What now?

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So I’ve lived in a foreign country for three and a half months. Add that to the belt, I suppose. Naturally, reflection is due for this huge experience in my life.

I think I am most proud of traveling alone. My classmates here all had different ideas and places they wanted to see, and so did I, and after I did a group trip with a few guys, I quickly realized that I can’t keep doing this every weekend or else I would never get to see things that I was interested in, so I planned a bunch of solo trips and pretty much traveled by myself. It was difficult at first to get used to all of this time on my own, but it was worth it because I did succeed in meeting the people I wanted to meet and saw the sights I was most interested in. I read a lot. For fun, not for school. I mean, I did that too, but traveling is the perfect time to read in my opinion, and I have finished about ten books in this semester.

Traveling alone was a challenge, and if I would do anything differently, it would be to bring someone from MLC along. The school here is something that I am not used to, and it would help if I had someone from my other school to connect with and to vent with sometimes. I was able to visit another MLC student twice this semester, and that was huge in terms of my metal health, you know, to be able to share our thoughts about life outside the U.S. with each other. He also is a good friend, so I appreciated being able to have someone with the same sense of humor as me. Sorry to get off track, but I really enjoy making people laugh and I could never really figure out how to do that here, so like I said, I appreciated being able to see my friend greatly and have a few laughs.

Something that I would incorporate into my life back home is showing appreciation for my family and friends. I am sure that I did an okay job at that already, but I would like to overflow, so to speak, with gratitude for the faculty at MLC, my family and friends who encouraged me to go through with this. I missed all of them, and they probably miss me. Attending a public university really showed me just how much of an impact MLC had on my life, and I don’t ever want to take that for granted again. I must admit, I have been quite horrible at staying in contact with my family in college and high school, and I have been trying to do a better job at that here in Berlin. I would like to also take that back with me, since my family is pretty far apart as is, a phone call every now and then would go a long way to maintain my relationship with my family.

I am grateful for my parents. They made sure I began working pretty early, all through high school and that I didn’t have a whole lot of ways to spend my money the first few years I started working, and I was able to save a lot of money because of my parents. It really helped me enjoy my semester here, since I never had to worry about money. Granted it was my own money, so I was careful not to just throw it away, but in terms of traveling I could pick a nicer, more comfortable option and I could also try lots of different foods, all without too much concern for my wallet.

God has given me a very laid back temperament, which has come in handy when I talk to my fellow American students as well as the locals of the places I have gone. I ended up making some unlikely friends and actually enjoyed my relationship with them. I also was made aware of the lack of meaning in the world. I could tell a lot of people that I met needed something more, something meaningful in their life. It’s clear to Christians, of course, since it’s written out for us in the Bible. It’s really difficult to see this, especially when you know the One who gives our lives meaning, and others don’t. I guess, in a sense, it is actually nice to see this crisis because I know my work is cut out for me and I know I will have lots to do after the seminary. But still, it was sad to meet people, who I could tell were very troubled. This is also something that supersedes any sort of cultural barrier or political boundary. I guess that I have seen God’s hand in abundance of work that needs to be done, either by me or whatever means He chooses. This also is something I want to take back with me: the news that people everywhere need to be told the Good News. Of course, we hear this every day at MLC, but it is something completely different when you actually experience the true size of the harvest field. It’s more massive than I ever could have imagined, and I’d like to let my classmates know too.

There are so many tips and lessons I could give to other students which would be relevant and important. Just do it. Don’t worry. Denke nicht, tue es einfach. I had my doubts and fears too, but I have never felt more alive than when I first set foot on German soil. I was tired, hungry and probably smelly, but absolutely in love with life. I have been working hard toward this goal for the last few years, and it was awesome to see it come to fruition.

Now I will have to deal with a new question: What now? This was a huge project of mine, and now that it is coming to an end, I am not sure what will come next for me besides five more years of school.

Me on the wall of a Roman Fort, Joe and I eating beans for breakfast, Philosophe Joe, and Neuschwanstein Castle.

 

 

 

Essen und Fressen

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Before I get to what I would like to talk about, that being food here, I have to explain the title. My grandma didn’t speak German, but before every meal, she would always say, “It’s time to eat! Essen und Fressen!” Both words mean, “to eat” in German, but “essen” is the word used to describe people eating, and “fressen” is to describe animals eating. In other words, when my grandma said this, it was always sort of a joke making fun of us, like some in my family ate like people and others like animals. It also highlights the differences in languages in a humorous manner.

Ah yes, food in Germany. I have really enjoyed it. One of the things I wish America had was Döner. It is a sort of sandwich, and the meat can be either beef or chicken, cooked on a vertical spit (similar to shawarma), shaved off the spit with a knife, and it all goes in a bread pocket with salad and savory sauces. I could definitely eat this for the rest of my life. This is a very unique part of German culture, since Döner came with the influx of Turkish immigrant workers after the World War II. It was popularized by the Germans, but comes from the Turks. A decent comparison to this food phenom would be pizza in America and Italy in the sense that America really took pizza and made it its own. There is pizza in Italy and Döner in Turkey but (I’m told) that there isn’t a whole lot of Döner places in Turkey, and the pizza in Italy (I’m also told) is not quite like American pizza.

