Ashley Van Doren
Education Abroad
- My STEP project was a 4-week intensive German language program hosted at the Goethe-Institut in Dresden, Germany. Outside of class, students were encouraged to explore the city of Dresden and take advantage of the cultural and leisure time activities that the city offers. The program took place from June 3, 2018 to June 28, 2018. After the program was completed, students took the Geothe-Zertifikat exam to prove their comprehension of the German language.
- While studying abroad in Germany for my STEP Signature Project, I learned a lot about many different cultures other than the German culture. I learned about the reasons why people from other countries would learn German and what it means for them to be studying abroad in Germany. I also found myself at the realization that Germany is a country full of many different cultures. The food, the specific dialect in Dresden, and the history of Dresden are all effected by different countries, languages, and cultures.
- During my STEP Signature Project in Germany, I found myself spending a large portion of my time with the people from my class. The majority of the people that I met through my class were from countries not my own, e.g., Portugal, China, Brazil, Russia, and had mother tongues different from my own. These relationships that I built helped me understand why those from other countries would want to learn German and study abroad in Germany and thus helped me to see studying abroad and language learning from a less Americentric viewpoint.
Dresden is home to many interesting and intellectually stimulating museums, a large number of which dealing with Dresden’s history with World War 2 and the East Germany time period. Much of this history and previous involvement with the Soviet Union has shaped Dresden into the culturally expansive city that it is today.
In Dresden and the rest of eastern Germany, there are many restaurants completely dedicated or inspired by traditional Russian food and foods from other Slavic countries. Many street signs are still in Russian or have names inspired by old leaders of the communist party. Many people that live in eastern Germany choose to speak Russian as their second or third language because of the impact that the Soviet Union had on previous East Germany and still has on present eastern German cities.
- Living in Dresden for a month was absolutely influential on the outcome of my future. It’s been incredibly enlightening to see how much history can affect the daily lives of people and to witness the rich and diverse culture of an east German city. That being said, I’ve decided to enroll in a graduate program at Technische Universität Dresden once I have graduated from Ohio State. I will be studying the relationships between German, English, and Russian in terms of linguistics. My original plans were to get my graduate education in Munich but seeing the dynamic relationship between eastern Germany and the former Soviet Union, my interests are better placed in a city like Dresden.
