This summer I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to Wiesbaden Germany to participate in a 4 week exchange with the Humboldt School of Wiesbaden. After traveling for over twenty hours, we arrived in Frankfurt and were introduced to our hosts. We spent three weeks in the city if Wiesbaden and the last week traveling to multiple cities in Bavaria with our teacher Herr Dougherty.
First Three Weeks
The first three weeks were both the hardest but also the most impactful. We stayed with our host families from Sunday June 21 until Saturday July 11, going to school during the week and taking small trips on the weekends. While this time was some of the most fun I’ve ever had, it was also very difficult. Jumping straight into a new culture was one of the hardest challenges I’ve ever face, but I can confidently say I came out of it a much stronger student. I learned that overcoming these challenges is the best way to both adapt to the culture and to learn the language. Getting through a tough situation where I may not have had all of the necessary vocabulary made all of the new words I learned stick with me much better than had I spent twice as much time studying a list of words. We also experienced the culture to an extent that isn’t possible without living in it for an extended period of time. As soon as the second day we were riding the bus pretty much everywhere we went, which was significantly different from Nashville where we drive pretty much exclusively.
School was also a big change after experiencing three different language classes in the same day with two sciences and a math class. Unlike at MBA, students at the Humboldt School have a different schedule every day with some classes only being held one or two days a week. During our three weeks in school we were able to go on multiple class excursions to various cities around Germany, seeing both historical wonders such at the Catholic Cathedral in Cologne and also modern sights such as art museums or universities. These three weeks we some of the most insightful and exciting weeks of my entire life, leaving a huge impact on both my proficiency in the German language and also my understanding of daily German culture
Examples of typical activities would would experience daily are after-school soccer, trips to ice cream shops in the city, walking around the old part of Wiesbaden, riding the train to a nearby city to see a museum or government building, or going to a local festival with friends from the Humboldt School.
The Last Week
We started off our last week saying goodbye to our host families and traveling south to Bayern Munich. When we arrived we checked in to our Hostel and started walking down the street in search of dinner. After about a mile and a half we found a small Turkish Döner and Kebab shop. Döners were another discovery from our trip to Germany. They look and taste similar to a Greek Gyro but much better. Afterwards we walked back to our Hostel to get a good nights rest before our big week ahead of us. Averaging two or three museums a day with an occasional castle or soccer stadium thrown in, we were in for a lot of bus and subway rides along with close to 15 kilometers of walking each day. My personal favorite attractions from Munich include the Allianz Arena where FC Bayern Munich plays, Neuschwanstein a fairy tale castle built by a crazy king, and the BMW museum.
After spending three days in Munich we traveled to Nuremberg and checked into the next Hostel we stayed at. In Nuremberg we visited the Nazi document center which had been turned into a museum about WWII and the Nazi regime, the Nuremberg Castle, and the "Alter Stadt" or older part of the city. Traveling different cities around Bavaria gave us a much wider perspective of the German culture based on many different views. By walking from place to place inside the cities we visited we were able to see much more of each city than had we driven everywhere like we do here in Nashville. On our return trip back to Frankfurt, we stopped along the way to see the historic city of Würzberg. There we saw many of the same sights Herr Dougherty also saw when he was traveling for college on a trip much like ours.
Our last day was spent in Frankfurt as we ended our trip in the city it began, checking into our last hostel of the trip. Each city we traveled to had its own personal feel and from each we learned valuable lessons about German culture. In Munich we rode the subways and learned how to navigate a large German city. Nuremberg gave us a unique look at the events of WWII by allowing us to personally visit many sites where such events occurred, such as the Zeppelin Field where most of the major rallies occurred. And as Germany's largest economic center, Frankfurt am Main showed us a close up view of Germany's bustling economy. The last week gave us a broad view of many aspects of Germany culture and allowed us to better understand the inner workings of German life.
I'd like to thank the Wilson Family for the amazing chance to experience a new culture. This trip had a profound effect on both my proficiency with the German Language and my understanding of German and European Culture. I'd also like to thank Herr Dougherty for taking us around Bavaria and putting up with us. Special thanks to the Humboldt School for hosting us and taking us on multiple class trips, and finally my sincerest thanks to the Bell family for hosting me and making my time in Germany so special.
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