Another aspect of German food is their sweets and baked goods. I was always more of a savory guy, not much of a sweet tooth, but in Germany, their sweets always hit the spot and I never feel bad eating baked goods. Part of this change is due to the fact that much of the bread here is very light and probably healthier than the U.S. Another reason why you can see me eating a lot of candy in Germany is because they use cane sugar in most of their sweets, as opposed to high fructose corn syrup in many American candies. It makes a huge difference! Cane sugar just taste better and more real than the other stuff. Even the sodas (pop) use cane sugar, and they are all way more delicious than what I am used to in the U.S.

One drawback is that meat is very expensive in Germany, and sometimes people will just skip that part at restaurants or at homes. It took me some time to get used to this, but I realize that not much meat is needed in a healthy diet, and I think that Americans, in many areas of life, go overboard with it since we have been incredibly blessed with a fruitful land. I would say that the food of Germany (and a few other things) has taught me how wasteful Americans can be sometimes, and I never really thought about it before.

 

 

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

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.

 

 

 

I Found Luther!!!!!

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I can’t believe I have reached the halfway point already; I feel like I just got here!

This last weekend, I had quite the interesting interaction. Since Wittenberg is maybe a half hour train ride away, I decided to visit on Saturday.  Midterm exams were coming up and I didn’t want to be out of town for a whole weekend. After a whole day of wandering around Lutherstadt, Wittenberg, the part of Wittenberg where Luther lived and taught, I was ready to go back to Berlin. Something I should also mention is that due to certain business decisions of Deutsche Bahn (The company in charge of mostly all the trains in Germany), the last few years the train reliability has gone down the drain. Many are delayed, late, or malfunctioning, similar to America’s issues with air travel. I found out that my train to Berlin was not stopping in Wittenberg, and I had to take another train back, but that train had technical problems and I had to wait about two hours before I finally left Wittenberg. to pass the time, I struck up a conversation with a lady who was from the area, and I talked to her for about an hour, all in German. She was very nice, and the time went by quite fast. I want to develop my German language skills, so this was perfect. This sort of thing is what I wanted to experience every day- meet new people, exchange life stories, really connect with them, you know? But something I noticed about Berlin, is that I cannot do that or else people will look at me funny. Even in larger cities in the U.S., people will look at you strangely if you asked them how their day is going. Unfortunately, this was one of my goals for this semester and it is very difficult to be able to talk to people due to social norms. I suppose I must adjust this goal and instead of connecting with people every day, I might be able to do it once a week.

But I also am meeting the goal of travel! I bought train tickets and a hotel room for Warsaw, as well as a flight to London! I am excited to travel alone. There are many different types of people who travel around Europe, such as backpackers and partiers. I prefer to just wander around, and if there is something that catches my eye, I’ll check it out. Guided tours are helpful. Most of them show the cool places to visit, then end with, “Okay, now go check out these places at your own leisure.” I really enjoy this way of sightseeing. There is no pressure of trying to fit everything in! I would strongly recommend the “wandering around” technique.

Left: The Theses Doors, Center: Castle Church, Right: The Luther Study

Here are some pictures from Prague as well!

From the Dells to Deutschland

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This was my first time across the pond!
For some reason, I always make things more scary and harder in my mind. I thought it would be a huge monumental thing and difficult to get here. I’ll admit I was a little underwhelmed by how seemingly easy it was, just because I imagined things to be much harder in my mind. I suppose many others think the same way.
On the way, I kept forgetting that I was in Europe, especially when I was in the airports. Once you’ve been to a few airports in America, you pretty much get the gist of how things work in European airports, too. It sure makes traveling a lot less intimidating. I was sitting in the Paris airport and looking at the nice green hills. When the plane took off from Paris to Berlin I saw some nice towns and farm fields and churches, when it hit me that these were French towns and fields and churches! I was in Europe now!
The tricky part came when I landed in Berlin and had to find my host family since they could not come and pick me up. The train system was very intimidating, and I was operating off one hour of sleep, but I somehow I was able to get on the right train and made it to their house. My living situation is very nice, since I want to practice my German and I am living in my host family’s basement with a Polish lady who can only speak German and Polish, so I am getting lots of German practice!

I also am seeing many cool sights, which was one of my personal goals. (The German word for tourist attraction literally means, “place worthy of seeing”) I had a few free days before orientation started to I went and saw the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag, I also walked the entirety of Park Sanssouci the next day! For reference, that’s about the size of Central Park in NYC. I apologize, I am not the best at taking pictures but I also want to get better at that while I am abroad!

Something I that truly surprised me was the amount of time spent on trains. In the small community of the Wisconsin Dells area, there isn’t much in the way of public transportation. Now I spend around two hours a day on trains! After being here for a week and a half, trains aren’t so scary anymore, and I would rather sit on a train for an hour than drive an hour to go to school everyday.

Here are some photos of the places I saw, there should be more coming!