Emily Udelhoven

Type of Project: Study Abroad

1. My STEP Signature Project was an 8-week study abroad in Dresden. It is called the Dresden Summer Language Program and has a great emphasis not only on learning how to speak German, but also on learning more about German history and culture. We took classes while in Dresden, but also went on field trips to surrounding cities to directly see and interact with the history in our area of Germany. Also, in the area of Germany where we were, many people spoke limited English so we were practicing our language skills daily while outside the classroom.
2. The changes that I experienced were largely due to a different daily lifestyle in Germany. I learned more about the way I lived and how it is different from the ways others live. In America, I was used to going on weekly grocery trips where we bought an entire cart full of food and it lasted us comfortably through the week. But in Germany, many people visited the grocery store daily because there are many smaller grocery stores that may not have everything you need for the entire week. There isn’t a big “one stop shop” like in America, so people don’t buy massive hauls of groceries. My friends and I started shopping like this and it was amazing because we bought so much less and had far less food that went bad and needed to be thrown out. This way of living was not only more environmentally friendly, but it also saved us money. There was also a huge emphasis on recycling and there was much more sorting in the recycling than in America. Another change in my life was that I heavily relied on public transportation in Germany and use it sparingly in the United States. I did not have a car in Germany but still had to get around to many places around the city. This led my friends and I to the public transportation which is a much more developed and reliable system than many I have experienced in the United States. Their trains were consistent, frequent and incredibly clean. It was truly amazing how it easy it was to travel around, especially since all the transportation was in German, but it was still simple enough for us to figure it out without issues. This made me see how important it is to have a good public transportation system because it allows everyone access to all parts of the city and is so much more environmentally friendly than everyone owning and driving their own cars. I did not ride in a car the entire duration of my trip because it was never needed. I didn’t even need a taxi because the buses and trains were so extensive. It made me reevaluate the amount that I use a car and reevaluate the US-way of driving mostly individual vehicles.

These were two small examples of a lifestyle changes but are overall related to a change in the way that I looked at the world around me. I no longer thought in the abstract when it came to the way people in Europe lived because I saw it and experienced it firsthand. This showed me that sometimes the way I do things isn’t always the best and its ok to be challenged and adapt my lifestyle. In America, I think we can sometimes get stuck in this mindset that the American experience is widely understood and that everybody knows everything about America and wants to visit America etc. However, being in Germany showed me not only how many people didn’t know a ton about America, but also that many people rarely thought about America and focused instead on their way of life. I think it’s incredibly valuable to see this as a young American because it gives you a much better worldview and shows that America is just one small part of this huge world that we live in.

3. The experiences outside the classroom were largely where I was able to learn about the people living in Dresden and the types of lives they live. We became friends with other students our age that studied at the university we were at and these relationships were also incredibly valuable. They would invite us to do things around the city with them that we may have never found on our own. It was also really interesting exchanging stories with them about each of our own life experiences. There were obviously some things that were different, but we also had many experiences in common which really showed that even though we grew up thousands of miles apart and in different countries, we aren’t as different as one may think. This section of Germany has been through a lot historically and it shapes how people are today. People around us had much less casual communication as the United States and people there were always on time to everything. It was little things that were different that were interesting to see and adapt to, but nothing that was ever so foreign that it wasn’t manageable.

One of the people that made this trip so amazing for me and helped me adjust was Birte, my German instructor. She was truly one of the best professors I had in the classroom because of how patient she was with each and every student. We had a class of 11 so it really allowed us to get individual help when needed and I can say that my language skills absolutely developed under her guidance. But, this relationship was meaningful for more than just our classroom interactions. She came on field trips with us and would tell us about her own life and experiences. It was so interesting and helpful to hear her perspective on things and made me open my mind to other interpretations of things that I wouldn’t have understood before. I will never forget how much confidence she helped me gain in speaking German and will forever be happy that I was able to learn from her for this short time.

The last, and most important relationship, that I developed during my trip was with my trip advisor Kevin Richards. He taught the culture class that we were in and it was one of the best experiences I have had academically. He encouraged us to challenge each other through respectful discussion and opened my mind up to so many new ways of thinking. He was so thoughtful with every comment that he left on my assignments and I have never felt a professor take such a distinct interest in my learning as he did. He was accessible and did everything to help us have an enjoyable and productive trip. He would help translate when we needed it and worked to make everyone feel like a valued member of the trip. I know that without Kevin my trip would not have nearly been the same and I am so grateful for the experience that he helped create for my peers and I.

4. All of the changes that I experienced are valuable for my future because I would like to be a doctor and this is profession where communication and understanding are incredibly important. This trip gave me the ability to communicate with a whole new group of people through my developed language skills but beyond that, it allowed me to develop a greater understanding of Europeans and the way they live. Understanding the way that people want to be addressed and how they process information is an incredibly valuable tool. I’m by no means an expert, however I came away with a better understanding than I’ve ever had before which is hopefully something that I can continue to develop.

The most valuable thing that I gained in my time in Europe was a more open mind. I developed this from being pushed out of my comfort zone and being forced to adapt. Things were not the same as in America and sometimes I struggled to communicate with locals when my German was not advanced enough for what I was trying to say. However, these exact challenges are what helped me grow the most because each time I managed to find a solution and it taught me that there is always another way to reach where you are trying to go and as long as you keep an open mind and keep trying, you’ll get there somehow. This is valuable for my future because as a doctor because I’m going to have to be able to think on my feet when the first solution doesn’t go as planned. I will also have to be open minded with people because there is no “cookie cutter” patient and so I will run into a variety of people but that shouldn’t change the care they get. With an open mind, treating everybody as an equal comes naturally and will ultimately make me a better doctor and person in general.