Tomorrow is the beginning of our midterm break, which means I’ll be about halfway done with my time in Berlin. Tomorrow night we fly to Rome for our fall break. Looking back, I’m so glad I decided to study abroad. There are so many exciting things to learn and people to talk to.
So far, my experience has been overwhelmingly positive. We’ve kept up a good pace and always been busy with something. I’m settling in with my host family and adjusting to life here. While I don’t think I’d ever feel like this is my home, this is probably as close as I’m going to get right now.
Looking back at my goals, I can see that I have come a long way. My first goal was to get better at German. That’s happened. Today, for example, I scheduled a haircut in German, and aside from a few clarifications, the haircut and small talk were all in German. After that, I went home and carried on a conversation with my host family in German also. When I first came here, I would not have been able to do that. I’ve become more confident in my abilities and that people won’t care too much if I mess up. Most people here seem to appreciate the fact that I’m trying to speak another language, and not just English to them. They’re very courteous about any misunderstandings.
One thing I want to improve on is immersing myself in the city a bit more. Since the first weekend here, I haven’t stayed in the city yet. I have a decent feel for it, but it still feels like I’m a tourist and not living here. Some of that is natural since I’m only here for 16 weeks. But for the second part of the semester, I want to try to get into the city more and do the less obvious things. Another thing I want to improve on is knowing more about Germany and Europe. There are so many aspects of history and geography that I don’t know. When you see how much some other people know about your own country, it makes you want to break the stereotype of the dumb American. The third thing I want to get better at is honestly just planning. After coming from a very structured life, planning days and weeklong vacations takes some time. I’m hoping that learning not to procrastinate trip-planning will carry into homework too.
While here, I’ve learned a lot about German culture. My least favorite part is how they aren’t as friendly as Americans. I’ve mainly noticed them on the streets since back in America, I usually smile at people I pass. When I do that here, people either avoid my gaze or stare back. I do admire how dedicated they are to recycling and environmental issues. Every piece of trash has its spot, and public transit is the vehicle of choice. Since energy is more expensive, I take much shorter showers here and bundle up when it’s cold instead of using the heater. When I came here, differences like these didn’t bring culture shock but more culture annoyance. I was daily annoyed at things that deviated from what I was used to, and I just wished that things would be normal again. Now I’m learning to live with and embrace the differences. And while I knew that America and my experiences weren’t the center of the world, now I’m starting to feel that more and more in a more tangible sense.
Overall, studying abroad hasn’t been without its struggles so far. But I’ve had many more successes. I’m excited to see where the second half takes me!
Since I didn’t put in any pictures last time, I promised Mrs. Kassuelke I’d put in extra this time. Here they are!
