Study Abroad in Dresden, Germany

Mary Anne Radmacher wrote, “I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” An experience abroad is so much more than a good photo album; it’s an opportunity to see the world in a different lens. I grew up in Ohio, graduated high school in Ohio, and moved on to university in, you guessed it, Ohio. But I’ve always wanted to do more, to see more. I wanted to try new foods, speak new languages, and experience new cultures. So, naturally, I jumped at the idea of doing a study abroad trip. Even better, I could travel to Germany and continue learning the language I’d developed a deep connection to since I began speaking it in high school.

My mother is from Switzerland and, while I have been overseas to visit her family before, I’d never been able to communicate with them. While my younger relatives grew up speaking English, my grandparents weren’t able to so much as pronounce the English alphabet. Unfortunately, my grandfather, whom I called ‘Neni,’ passed away before I was given the opportunity to learn German. So, when I was offered the chance to learn it in high school, I jumped at the opportunity, as it would provide me the opportunity to make meaningful connections with my family and, by extension, people from around the world.

Arosa, Switzerland

Arosa, Switzerland

My STEP Signature Project brought me to Dresden, where, for a month, I spoke German daily, explored the city, learned about the German culture, and maybe best of all, tried a lot of amazing food. Though I spent Monday through Friday in a classroom, it wasn’t once boring. Classes gave me the opportunity to test my German and receive real feedback. Through this trip, I met so many amazing people and made so many great friends. With the free time we were given, we explored the city and made so many amazing memories. Even after a month, I feel as if there is more in Dresden that I want to see and do and I’m already itching to return.

I personally believed I changed a great deal as a result of my study abroad trip. Though I had had previous experiences in Germany, none were like this. For once I wasn’t ‘the American tourist,’ but rather just another person living in the city. I took the streetcars, went downtown for meals, shopped at the mall, and navigated the train system. Because I was constantly immersed in this lifestyle, I was able to truly experience and learn to appreciate a different culture. I learned that Germany, like America, isn’t defined by its stereotypes. Germans aren’t angry people who only watch soccer and drink beer. Rather, I was given the opportunity to speak with people living in the city and learn their favorite places to go and things to eat and do. I learned there’s so much more to the German culture, and by extension every culture, that you can’t learn through social media or pictures or even textbooks.

My home for the month: Dresden, Germany

My home for the month: Dresden, Germany

In my program, every class was divided into multiple components: speaking, listening, grammar, reading, and culture. Often these topics would overlap so that, for example, we would read a passage about German politics and proceed to discuss it, in German of course. Because of this class structure, I walked away from my program not only feeling much more confident in my ability to communicate in German but also to have meaningful conversations with people from both Germany and all over the world. Since our class was not limited to OSU students, or even American students, I also had the opportunity to interact with students from countries like Spain, Turkmenistan, Poland, and Brazil (among others). One class, for example, we talked about cultural misunderstandings. Our professor, who was a native Dresdener, provided us real examples of experiences she had had with people from different countries as they tried to navigate the German culture. For example, did you know that, in Germany, most people are very punctual? Arriving ‘fashionably late’ could come across as rude or irresponsible in a country like Germany, even though it’s not a big concern in America. During this class, I was able to speak with the other students from around the world and ask what sort of cultural misunderstandings they had experienced both in Germany and in their home country.

Sächsische Schweiz (or Saxon Switzerland) - a tongue twister for even native German speakers. Despite the name, its located only 30 minutes away from Dresden via train!

Sächsische Schweiz (or Saxon Switzerland) – a tongue twister for even native German speakers. Despite the name, its located only 30 minutes away from Dresden via train!

One of the biggest eye-opening experiences was a weekend trip to Prague that I took with some of the friends I made. While I had previously had a little exposure to German culture, I knew next to nothing about the Czech Republic and wasn’t expecting the culture to be so different from the German culture, considering they’re neighboring countries. However, the biggest shock there happened right as we got off the bus. As we went to exchange our Euros to Czech Koruna, I was startled to see that the exchange rate was about 25 Koruna to 1 Euro (which has a similar rate as the US Dollar), meaning that a $4 sausage would cost about 100 Koruna! It felt crazy to pay 400 Korunas for a medium sized souvenir! There were other cultural differences that I hadn’t been expecting. For example, the beggars in the street would remain completely silent and bow as a way of asking for money, which is so different from anything I’d experienced in either the USA or Germany. It helped me understand that there is so much more to a culture than just the food, language, and history. And, while it was terrifying to travel to a country where I knew no one and spoke none of the native language, it also made me want to travel more outside of my comfort zone because it was such a unique experience.

It wouldn't be an OSU study abroad without the classic O-H-I-O, here overlooking Prague

It wouldn’t be an OSU study abroad without the classic O-H-I-O, here overlooking Prague

My trip to Germany began as a means to continue practicing and learning German for personal use. I figured I would have an incredible experience, but never that it would be so life-changing. The friends and memories I made on the trip are things that are so much more personally fulfilling than any standard classroom experience. Additionally, I definitely feel as if my German improved dramatically over the course of the 4 weeks, and I felt much more comfortable not only communicating with people in German, but also having meaningful conversations. I was able to translate this to speaking with my family in Switzerland and feeling significantly more confident in doing so. Also, given this improved confidence and my certification, I am able to truly consider a career path that would incorporate the use of German. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I was given, the friends and memories I made, and the lessons I walked away with.

 

One thought on “Study Abroad in Dresden, Germany

  1. It sounds like you were able to enhance your language skills even more by opening up and exploring the culture around in greater detail.

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