I know I promised to post once a month, but between classes
starting, traveling more on weekends, and getting into a steady routine, somehow
the time got away from me in October! Though I normally would apologize
profusely for not fulfilling my promise to blog once a month, I am not going to
apologize this time, because I consider it a good thing that I haven’t posted
in a while – it is proof that I am keeping busy and making the most out of my
time here!
I organized this post into three sections: one about my
travels thus far, one about what I am up to academically, and another about how
I am adjusting to life here. Please enjoy the fact that each title includes a
lot of alliteration.
Truly Tremendous Travels
In October, I was able to get out of Munich a little more
and see places in Bavaria using the Bayern ticket. The Bayern ticket allows
you to travel around Bavaria on the weekends for a very low cost, which is of
course always appreciated! I visited Passau earlier this month with Christy,
and after enjoying an organ concert played on the world's largest church organ,
I met up with Judith, my exchange partner from high school, whom I hadn't
seen since I left her in Untergriesbach four years ago. It was cool to
reconnect, and after getting lunch together, we climbed up Oberhausen to get a
view of Passau, die drei-Flüße Stadt (3 River City). Passau has this name, since
it is where the In, Ilz and the Danube River come together.
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| Judith and I, 4 years later! |
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| The Kaffee and Kuchen Plate |
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| Schloss Neuschwanstein |
This past weekend I traveled to Berlin with Ana, Kate, Katie
and Evan (also all from my program). It was my first overnight trip since I have
been here, and it was cool realizing that my home is now Munich. Coming back
into town, I was excited to get back to my room, my home. Berlin was amazing,
and I don’t think the trip could have gone any better! We were there during the
weekend of the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the fall of the
Berlin Wall, so we got to partake in some of the events going on for it. We saw
a chamber orchestra perform at Checkpoint Charlie and we also saw part of an
informational film about the Berlin Wall outside on a big screen. We also
witnessed the Lichtgrenze, which was a line of big, lit-up helium balloons
attached to poles that went throughout the city and marked where the Berlin
wall once stood. It made the huge effect of the wall easier to understand and
was very beautiful and impressive to see at night. The balloons were released
one by one on the night of November 9th at night to symbolize the fall of the
wall. Though we were already back in Munich when that happened, I was able to
see what the releasing of the balloons looked like, since a German news channel
was streaming the event live, online. I wish I could have been there though! Besides
seeing events for the anniversary of the fall of the wall, I also saw Schloss
Charlottenburg, saw the Brandenburger Tor, ate the best Döner of my life after
waiting in line for it for a half hour (the place we got them is basically the
Kimball’s of Döner), and saw the East Side Gallery, among many other things as
well. I would say we were very successful, considering we only had about 36
hours in the city!
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| Katie, me, Ana, Kate and Evan at the East Side Gallery |
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| I present you: the Brandenburger Tor |
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| Part of the Lichtgrenze near Checkpoint Charlie |
All About the Academics
This semester I am taking 5 courses, a regular course load
here. I am taking a German language class
at JYM, which is helping to prepare me for a German language ability test that
I hope to take in March. I am hoping that I will be able to pass it and get a
certificate saying that my German level is good enough to study here in the future
(a C-1 level), which would mean I could come back to Germany at some point in
my life and do my Master’s degree if I ever wanted. I am also taking a German
literature course at JYM for my German major, as well as a class called Munich
and National Socialism at JYM for my IA major. The Munich and National Socialism
class is especially interesting since we don’t always meet in the classroom.
Sometimes, we meet in the city and do a walking tour of sorts, learning about
key places in Munich during Hitler’s rise to power and during his time in
power. I also am taking a class called Intercultural Communication through JYM,
which has been pretty interesting so far, especially as I try to adjust to life
in a foreign country and communicate with Germans. You would be surprised how
many cultural differences there are between Germany and the USA (no, I am not talking
about the “beer and Lederhosen” culture difference). The other class I am
taking is called human-environment relationships and is a lecture at LMU. I find
the topic really interesting and can understand most of the lecture, though I
do have to look up some words afterwards. Luckily, the professor posts the
slide online!
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| View down the street from JYM. It's always exciting when it is sunny in the morning! |
Loving living this Life
While I value traveling and academics highly and view them
as important parts of my year in Germany, what is most important to me is that
I get to know myself better this year and grow as a person. Adjusting to living
in a new culture is much harder than I thought it would be, but I have learned
so much already and am glad I am forcing myself to step out of my comfort zone.
It is pretty hard to meet German students, probably because
most of my classes are at JYM this semester, but I have two conversation
partners that I found online and with whom I meet regularly. I practice my German
with them and help them with their English. It’s so nice to meet with them each
week and so nice to be able to ask a local when a cultural question comes up. Both of my conversation partners have been so
helpful to me, recommending places to check out in Munich, inviting me to a movie,
etc, and I am so grateful for them.
On another note, I gained confidence in my house maintenance
skills this month with each fruit fly I killed during the legendary Fruit-Fly
Infestation Week (Note to self: don’t leave out a banana to let it ripen so it
can be used for banana pancakes. It’s just not worth it). I have also realized
that dishes don’t do themselves. What a disappointment! Oddly enough, if I
leave dishes in the sink overnight, they will still be there, dirty and
slightly smellier, in the morning. Big shout-out goes to mom and dad for
cleaning a dish or two for me in years past when I didn’t have the energy to do
it myself. That’s the problem with living alone: there’s no one to pick up the
slack for you when you need it, and perhaps even worse: there is also no one to
share tasty meals with when you summon the energy to make one. That being said
though, it sure is nice to have my own space and to be able to operate on
whatever schedule I want to. I really can’t complain!
Hopefully it is clear from this blog post that I am alive
and well and happy with my choice to spend the year here! I have learned so
much already, and look forward to learning even more, be it about a city on a
trip, about a time in history in the classroom, or about myself as I conquer
the challenges that this year brings.
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| "Right now someone is dreaming of living your life" This was written on part of the wall in the East Side Gallery and really puts things into perspective for me. It helps me remember that no matter how hard a day might be here, I am so lucky to have this opportunity, and I really can not complain. Life is good. |
