Headed to Germany!
I am still not in Germany quite yet. For now, I am working at MLC so I can make money to travel while I am abroad. I fly out on the 31st of January and arrive on the first of February. I will be studying in Berlin and a university called FU-BEST. So far I feel a mixture of dread and extreme excitement. I don’t want to leave my family, friends, and fiancé, but I am excited for this huge adventure. One of my main goals is to put myself out there and have many fun experiences.
I have high goals for my time in Germany. I fully expect to have a very shaky start because of the language barrier, but one of my main goals is to become much stronger in my ability to speak German. In the beginning, this will mean I need to be more comfortable making mistakes and laughing at myself. I have taken German for only three semesters, so I am still a beginner in the German language. I will be staying with a host that can speak German and Spanish. I am very excited about this because it fits well with my Spanish/German program at MLC. My goal is to speak the least English I can while in Germany. I have been emailing my host in German and so far it is difficult. I am excited for the challenge though.
I am so excited to learn and adapt to German culture. One of my goals is to ask a lot of questions and learn about German culture. I expect people to be not overly warm and inviting especially at first. I want to become close with my host and make some new friends at my university. I want to travel and have new experiences with them and make many memories. I plan to eat all the food I can in Germany. I want to try all the culture-specific foods and learn about the foods Germans eat on a normal day. I already know breakfast looks a lot different in German than in America and there are different customs in the house. I expect to learn a lot about German culture.
Sadly I fully expect to have to watch church online for most of the time I am in Germany. Our wels sister congregation is in Munich which is 3 hours away. I do plan on traveling to that church for Easter and maybe some other services. It all depends on how my Sundays work out for traveling. Another one of my goals is to prioritize my faith life because I know it will be difficult while I am abroad. I expect to not have many Christians to surround myself with. I am taking a BHL class online while I am in Germany and I will do many devotions with my fiancé. I would also like to see if there are any churches near me that have similar doctrine to the wels. I want to come back to the United States with a stronger faith in God.
London Introductions
Before coming abroad, I predicted what my biggest challenges would be. I projected things like social anxiety and academics, the big things; but those are far from my mind at this point. I have met maybe 20 new people in the past 3 days, and I can feel myself building relationships with all of them. It only takes a few trips to get accustomed to public transport, which was a big worry before I left. Classes start tomorrow, and I am beyond excited. It seems that I am finally doing what I came here to do, study literature in the home of some of the most famous writers in history. Those are the big things.
It’s the little things that are more difficult. It is impossible to do enough research to be prepared for everything. I’ve certainly had some moments of confusion when I didn’t know what to do. Who knew that the grocery store checkout has a section for baskets and a section for carts? Or that practically every store closes at 5 or 6? Not me. I don’t want to stick out as a foreigner, but it is inevitable. I am comforted by the fact that London has many foreigners. The locals are used to it. An underrated skill that I think everyone should have is the ability to ask questions without worrying about how they will look. When I don’t know the answer to something, I really have nothing to lose and everything to gain by asking.
At the end of my experience, I will know it was worth it if I had fun. I am sure it will be something I will remember fondly for the rest of my life. Even in the first 3 days, it has been a whirlwind of new friends and new experiences. My 5 flatmates are all study abroad students, and we hit it off right away. We have eaten amazing food, seen amazing sights, and enjoyed taking on one of the most culturally rich cities in the world as our personal playground. I am beginning to think that I should have been a bit more ambitious in my definition of success.
I will now create a new definition. I want to be challenged. I want to fail; not a class, that’s a bit too far, but I want to feel that I have not succeeded at something. When I told my flatmates that I had just turned 19, they remarked that I was brave. I was taken aback. I don’t feel brave. I moved to a new city for a semester by myself for 5 months. What’s brave about that? The possibility. It could go perfectly with not even a little hiccup. However, more than likely, something will go wrong. I might feel like I can’t do it, or like I want to go back to when everything was easier. The brave thing is continuing after that point. That is where growth happens. After I conquer this experience, I feel that I will be able to do anything.
Week Seven
This last week we didn’t have school on Thursday or Friday; Germany was celebrating the 30th anniversary of their reunification. There was a something akin to a little carnival at the Brandenburg Gate. They had dozens of stands selling food, three or four stages performing music, and a ferris wheel opposite of the gate. It was packed and loud, but I’m glad I was able to go and see it.
Today I was blessed to be able to attend Paul Gerhardt Gemeinde again for church. WELS, to my knowledge, has no congregations here, but our sister synod, the ELFK, does. Paul Gerhardt Gemeinde is a congregation within the ELFK and has been serving me here in Germany for the majority of my stay. During the services we use the same hymnals as we did in professor Danell’s Luther German course, so it wasn’t completely foreign to me. In addition to the services, a Bible study is held there most Thursdays. Both church and the Bible study have also introduced me to some pleasant people. It has been wonderful to hear the Word and receive the sacrament, despite being so far away from home.
By the next time I post, midterms will be finished here.
Please continue to keep me in your prayers.
God bless your day.
Caleb Raasch
September
Hello from Germany!
About six weeks ago I arrived here in Berlin for a semester of school at Freie Universität Berlin. Up until now, I’ve been busying myself with my studies and with the occasional traveling. The acclimation to the time change was surprisingly easy and getting used to the culture has been going well too.
The above image is of my host family’s home. They have been wonderful, not only providing for and taking care of me, but also helping me improve my German.
Tonight I had the opportunity through the FU-BEST program to attend the Berlin Philharmonic. (The concert hall is shown above.) It was a lovely experience, getting to listen to the final chorus from Carmina Burana among other pieces.
I’m signing off here for now, but I hope to post much more frequently.
Please keep me in your prayers.
God bless your day.
Caleb Raasch