Let's face it: most students the University have traveled outside the country at some point in their lives. But in my own little southwest Virginia world, the globetrotter is a rare bird.
No surprise then, that after eight years of German language study -- that is, after amassing impressive linguistic and cultural proficiency -- I had never traveled to Deutschland.I had never even been on an airplane. Many of my conversations with classmates went as follows: "Oh, so you're a German major?When did you go to Germany?"My standard answer:"Never been."
This unfailingly earned me a mix of scorn and pity from the jet-setting crowd:"Oh, well I was in Hamburg last summer; you simply must go!"Thank you, Hunter. Combining that peer-pressure, a program requirement to study abroad and my own healthy desire to see the world, I packed a suitcase and headed for Berlin last summer.
As the only student simultaneously pursuing a BA in German in the College and an MT in the Ed-school, I faced what many students -- particularly upperclassmen -- dread.My courses were predetermined and would last until the day I die.Or close enough.Whereas my German major peers have a 30 credit hour requirement, I have to complete 36, with less freedom in class selection.Our German department even demands of me that I take a course they don't offer!
The schedule of education courses is even worse. I would go so far as to call it notorious in its rigidity.If you wish to study abroad in the Ed-school, nothing you study counts toward your program, and you have to double up on courses during the semester prior to departure, as well in the semester following your return.
I simply was not going to get to spend the typical six months sipping wine, backpacking, partying -- and studying hard, of course.But I also was not going to give up on the opportunity to study abroad.I was going to have to do a summer abroad.
Skip ahead several months and there I was, sweltering in a foreign land for the first time, spending my summer in a big city and loving it.Unlike many semester abroad programs, I did not travel with a large group of other Americans.There were only seven of us: two Texans, five Virginians and the nearly four million Berliners.Each of the students in my program lived with a host family, which also was unique to my summer study abroad.Instead of spending all of my free time socializing and speaking in English, I played video games with my host-brother, read books from my host-mom, listened to CDs from my host-dad and learned to like World Cup Soccer from the neighbors.My family had the biggest television around.
Classes, the primary element of my program, were at a private language school instead of a university.For someone like me, interested in the language and modern culture, this was perfect -- far better than a semester abroad.I didn't want to be in some university lecture hall, listening to a professor drone on in German about some novel or some other standard topic of academia.It was, after all, the summer.Instead, I took a conversation course with people from various countries, ranging from Germany to Russian to Chile to Canada.
School let out at noon everyday, but that didn't exactly mean my afternoons were free.The other element of my program was to familiarize myself with the culture and history of the city.
Berlin, however, was not the only city that I managed to explore.The summer program included excursions to the culturally important cities of Leipzig and Dresden.
After the requisite five weeks of class, I had nearly the entire summer still ahead of me, so I took off on a two-week train trip through the entire country.Traveling freely, I was able to set my own schedule and view the sites important to me.I was able to see the BMW and Mercedes museums, various Roman ruins and the local Biergartens. Interestingly enough, on the weekend that Germany played Brazil for the World Cup title, I found myself in a bar in Prague, viewing the game with very practical, traveling Germans.They were all wearing Brazil jerseys."Why should we cheer for Germany, when we know they will lose?"My response:"Yeah, so why are you out of the country this weekend with that, um, Brazil jersey on?"
Now, in the second semester of my fourth year, I am participating in a German senior seminar on the subject of Berlin as a Narrative Location.As I flip the pages of the books I'm supposed to be reading, I find myself instead recounting my own meandering in the city. It amazes me to what degree of detail I can recall all that I saw, all that I learned.
Before I went to Germany, I had certain expectations.I wanted to travel, to have a good time, but I also needed to study.My degree program demanded study abroad but also left little room in its rigidity for the excesses of travel.Fortunately I came upon a good summer study program, and enjoyed every minute of it.
The only obvious complaint would be that I did not have enough time in Germany, but I would rather put a positive spin on that shortcoming.I experienced Europe for a brief period of time and now I can't wait to go back for a longer stay.After all, the 2006 World Cup Finale will be held in Berlin's Olympic Stadium.
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