STEP Reflection

Keith Hubbard

Study Abroad

1.

This summer for my STEP Signature Project I embarked on a 2-month long trip Study Abroad at the Technische Universtät Dresden (TUD). There with other students we went on multiple excursions to learn about the history of Dresden from its beginnings during the reformation, up until its current day issues. Additionally, we took classes and participated and projects that would help us strengthen our German language and grammar skills.

2.

While abroad one of the things that really changed for me was my understanding of the relationship between history and the environment that surrounds it. What I mean by this, is that you can go to a location, monument, or building and 100 years ago that building could have had an entirely different purpose that it was used for today. Like how the area where military history museum is situated today, used to serve as a weapons armory under Hitler’s reign.

Another thing that I learned was what it means to be a U.S. Citizen. What are rights associated with that study abroad. How do people perceive you? And how I need to carry myself around others when in a guest country. Being a visitor in the country, meant that everywhere I traveled I represented the United States of America. Every action I took or every action I took reflected what people would think of American people. The multiple interactions I had with people abroad widened and transformed my opinions about our cultures, and broadened my knowledge about the world around me.

3.

There were plenty examples of how history affects its surrounding environment in Dresden. One example of this was when we witnessed a refugee camp that is currently in Dresden. Before going on this trip my perception of a refugee camp was that they involved people living in tents and that living conditions were very poor and people were fighting for food and resources. However, upon arriving outside of one my perception was completely false. Instead of staying in area full of tents, the refugees stayed in a Days Inn Hotel that was surrounded by small fencing. It didn’t seem like the people were suffering or lacking resources of any kind. Instead it was more like they just had a citizenship for the reserved area in the fencing until the refugee’s circumstance was resolved. If you were an ordinary tourist walking by you wouldn’t even notice that it was a refugee camp, which is probably the government’s intention.

Specifically, my interactions with the various friends I meet in Germany through the university, or from various excursions, helped me learn about the world around me. One of things I noticed from my friends was how important U.S. Politics are on the world stage. Frequently, by many people I was asked about the political climate in the United States. I was asked about my opinions of the various candidates running for office or the relationship between the police and citizens as well. Specifically, why haven’t the gun laws changed in the U.S., or why would we nominate a candidate that is so hateful to run for the presidency. It shocked me that other countries were so interested in U.S. affairs when I couldn’t name a single person in the German government other than Angela Merkel before I left. Additionally it showcased the importance of our society on the rest of the world.

I also learned about the privileges of being a U.S Citizen. One of the privileges we have as a U.S. Citizen is that almost every person speaks or is being taught English. Even one of friends said “it must be so lucky to speak english”. We do have it lucky as U.S. Citizens. If i ever ran into an emergency i could take the easy way out and call for help in english. Even when i went to prague, people would speak to me in english. It really sucked because i had to go out of my way to speak german. But it also inspired me to work harder. This really inspired me to give that extra effort to speak and learn my German while I study abroad because I didn’t want to seem entitled or represent our country in manner that seemed lazy or dumb to the people hear. I shouldn’t approach a language lazy and i need to respect learning a language because it is blessing, polite and a privilege to communicate with people across language barriers.

4.

This trip was significant to me because it opened up my perspective on lot of issues today. For one it it re-evaluated how i approach history. I was taught the importance of asking questions. If something doesn’t seem right or is out of place, there is probably a story to it and an interesting one at that (like a statue in the middle of an abandoned forest, singe marks on the side of a church, or a renaissance arch near a bank). Also how our culture influences others decisions and that our opinions and actions have consequences on the world stage.

The main thing i took from this trip was that traveling really opens your eyes up to the world. Traveling to dresden was a blessing because i learned about the culture of the country and was able to connect it to experiences of my own. Its an experience i will never take for granted.