Long Walk with Benjamin

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This past weekend I visited Dresden, and boy was it a wonderful experience!

The biggest reason I wanted to go to Dresden was because I wanted to visit the Drechsler family. I was due to go to Germany on Project Timothy in high school, however, the country was closed at the time to visitors. And because I didn’t go on Project Timothy to Germany, I jumped at the opportunity given me through MLC to finally go to Germany. This was also one of my personal goals: to meet Pastor Drechsler and his family, since my German teacher in high school was a very good friend of his.

However, the family was hosting another pastoral student, like me. He approached me right before the church service, and we struck up a conversation. His name was Benjamin, and he was in his third year of study, and Pastor is his mentor. After the service, Mrs. Drechsler needed time to prepare a meal, and so Benjamin and I went on a very long walk. Side note: This is a very common German pastime, and I will say that many German cities are perfect for long walks. Usually, these walks have no end goal in mind, just a way to clear the mind and get some fresh air.

As we walked and talked, we discussed things that not everyone our age is able to relate to, such as the serious nature of our future work, yet also the beauty of it. I asked the big question: Why made you decide to become a pastor? He began with his experience of the issue many have had: what to do with their life. He grew up going to church, and after he met another pastor at a Bible Camp who told him to try the public ministry, he decided to give the ministry a try. I think that with Pastor Drechsler as a mentor, Benjamin will make a fine worker one day, and I hope to meet him again someday because he was a very insightful man and really smart, too. Of course, we connected over the difficulty of the languages but also, maybe not consciously, reminded each other of the nature of our work. This is done at SPaM meetings at MLC, and since I am missing the meetings this semester, it was awesome to have a small one of my own.

I am super happy to have meet the Drechslers finally, they are truly a wonderful family.

Here are some picture fromLondon and Dresden

 

Kind of a blink and you’ll miss it moment, but if you look closely here you’ll see Ted Lasso

You know it, you love it, it’s the Frauenkirche

The Old City of Dresden

An Interview With Ehsan

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One of the many blessings of being in London is getting to experience its diversity. There are people from all walks of life here, each person with a unique background. One of the closest friends that I have made in London is Ehsan, who grew up in Shiraz, Iran. We have been talking since the first day we arrived and throughout our conversations and in the interview I conducted with him today, I have learned a great deal about what life was like for him in Iran and how during his experience in London, he has been undergoing a culture shock of his own.

The greatest difference between Iran and the U.K. that Ehsan pointed to was that the people of the U.K. are allowed much more freedom in all aspects of life. For one, the Iranian government strictly prohibits the practice of religions outside of Islam. Converts from Islam can be punished by execution without the right to appear before a court, despite there being an established court system in Iran. In keeping with Muslim tradition, there are many restrictions in the clothing that one can wear in Iran. Ehsan pointed out that while some of these restrictions are on men– they are not allowed to have tattoos or to show their arms or legs in a work setting– the majority of the laws are specific to women. They must cover their arms, legs, and hair at all times with a hijab, so as to not be a distraction to the men. Free speech is also limited in Iran, as its people are prohibited to criticize the government.

Besides these more obvious changes, Ehsan has noticed some differences in his social life. While in the U.K. it is normal to decline someone’s offer of food, Ehsan was taken aback that people would decline his offers, as in Iran, it is not considered polite. He also noticed that people in the U.K. are more likely to talk to strangers in Iran, which was a very interesting perspective to me because when compared to the U.S., the U.K. seemed more reserved in that sense. Ehsan said that when you do talk to people in Iran, it’s not common to express your emotions. Most people put up a front when they are in public. Still, Ehsan has incredibly close relationships with his friends back home, which is something that he misses. 

When I asked Ehsan about what else he misses from Iran, he was fixated on food. His absolute favorite dish, which his mom would often make, is tahchin. It appears almost like a cake, baked with rice and eggs, filled with chicken, and topped with tart barberries. The dish that he left me craving the most was faloodeh, a dessert that looks like noodles, which are actually made of a sorbet-like frozen syrup. It is also very common, he told me, to eat koobideh, a lamb or beef kebab served with rice and grilled tomatoes. 

One of Ehsan’s family traditions is to grill koobideh on seezdah be de. This day is the last of the 13 day-long holiday of Nowruz. Nowruz is celebrated from the first day of the spring equinox onward, as this is where the Persian calendar starts. It is similar to the U.S. New Years, and is the most popular holiday celebrated in Iran. On the final day of Nowruz, seezdah be de, it is custom to spend the day out in nature, to dispel any negativity out of your life. Ehsan’s family likes to hike, or to play football and volleyball during this time. Another fun tradition of this day is to tie a piece of grass and make a wish.

