{"id":1153,"date":"2022-10-19T21:42:23","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T21:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/study-abroad\/?p=1153"},"modified":"2022-10-19T21:42:28","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T21:42:28","slug":"reflections-before-rome-with-pictures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/study-abroad\/2022\/10\/19\/reflections-before-rome-with-pictures\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections Before Rome (with pictures!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tomorrow is the beginning of our midterm break, which means I\u2019ll be about halfway done with my time in Berlin. Tomorrow night we fly to Rome for our fall break. Looking back, I\u2019m so glad I decided to study abroad. There are so many exciting things to learn and people to talk to.<\/p>\n

So far, my experience has been overwhelmingly positive. We\u2019ve kept up a good pace and always been busy with something. I\u2019m settling in with my host family and adjusting to life here. While I don\u2019t think I\u2019d ever feel like this is my home, this is probably as close as I\u2019m going to get right now.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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\u2019ve become more confident in my abilities and that people won\u2019t care too much if I mess up. Most people here seem to appreciate the fact that I\u2019m trying to speak another language, and not just English to them. They\u2019re very courteous about any misunderstandings.<\/p>\n

One thing I want to improve on is immersing myself in the city a bit more. Since the first weekend here, I haven\u2019t stayed in the city yet. I have a decent feel for it, but it still feels like I\u2019m a tourist and not living here. Some of that is natural since I\u2019m 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\u2019t 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\u2019m hoping that learning not to procrastinate trip-planning will carry into homework too.<\/p>\n

While here, I\u2019ve learned a lot about German culture. My least favorite part is how they aren\u2019t as friendly as Americans. I\u2019ve 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\u2019s cold instead of using the heater. When I came here, differences like these didn\u2019t 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\u2019m learning to live with and embrace the differences. And while I knew that America and my experiences weren\u2019t the center of the world, now I\u2019m starting to feel that more and more in a more tangible sense.<\/p>\n

Overall, studying abroad hasn\u2019t been without its struggles so far. But I\u2019ve had many more successes. I\u2019m excited to see where the second half takes me!<\/p>\n

Since I didn\u2019t put in any pictures last time, I promised Mrs. Kassuelke I\u2019d put in extra this time. Here they are!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n