Berlin is NOT Germany
Today marks exactly two weeks since I first stepped foot in Berlin, and about 2 1/2 weeks since I first flew into Germany. A lot has happened within those two weeks. Many of my initial goals have seen improvement over these weeks and despite my ignorance to the cultural “ins and outs” of Berlin, I’ve grown surprisingly comfortable with the city. The city is certainly a melting pot of cultures, as is evident by walking down the street, looking at the various shops, or even taking public transportation (which I have grown accustomed very to). That is one thing that I’ve gotten a better handle on—public transportation. My first experience with Berlin, or even German, trains and buses was with two bulging suitcases and a backpack that felt like it weighed a ton, so it was not as enjoyable as I would have hoped. Since then, all I’ve needed to carry around the city has been a backpack at the least, which almost seems like a necessity, since I am out and about all day. From school to my and David’s many excursions, the culture of Berlin definitely shines through (even through the many cloudy days that have been forecasted for these next two weeks 🙁 I think the multicultural feel of the city has eased my transition into living in a foreign country. I definitely feel as though I am one of the many people in Berlin who are still figuring out how to handle everyday life in a new city. I don’t feel so isolated and there are a host of people who are willing to help a tourist, who looks like a “deer in the headlights”.
However, despite looking like a lost tourist, I have been adjusting well to my new norms because I have kept myself busy whether it be planning for potential trips or taking mini-excursions within the city itself. Berlin is such a large city that I doubt I will ever have the possibility of seeing every corner of it, but thats the hope. It’s stunning to me that two weeks ago I couldn’t even imagine being able to navigate throughout the city even with Google/Apple Maps, but now I am familiar enough to get to and from school everyday plus certain places within the city. David and I packed our week full of excursions and have been checking-off places from our list which are more enjoyable to do outside since Fall is coming fast. Plus, swimming in the Wannsee (an S-Bahn stop away from my house) in the middle of Novemeber would be a slightly different experience than in early September. There are probably plenty of places that have been accidentally omitted from our list of “must-see” sights, but even without them our list is long enough to fill two semesters worth of excursions.
I hope my German has improved, even in the two weeks of classes I’ve had. It is a whole other level of German having to keep my brain on focus for 3 hours of class, plus speaking in German every day for breakfast and lunch with my host family. It’s funny—I find my ears perking when I hear people speaking English on the S-Bahn or passing me on the street. The longing for something familiar is probably a good sign; a sign that my brain has been working on all cylinders and needs some relief. Even writing this blog has taken me longer than expected, not because I am getting confused with the German also bouncing around in my brain, but because of the sheer mental effort it takes to keep my brain functioning. Yawning has become a habit, now.
In regard to my continued faith life, David and I manged to visit the local ELFK congregation in Teltow, which is just outside Berlin, in the Bundes of Brandenburg. The ELFK congregation was very small, but a solid group of people, even including a fellow ministerial school grad, Paul Hübener from MLS. After attending, I realized that is something that I’ve missed while being in a foreign culture and country; Christian fellowship. Although, both sides of the conversation were not even close to fluency in the other’s native tongue, Pastor Hübener, David, and I were able to talk a bit before and after the service. It was refreshing to talk with someone outside America who holds to the same beliefs as ours. My impressions of Berlin have been different than my typical picture of what Germany looks like, and that is why Berlin is NOT Germany. It’s its own culture, people, and place. Das ist alles für jetzt, tschüss!
Goals and Expectations
I’ve been in Berlin for 3 days and my understanding of Berlin and Germany has changed so much already. Things I thought I knew are completely wrong and I’ve had to face things that I never would have thought of. In terms of expectations for the semester, most of mine have been upended, but I still have a few. One is to get a LOT better at German. My host family, Dorlies and Hermann, have been talking to me almost entirely in German. I think that they’re dumbing down their vocab and talking slowly for me, but that’s fine with me. It’s hard enough already. However, I already can feel it getting easier to listen to German and recognize the words. I don’t talk to them a lot yet, but I try using what I can. They’re very nice about correcting it. Another thing I expect is to really broaden my view of the world. So much about this is different from MLC. Just about no one besides me and Josiah are Christian. Some people are hostile to Christianity. Most people don’t understand what we’re studying or why we’re studying to be a pastor. Even the college, religion aside, is so different from what I’m used to. The campuses are spread out all over Berlin and thousands of people go to school there. Going to a big college is going to be a very different experience.
I’m here for 16 weeks, which seems like a long time. But seeing how fast the time goes, you realize how short a time it is. I don’t want to waste a single minute of it. To do that, I’ve set a couple goals for myself. One is to do something every single day. The most class I have is 5.5 hours a day, and public transit makes it easy to get around in my free time. My list of things to do in Berlin is growing every day. This is my first time living in a big city and the amount of opportunities is almost overwhelming. I want to see as much of my new home as possible. Another goal is to get better at German. I know I will, just by virtue of taking classes. But living in a German city, my opportunities are so much more than just classes. I’ve already started ordering in German when I can. However, I want to get more confident in speaking German to strangers. I also want to be able to have in-depth conversations with my host families, instead of being a passive observer. My other goal is really to immerse myself in the city. I don’t want to be a tourist here. Instead, I want to feel like I live in Berlin. Some things planned, like operas and soccer matches in town, should be good for that. Other things, like living with a host family and going to school here, will also help. But that won’t be enough. I’m going to try and really get out in the city and try some things that I would normally never try, like food and events.