My interview with Ehsan has challenged me to approach every person with a grain of salt, without making assumptions that their expectations in social situations are the same as mine. I hope that my relationship with Ehsan continues to grow!

German Gymnasium

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I will apologize for the title….this is another name for advanced schooling in Germany, similar to a Master’s program in the U.S. It is NOT a place where basketball is played; I just wanted a cool sounding title.

I do not get a good taste of German schooling, since I am in a study abroad program, but here is what my schedule is like. I am only in 12 credits’ worth of classes, per MLC’s wishes. I have two subject courses on Monday and Tuesday. Each class lasts two and a half hours and sometimes they are pretty brutal. BUT they are only once a week, so it is not that bad. I also take Intensive German four days a week, Monday to Thursday. These classes are three hour long language classes, but these go very quick since, at my German level, we mostly spend our time talking about personal experiences and current events. It is nice to finally practice speaking German for a long time, which is one of the main reasons I wanted to go. It is very different from classes at MLC.

One thing that was difficult for me was the tests. The German test was quite simple, but for the subject courses I found it hard, since we only had class once a week and the learning for each class was all in the readings that we must have completed prior to each class. I had to write two 2 page essays for each class, four altogether, from questions given to me before the test. I could prepare somewhat for these, but this kind of testing I had never done before, so I was insanely nervous. This also was pretty much the only grades for these subject courses, so a lot was riding on these tests. It was not as hard as I thought to write two pages’ worth of essay, but it was still difficult and took over an hour and a half each time.

From what I learned from my fellow students who go to bigger universities, this is pretty normal as far as expectations in academia go.

What was also difficult, and this is something I really haven’t experienced either, is the lack of interest in the course. This was only for one of my subject courses, but the lack of interest makes it hard to get any sort of work done. Since I haven’t experienced this at MLC, I take this as a good sign in our college’s education. I know what MLC teaches will be important later on.

Also, here are some pics from my time in Warsaw!

 

Kielbasa (Polish Sausage), Me at the top of the Palace of Culture and Science, (The purple building below), and the skyline of Warsaw, or at least what it looked like most of my visit.

 

 

 

When in London… Go to Rome!

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You get to be so immersed in the new culture of your home abroad that you can totally forget that you are there to study. That said, I have been loving my classes at the University of Roehampton. Compared to classes at MLC, the class time is significantly lower as is the homework load. I am taking three classes (Approaches to Popular Film, Shakespeare in London, and Writing Fiction), each of which takes up a three-hour time block. It seems overwhelming initially, but each of these classes only meets once a week, meaning I only have class on three out of the five week days. Additionally, the classes never feel too long because the professors will allot for breaks after each hour of class and switch between lecture and full-class discussion after each of these portions. Most of the homework is reading in preparation for discussion. In fact, most classes will only have one or two total assessments that due at the end of the semester. These usually include presentations and essays. All that said, academics here are much easier than academics at home. This is something I am happy about while I am abroad, because it gives me more free time to travel and explore London. However, I am glad that it is not the case for my full-time college experience, because I enjoy being pushed and challenged in my academic life to perform to the highest degree that I possibly can.

I am really thrilled about getting into the Shakespeare in London class. If there is any class that is being enhanced by my surroundings abroad, it is that one. Every other week, we take a trip to central London to watch a Shakespeare show, whether at the Globe Theatre, or another theatre. It has been surreal to watch Shakespeare shows in the place where they were performed over 400 years ago. They try to maintain the style of the original shows by eliminating the use of mics and spotlights, giving the shows a very intimate feel.

The length of the semester is also much shorter here. There are 11 total academic weeks, with one week of school off in the middle. While this free week is called “reading week” and is designated for personal study time, most people use the time to their advantage to go on trips. I was one of these people. Me and a couple of friends I have met along the way (L to R: Angelina, TJ, Teck, Mira, Anthony) took a 6-day trip through Italy. We started in Milan, then later traveled to Venice and Rome. This is no hot take by any means, but Rome was the best of the bunch in my opinion. With Roman architecture from the days of the Empire to medieval times to the Renaissance scattered along the streets, it’s as if you can see the timeline of the city as you walk. Here’s the hot take: Rome was more romantic than Venice. While the streets of Rome were bustling at night, ornately decorated and full of light, the streets of Venice became a maze of ominous unlit alleyways when the sun went down.

Italy was an even bigger culture shock for me than London, but I got a welcome taste of home when I saw Ben and Abby Hillmer, friends from MLC! Pictured above is our spooky trip to the London Dungeons. So many blessings!

Cheers, Joe