I am a South Dakota State University student (English and German double major) who is travelling abroad to study in Germany for the month of June, 2011. Instead of keeping a traditional journal, I have decided to author this blog. I hope that my family and friends will enjoy keeping up with my adventures in Deutschland. :) Other random readers are welcome as well, though I doubt there will be many interested.
Minor Details
I'll be leaving for Germany in late May and returning in late June of this year. It is a faculty-lead trip headed by my German professor that I'm taking with nine other students, including my boyfriend. :) We will by studying the German language at the University of Heidelberg in Heidelberg, Germany. I will earn 7 language credits during these four weeks, enabling me to double-major in English and German and still graduate in a respectable amount of time.
Getting Around
For the first time in my life, I'm going to have to rely on public transportation to get around! I'll have a bus pass allowing me to take a bus to anywhere in Heidelberg (and some surrounding areas) for the duration of my stay. I'll have to learn bus routes and all that. Apparently, some host families provide their resident student with bicycles. I kind of hope that I'm lucky enough to get a bicycle while I'm there. We will also get a pass for a train while we're in Germany, allowing us to travel anywhere in Germany! I'll be sure to make use of this on weekends, though I haven't made any exploration plans yet.
Cultural Immersion
While I'm in Germany studying abroad, I am required to speak German and only German except in extenuating circumstances, i.e. emotional breakdown or conversations with other American students. To that end, I'll be staying with a German host-family while I'm in Heidelberg. I'll have breakfast and dinner with this family, and spend time with them on evenings and weekends when I am not off having my own adventures. This aspect of the trip ensures that I will be completely immersed in German culture for the entirety of my trip! This I find both exciting and nervous-making.
Classes
I'll be taking classes in German language and culture from about 8 a.m. through noon. One of the classes I am taking focuses on becoming familiar with German culture. This class will require that I interview native Germans, in German, and write about it. (I think) After classes, it seems, it is customary for students to do homework for a few hours and then spend their evenings exploring and experiencing what Heidelberg has to offer. We will be traveling to Berlin to attend a seminar for four days of our trip. I'll earn a credit for this excursion, but as of yet I don't know what it will entail.
Adventure!
Since we get weekends and evenings off from classes, I will have plenty of opportunity to make memories of my choosing while I'm in Germany. I have no concrete plans as of yet, but here a few possibilities:
- Try German beer, of course. My professor has warned us that it's a bit more alcoholic than American beer, and I don't intend to go crazy anyway, so don't worry. I just want to try. ;)
- Do a little shopping. I have quite a list of people to acquire souvenirs for.
- See the Eiffel Tower. My professor is taking a trip to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower and says that we can join him if we want. I might.
- Explore family roots. My grandfather has conducted a lot of research into my family history (on my Dad's side). He's shared some of this information with me, and I might make a trip to a site in Poland to get a look (and some photos) at where my great-great-great-great-great grandparents were married. If that turns out to be too far/expensive/difficult, I will likely visit the place where my ancestors lived in Germany before they made their way to America.