Since I’ve hit the 500-word limit, that’s all for now. As the Germans say, “bis spät!”.
Nur Deutsch!
This phrase was ringing through my ears as I sat at the dinner table, yesterday, trying to have a nice chat or even communicate with my host family! I have been in Germany since August 27th, and it has all been “Nur Deutsch”! I apologize in advance to any readers of this blog that this is not a true anticipatory blog in all its purity, since I have been in Germany for a couple of days already. Another disclaimer that this blog may read similarly to David Rutschow’s, who is also study abroad in Berlin. Although, I pray, being different people, we would have slightly different takes on our time in Berlin. These past few days have truly been a rush but before I get into the meat and potatoes (which are especially delicious in my host mom, Fe’s GurkenSuppe) of my brief time here so far, I should at least try to write down some of my thoughts coming into the semester abroad.
The week before my departure to Berlin was a busy week full of RA training at MLC and cramming all of the “must-do” New Ulm activities into a week, so I had very little time to stop and think about my semester abroad. In all honesty, I blocked the semester from my mind entirely and occupied my time so I wouldn’t have to think about it. Even during the plane ride over to Europe, I hardly comprehended the situation at hand – “I am going to be living in Germany for a semester without the many luxuries, connections, and familiarities of America.” Only then, at the dinner table last night, did that phrase “Nur Deutsch” trigger whatever thoughts I had been blocking out to come to the forefront of my mind. Before my trip over here, my Dad had been joking to me and David about speaking only German the week before we took-off so that we would be familiarized with the language. And his favorite phrase to say was “Nur Deutsch” (meaning “only German”). Even with only a couple days under my belt, that phrase rings true. I truly am excited for my semester abroad and have already seen so much of the country in which I will be living for the next four and a half months. This past weekend I crammed a weeks-worth of sight-seeing into a couple of days thanks to the always helpful, Logan Pankow, who is studying at the Evangelisches-Lutherische-Frei-Kirche (ELFK) Seminar in Leipzig and lives with his wife, Louisa, in Zwickau. They so graciously housed David and me for a couple of days and served as a our tour-guides as we went about the cities of Leipzig, Zwickau and Dresden. Each city had a different, yet special quality about it, and each one of them screamed “German”. I think having Logan ease my way into the German way of life and culture has helped tremendously even in these first couple of days.
Ach so! I have almost forgotten to talk about my expectations for the semester, and they come in three categories – (1) culture, language, and perspective. First, I hope to grow culturally aware of the German culture and the comparisons to be made with the American culture. I would like to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for those subtleties in each of our cultures and how that is translated to the other. Speaking of translation, I hope I develop a knack for the German language and that I can do more than talk to the German people, but actually speak with them. I hope to let a conversation take its course rather than limit it with my own incapabilities, be it a lack of vocabulary or structure. And finally, the structure of my perspective is something I am hoping can be changed for the better. A growth in perspective will aid in my quest to better my toolset for ministry. All of these and so much more are my expectations, however, most importantly I know I will grow in my faith as long as I stay in the Word. So please send your thoughts and prayers and any encouragement for David and me on our semester in Germany! Tschüss for now!
T
Almost Home
My study abroad journey is almost over, and I don’t want it to end. I have learned so much and had some of the most fun I have ever had. Leaving the friends I have met is going to be hard. I am grateful for everything I have done and learned, and I know I will have these memories for the rest of my life.
I am the proudest of how much my people skills have improved. I have never been the most outgoing or social person, and I was really nervous to put myself in a situation where I didn’t know anyone. In the past 4 months, I have made so many genuine connections with people. Some I only had one conversation with and some will be my friends for life. I think that I am a lot better at carrying on a conversation and connecting with people than I was when I got here. In ministry, you need to be able to talk to all kinds of people, so I am very glad I had this experience.
Being abroad has given me so many opportunities that I never would have gotten otherwise. One of these advantages is that the University of Roehampton is a lot bigger than MLC. There are many more clubs and activities on campus because of this. If I could go back and do my semester abroad over again, I think that I would try to participate in these events on campus more. I did get involved in a few things, but I was so busy doing things out in the city most of the time that I neglected what was right in front of me. On-campus activities are a great way to meet people. Plus, they are free!
Although I wasn’t involved on campus as much as I would have liked, I did plenty of things. London is a huge city with so much to offer, and I made it my mission to never be bored. My flatmates and I explored our corner of the city, trying new restaurants and going into every store. We went to museums and took dance classes. We were motivated to try new things because we were in a new city. I recently realized that I haven’t explored nearly this much in New Ulm. There are so many restaurants I have never tried and places I have never been to. It might not be as glamorous as London, but I want to make it my new mission to never be bored back home either. Even if it just means going for a walk in a park with my friends, I want to always be appreciating the world around me.
