As my departure date for Karlsruhe, Germany approaches, I am beginning to think about the social aspects of my time abroad: How will I make friends? How can I avoid being a hermit? How am I going to experience the real Germany?
One of my main goals of studying abroad is to experience the country of Germany the way it was meant to be experienced. I want to go beyond the stereotype of lederhosen, pretzels, and copious amounts of beer, and live like a true German local. Unfortunately, I believe that this will be easier said than done. To truly live like a local, I am most certainly going to have to step out of all of my comfort zone and actually go out and experience things myself. But, how am I going to achieve this? It's simple...GETTING INVOLVED. During my application process, I made sure all of the universities I submitted my application to had multiple opportunities for me to get involved and meet other students. Being involved in the concert choir here at Maryville College, I was thrilled to see that my university in Karlsruhe also has a student choir ensemble available for anyone who is interested. Honestly, I believe that this is something that I am most excited about: to see the beauty of how music can bring anyone together, regardless of background or heritage. I am hopeful that getting involved in one of the musical ensembles will also be an opportunity to meet other students and hopefully make some friends along the way!
I learned in my acceptance packet that I could possibly be living in a flat with 3-4 other students either on campus or relatively near campus...I am keeping my hopes up that the people I live with will become friends of mine, but I'm not going to rely on my roommates being my friends alone. Living with complete strangers is definitely going to be a challenge, and the possibility that there will be tension between us is extremely probable, but being the optimist that I am, I'm holding out hope (fingers crossed). As for my daily life, I am lucky to know current German students that I made during my high school years while they were doing their individual studies in America. I've asked them a multitude of questions concerning the typical day of a German student at a university and the general consensus is that it never stops. The typical student life is on the go from classes, to study halls, homework time, going out with friends, and just walking around the town just...because. They've informed me that it is very rare that they just sit around their flats, just because there are so many other important things to be done throughout the day. Thankfully, my course load isn't looking too heavy, but I am prepared for this on-the-go lifestyle that awaits me in Germany.
Another way I am hoping to immerse myself in the German culture is through making friends with locals...I'm a little worried about this, because I normally like to keep to myself in classes and not really interact with other students. This personality trait simply isn't going to work while abroad, so I am going to have to challenge myself to speak out to others, and to just get my name out there. Introduce myself, and get some conversations going...and then hope for the best. Thankfully, Karlsruhe is a relatively smaller town, and from conversations that I've had with friends who live near the city in Germany, there are multiple opportunities to mingle with the locals through various festivals, art shows, and gatherings throughout the town. I plan to take full advantage of these activities and attend as many as I can in order to experience the true German culture during my time there.
Ultimately, my goal is to have a new appreciation for the German culture, and to experience things that I could never read about in a textbook. I want to be active and step out of my comfort zone and truly test myself to prove that I can achieve what I have convinced myself to be impossible.
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