First Impressions of Germany

I have made it safely and soundly! The plane ride was a little bumpy but Swiss air gives you plenty of chocolate to forget about that. Our group landed in Zurich, Switzerland then took a conecting flight to Stuttgart, Germany where we finally took a bus to Reutlingen. Quite honestly this four day span has been surreal. It still has not hit me that our group will be studying here for an entire semester, but I have (mostly) nothing but great things to say about Germany so far. As soon as we got into Reutlingen we were welcomed by Professor Ostoyich (our study abroad director) and his family. They make you feel right at home from the start. In fact so at home that on Friday we played a game of tag with his daughter while getting a tour of Reutlingen University. It seems as though every now and again I have to pinch myself to remind me that I am indeed in Germany. My first impressions of Germany are quite simply the beauty of the region Reutlingen lies in and also the friendliness of the people in and around Reutlingen. As a group, we have visited downtown Reutlingen and Tubingen, which are both spectacular. Our groups European Art and Architecture professor, Professor Springer, gave us a tour of Tubingen, a university town that has the Nekar river running through it. In the tour, our group saw the Tubingen castle, city hall, market square, and also a fantastic dinner at the Nekarmuller restaurant that was covered, free of charge, by the program. Tubingen University is one of the oldest in the world, dating back to the 15th century, and has currently over 30,000 students. Valparaiso University also offers a Tubingen study abroad program that lasts a year, while also having the courses taught in German. Speaking of the German language, myself coming from a 101 background felt fairly confident in my German conversational skills, but I was soon mistaken. The region that Reutlingen lies in has a very interesting and different accent compared to the rest of Germany. It can be hard to understand exactly what people are asking you or talking about, but once you get the hang of it, it is really no trouble at all. Although it may be scary going to a country where you do not know the language, I can assure you that you can still survive in Germany. Mostly everyone can either speak or comprehend English so communication should not steer you away from visiting. Although I would recomend learning some German beforehand to get the full experience. Monday marked our first day of classes and so far, it seems as though they will be very informative and manageable. Each class brings a special something to the table that helps us understand and comprehend modern Germany. However, the only bad thing I have to say is that internet can be scarce. The dormatory I live in does not have Wifi or a very stable ethernet connection so internet can be very difficult at times. Especially if you have a cellular device with a provider other than T-Mobile because T-Mobile for example has an international plan that offers mobile data and texting for almost nothing, while Verizon, Sprint, and U.S. Cellular can be pricey.Be prepared to be unplugged for a while and disconnected. However this is not such a bad thing. Not being able to use my phone has acutually let me be able to take in the beautly of the region and also the atmosphere here in Germany. Unforedtunentaly, I was unable to get some pictures included in this blog, however the next one I will throw in some from the Reutlingen and Tubingen area so you can get a feel of how breath-taking the area actually is. Also, I forgot to include a lot of umlaut’s because I do not know how to put them in, but hopefully I will figure it out by my next post. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for my next post! Tschuss!