Even though I love London, studying abroad has made me much more grateful for my home. By my home, I mean the USA, Connecticut/Minnesota, my church, my school, and my family. I gained a lot of pride in my home while abroad. There are some things you just can’t get anywhere else. I am grateful for enthusiastic American customer service, Kraft mac and cheese, and Target. After spending so much time outside of the country, I didn’t get less American, but more American, because I learned what that really means.
Looking back, I can see God’s hand working in so many ways. He knew what I needed to get through the hard times and He put me in the right places with the right people. When I came to London, I didn’t know a single person here, and I had no idea who I would be living with. The assignments were completely random. God’s plan was so evident in the fact that one of my flatmates is also a Christian. I was able to relate to her in a way that I couldn’t with others, and she helped me through some tough moments. Leaving the bubble of MLC was scary because I wasn’t just leaving my friends, I was leaving my Christian community. Having a Christian friend here who I can talk to made a huge difference to me.
I also think that it was part of God’s plan for me to meet Karla. I didn’t expect to practice my Spanish or become closer to my culture while in England, but it all worked out. Some of the best benefits I have gotten from being in London were ones that I never expected or planned.
I have two pieces of advice for future study abroad students. The first is practical: save as much money as possible before you go and track your spending carefully. You won’t be able to work while you are abroad and the last thing you want is to be overly stressed about money. Studying abroad is expensive, but it is attainable. You just need to identify in which areas you want to spend your money. The second piece of advice I have is to constantly try new things. Studying abroad in its entirety will be a new experience, so I would encourage everyone to make the most of it and keep the momentum going. You will only have this experience once and after you push yourself out of your comfort zone, it will feel so rewarding. If you play it safe the whole time, you will probably still have a good experience, but you won’t grow nearly as much or have as much fun.
Even though this is my final blog, my journey is actually far from over. I still have a month left in London, and then it’s off to Buenos Aires for an entirely new culture (and language). Even after I get home, I will continue to grow as a result of this experience. I would tell anyone getting ready to study abroad not to expect it to change their life. It’s best not to go in with that mentality because it creates unrealistic expectations. That being said, it absolutely will change your life.
Final days in Berlin
By the time I am writing this blog, I have exactly two weeks left in Germany. I am a weird mixture of so excited to go home and incredibly sad that I am going to be leaving Germany. I am rushing to do all the last-minute things I want to do one last time before I leave. I am going to monuments, having picnics in parks and beaches, and eating a ton of Döner. There is so much I am going to bring with me back to America. The thing I am the most proud of is how much more confident I have become with my German and how independent of a person I have become. Spending 12 hours a week in a classroom speaking just German every week has most definitely improved my confidence in speaking German. I’ve also written more in German than I have ever before, which has definitely made it much easier for me to process what I want to say in German. I am also much more independent because I did some solo traveling. I went to Salzburg, Austria, and Paris, so I have definitely put myself out there and made some great memories because of that. If I could do something differently, I would have definitely explored more of Germany itself. I 100% want to come back and go to a bunch of different places in Germany. I would have also put myself out there more with the German students. They kept the study-abroad students extremely separated from the normal German students, so I wish I would have put myself out there to make some German friends. There are a lot of things I want to incorporate into my life back in America. I don’t think I can give up German breakfasts. The meat and cheese and bread are great and way better than my previous habit of just eating sugary foods for breakfast. Traveling around different countries has also made me realize that there is so much in the United States that I have never seen. People would mention so many cities in the U.S. and ask me what they are like there, and all I could say was I didn’t know because I’ve never been there. I’ve gone to a handful of states in the U.S., but I haven’t really been to the places I really want to go to, and there isn’t really any good reason as to why not. When people hear of all the places you have to go to in your life, they are almost all in Europe, but there is so much back at home that I have never seen. I have never seen the mountains in Colorado or Montana or been to so many places with beautiful nature. I want to do much more exploring and see new places in the U.S. I am extremely thankful for my time in Germany, though. I am so grateful for the friends I made and the memories I now have. Making friends in an environment that could feel really hostile in the beginning at times was a huge worry of mine. I’m so glad God blessed me with the friends I made, so I could really make the most out of this experience. I’m also glad that I had a semester to relax and not be quite as busy as I normally would be. And let’s be honest, being able to listen to Netflix in German was super cool! I think it was an enormous blessing to have a host that spoke Spanish because it made the beginning of being in Germany much easier to adjust to. It also enabled me almost never to speak English with my host. The advice I would give to future semester abroad students would be to be ready to put yourself out there. Being in a place where there is a language barrier is extremely difficult, but the more you step outside your comfort zone, the more you will learn. I’ve learned so much while I have been in Germany, and I would love for others to have a great experience or even better than I did!
Picture 1: This is my first sight of the Eiffel Tower in Person.
Picture 2: This is a picture from Austria of the Alps. (The hills were alive with the sound of music!)
Picture 3: These are five people I spontaneously met in Paris and spent the day with!