My STEP Signature Project was participating in the OSU Global Education program Global May Germany. This program took place over three weeks in Berlin, Germany, in which we were able to visit many historical and cultural landmarks. Our class content was focused on the ideas of citizenship and body politics in the German context.
I experienced a significant transformation in myself during this experience. The first part of this was the immense transformation in my self-confidence and competence. In the beginning of my program, I was extremely nervous about interacting with a foreign culture in a different language. Though I had been learning German, I had never been put in a fully immersive language experience. As a secondary part of my personal transformation, I noticed that my language ability really accelerated while I was there, despite all of our class content being in English. I also felt as though I became a lot more competent in interacting and engaging in a relatively fast and international city culture. My assumptions were also challenged while I was there. I had previously ascribed to the idea that Germany had transformed into a very progressive and safe country since its reunification in the 90s. It is often portrayed now as the epitome of the contemporary progressive European country. However, while I was there, I felt as though my rose-colored glasses came off and I began to recognize the intricacies that actually existed in the political culture. This realization actually tied into my personal growth as well, as I felt I was able to engage in critical thinking on a global scale.
There were several experiences that led to my improvement in self-confidence on my trip. Firstly was simply the culture itself. Germany is stereotyped as a mean and cold country, in which people don’t extend kindness to others unless they know them well. To me, as with many Americans, this is very alarming at first. However, as you come to realize that it is just the culture, and nothing you are doing wrong, you can become more comfortable with it. In fact, I found that the ability to deal with “rudeness” actually made me a lot more confident. I think this is because I was repeatedly exposed to something I would usually get anxious about, allowing me to build up more confidence in everyday situations. I found those especially apparent in restaurants. In Germany, they don’t tend to wait on tables very often. They will take your order, bring your food, and then bring the check when you ask for it. They do not automatically bring you the check, nor do they check up on you. At first, this seemed rude and intimidating, especially trying to get the waiter’s attention. However, it allowed me to be much more confident in approaching people, which I struggled with before my trip as I was often stopped by my anxiety.
Another thing that helped my self-confidence was using the German language. In the first week, I was very nervous that my German was not good enough, or that my accent was bad. However, continual exposure actually made me very excited to use my German. Retail and restaurant experiences were especially helpful in allowing me to practice and become more competent in my German communication. I noticed that as I grew prouder of my language progress, I actually became even more confident with myself in general. Hand in hand with my growth in self-confidence, I also grew in what I call self-competence. There were some small things that aided this. Having to navigate a new city, especially one with extensive public transportation, was a relatively new experience for me. I have not traveled much, and I grew up in Columbus, so I have not had many opportunities to learn about navigating a new city.
However, it is not just physical navigating which is important for self-competence. It is also crucial to learn how to navigate a new culture: intercultural competence. Intercultural competence allows you to successfully navigate conversations, social situations, cultural ideas, and more. To be interculturally competent means that you are more than just a tourist and that you are learning and interacting with a culture on a much deeper level. Being in Germany for so long, along with the topics we covered in class, really allowed me to develop this. Our class was not simply a German history or culture class. It moved way beyond that by investigating German society and history on a critical level. We engaged in conversations about German body politics, ideas of citizenship, and more. Each class challenged my thinking and forced me to develop ideas and understanding, rather than having me just memorize random facts. This, paired with constant cultural immersion, came together to allow me to become more interculturally competent.
Our critical conversations in class actually allowed me to look more critically at the environment around me when I was out and about. With this toolkit, I was able to critically analyze Germany’s image as compared to its reality. Nowadays, Germany is heralded as a very safe and progressive country. The image they export is that they have put in immense work to “right” the past and that nowadays it is a safe place for everyone. However, I realized during my stay that this is not true, and just like the United States, there are many issues, both social and structural. I learned this through observation of things such as graffiti and protests. Berlin is known for having graffiti, mostly regarded as street art. However, as I noticed, many contained political messages. A building next to our hotel had its windows broken and messages calling for peace spray painted along the walls. Clearly, just as in the United States, there can be disagreements between the people and the government, along with political fragmentation. The assumption of progressiveness in Germany fell apart as well as I learned about some of the issues that had been yet to be addressed. For example, I would not have known that Neo-Nazism was actually on the rise, especially in Southern Germany, if we had not been informed of that by a tour guide. I also would not have known that despite the progressive image, LGBTQ+ people still face hate and discrimination. Being immersed in the German culture was extremely valuable because I actually gained an understanding of the new and pervasive issues in Germany, despite the image that is exported internationally.
These changes were extremely valuable to many aspects of my life. Firstly, the development of self-confidence has already aided me significantly in my work. Despite being at my internship for a year already, I came back ready to tackle new experiences and actually took the initiative on a new project. Improving self-confidence is invaluable because it has made me more willing to take on risks or put myself in uncomfortable situations, which can actually yield benefits. Intercultural competence is a skill that will help me as well. It makes me both more open-minded and globally aware. These will help me interact with others as well as interact with new ideas. In a learning environment, this can allow me to build a better understanding of differing global viewpoints. Lastly, critical thinking on a global basis has improved my personal development. I feel as though I can now tackle different issues, both in the US and globally, more confidentially and with more understanding. My experience has really shown me that all places and people are vastly complex, despite the messages we may receive from social media, news outlets, or history books. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity I have gotten, for I feel like I invested in my personal development. Personal development can touch every aspect of my life, from my academics to my work life, to my social life, and more.
