it is generally quite expensive to travel to many countries in Europe and it is considered a “bucket list” activity for many. So, many Americans want to see as many places as possible in the time they have here!

Another experience where I discussed the United States was with my classmates and teachers. Often, the topic that came up was American politics. There were differing views on American politics, some positive and some negative. However, what surprised me most was that many were not so keen to express their own political opinions; rather, they were interested in my own opinions on American politics. My classmates said they often saw news stories on their own local news about American politics, but they were curious about what I thought about these stories and topics.

A more humorous example came from discussing the temperature with other students in my class. All of the other students in my class came from countries where celsius was used to measure the temperature. So, we had a lot of fun debates about the usefulness of celsius versus fahrenheit. Many of my classmates thought that it was ridiculous that Americans do not use celsius, or any of the other metric measurements, in day to day life. I have to say, it would have been very convenient if I was already familiar with celsius before arriving in Germany!

The last example comes from one of the after class activities hosted by Carl Duisberg. We went to the park across the street from the school to play soccer (aka football) together. We had to split into two groups: those who had a lot of experience playing soccer and those who were less experienced. As we were forming the groups, one teacher from Carl Duisberg asked me which team I wanted to join, to which I responded that I definitely belonged in the less experienced group. She said something along the lines of, “Oh right, I forgot that you’re American, you definitely need to go into the less experienced group!” I thought this was very funny. It is certainly the collective opinion in Germany that Americans are less skilled in playing soccer.

Lastly, I will include a few pictures of the Brühl Castle, which I visited with my school during my last week of classes. This castle is located in Brühl, Germany, which is only about a 30 minute train ride from Köln.

The outside of the Brühl Castle. Unfortunately, they were doing some work on the outside of the castle so the left side is covered in scaffolding. However, it still looked absolutely breathtaking in person.

The Treppenhaus, or stairwell, was certainly the most impressive room in the entire castle. It is so detailed and ornate. Everywhere I looked, including the floor and ceiling, was covered in some sort of painting or beautiful marble.

I took this picture on my last night in K¨oln. I walked over the Rhein to get a view of the cathedral, Hohenzollern Bridge, and the Groß St. Martin church. The city skyline looked beautiful, despite the less than ideal weather.

Split Train and Delicious Food

Last week I finished my fifth week of classes in Germany, and today I began my final week of classes. The time has been moving very quickly and I will be really sad to leave next week. In only a few weeks I have made numerous new friends and progressed greatly in my language skills.

The weekend before last I decided to visit some relatives in the Netherlands. Although their first language is Dutch, they both speak fluent German, so I was able to practice my German with them during my visit. However, one of the more stressful moments of my time in Germany was taking the train to get to the Netherlands. I had to make a connection, but due to my first train being delayed, I only had 2 minutes to make the connection. Luckily, my first train arrived slightly early so I was able to make it to the second train. Once I made it to the platform, I noticed that two trains were listed on the screen for that track. Each had the same train number and departure time, but different destinations. I thought this was strange, but still boarded the train when it arrived. It listed my destination, Arnhem Centraal, on the outside, so I figured I was on the correct train.

However, once we started moving, I noticed that on the screen inside of my specific car, it listed the other destination. I started to get nervous that I had accidentally gotten on the wrong train. I checked my app and the train number matched up, so at this point I was very confused. As we kept going, I heard a worker coming through the train asking people, in German, what their destination was. I quickly sat up and told her I was going to Arnhem. She said that the train was going to split, and the back half (where I was sitting) was going to the other location, and the front half was going to Arnhem. At the next stop, I hopped off the train and made my way to a cart further up.

I was very surprised that the train split, but luckily I made it to my destination on time. I have found using the trains to be stressful at times, but overall it has been a fantastic language learning experience. Having to think on my toes and communicate in German during these stressful situations is one of the best tests of my German language capabilities!

Ordering food in German has also been an adventure. I have had so much delicious and authentic German foods, including currywurst, bratwurst, schnitzel, potato salad, and fries. This past week, I had the chance to try some authentic German food. I ordered potato pancakes, which are well known and very popular in Köln. They came with cooked apples, butter, and a slice of black bread. The potato pancakes were absolutely delicious, especially when eaten with the apples. I enjoyed the black bread much less. It was very dense and tasted bitter. However, I am very glad I got to try these dishes!