Blogger: Alyson Kneusel

Program: Reutlingen, Germany – Study Center

One of the things I was most curious about when I chose to study abroad in Germany was the difference between our cultures. I wanted to know if they were different, and in which ways. Through my own experiences, as well as by talking to a number of Germans, I think I have really started to get a better feel for our cultural differences.

Of course there are numerous small differences, such as the availability of foods. Many brands, such as Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Goldfish, are simply not available in Germany. Instead, they favor snacks such as Doppel Keks, which are essentially two crackers with chocolate in between them. Also, when you go to the super market, you cannot forget to bring your bag, as they do not provide bags and you will have to buy one! The small differences continue at restaurants as the waiters do not return constantly to your table, tip is much smaller, and water is the same price as Coca-Cola.

Besides these rather mundane cultural differences, there are also some more significant ones. The Germans are much more environmentally friendly than most people in the United States. They have five different trash receptacles for trash disposal. Also, their newer cars have special diesel regulations, they walk (and bike) much more, and they make extensive use of public transportation. Nearly every town has a stop on the Deutsche Bahn line, which is the German rail system. I love that I can pull up the DB app on my phone and buy an e-ticket across the country within just a minute or two. There is simply nothing like that in the USA!

Perhaps some of the most fundamental differences lie in our cultural economic and political perspectives. In my experience, Germans are extremely well informed about world politics and extremely open to discussing them. It has happened more than once that I have learned something about recent USA events from my German professor before seeing it on the news myself. In terms of economics, they have a heavy focus on what is called the Solidarity Principle. This is more or less the idea that people contribute to the wellness of others through a number of compulsory insurances and taxes. Although this is very different from the USA, I have learned to appreciate how it works for them.

All these differences, however, are nowhere near the number of similarities I have noted between our two cultures. Both our countries take pride in being a democratic society which produces educated people who produce top products and research in automotive, technological, chemical, and pharmaceutical fields. We both value human rights and desire to use what we have to help those who are in need. This, more than the availability of Goldfish and Reese Peanut Butter cups, is a significant avenue by which to judge the connection between our peoples. I find the sum of our differences to be interesting, yet insignificant compared to our shared values, and that is what is truly significant for future relations between our countries.

Until next time,

Alyson Kneusel

Blogger: Alyson Kneusel

Program: Reutlingen, Germany – Study Center

Hello!

I have now been in Germany for 61 days! I did some quick calculations earlier today and realized that since there are about 124 days in the program, I am officially 49% complete with my study abroad experience. There have been so many unbelievable moments that I will never forget. It is sad to think that in not that long I will be headed back to the United States. Most days I do not want it to end!

However, it is only fair to recognize that there have also been those few days during which I missed both the people and the culture of my home country. Recently, I was sick for about a week. During that time, it was hard to motivate myself to go out and experience new things as I only wanted those things which were familiar to me. I began to sit in my room and talk to people back in the USA for extended periods of time. The last thing I wanted was to go out and try to communicate and socialize.

Ironically enough, this was exactly what I needed. Some friends and I had already bought train, lodging, and bus tickets for a trip to Cologne (Köln) for the weekend I was sick. On the train there, I confided in my family that the last thing I felt like doing was going to a new city. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Getting out of my room forced me to do other things, and all of the new sights and people distracted me from feeling sick. In order to go out, I had to move around and clean myself up, and in doing so, I felt 75% better.

I guess the message here applies to anyone who feels homesick, whether in a foreign country or an hour from home. Do not let yourself hide away, because that doesn’t make anything better. Get up, clean up, and interact with people. I did so, and that made all the difference. On the way back from Cologne, not only did I feel much better, but I was a much happier person, and I was proud of myself for getting out there and pushing through the rough patch.

This bump in the road allowed me to learn how to persevere in the face of an obstacle and come out ahead. If you are looking into a study abroad experience, I would say that although you have to recognize that not everything will always be perfect, the few challenges you might have will allow you to come away from them a stronger person. On the other side of this small bump in the road, I have found so many things to look forward to. I find my classes fulfilling and extremely applicable. There is nothing quite like learning about Gothic architecture one day, and the next day seeing it at the Köln cathedral (see above). Additionally, I look forward to going to Athens and Vienna in just a few weeks (but more on that later)!

Until then,

Alyson Kneusel

Blogger: Alyson Kneusel

Program: Reutlingen, Germany – Study Center

Hello again!

Today I went on a day trip to Heidelberg, which is about a two hour train ride north and slightly west from Reutlingen. The thing I valued most about the trip was not the Heidelberg Castle, the Philosophenweg, or even the Altstadt Old Town, although each of those sites was breathtakingly beautiful. More than anything else, I recognized the trip as a marker of my own independence and confidence. Four years ago I would have been too afraid to go to a restaurant in my own hometown by myself and order my own food. I couldn’t navigate from my house to the nearest Panera Bread by myself! Yet yesterday, I traveled by myself to a town two hours away in a foreign country via public transportation with a significant language barrier. Not only did I survive the trip, but I flourished and felt that I grew from the experience.

In order to understand my trip, it is crucial to share some information and images from the city, which is just as well because it is an enchanting place (I would highly recommend visiting if you are ever given the chance). The Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof (the main train station) is about a 2 miles walk from the Heidelberg castle. The castle lies on a hill and overlooks the valley which contains the town, including the Altstadt Old Town. The Neckar River runs through the valley below and is traversed by the Carl Theodor Old Bridge. On the other side of the bridge, there is a river walk and another large hill, which contains the PhilosophenWag, which translates as Philosophers’ Walk. This is a peaceful climb up the side of the hill opposite the castle which provides not only a beautiful overlook of the castle, town, and river, but also an introspective opportunity to the person climbing it.

I began my journey in Heidelberg at the train station, walked the 2 miles up to the castle. After roaming around the castle grounds I descended through the town and across the bridge. At that point, I climbed Philosophenweg and sat for a while on a bench near the top where I wrote in my journal and appreciated the view. Looking back on the experience, in that moment what struck me was the realization that I almost didn’t make the trip and nearly missed out on such an amazing experience. I had sat in my room that morning and came up with every excuse in the book for why I should stay home. I was too tired, I had been traveling a lot, I hadn’t done enough research on the place, I didn’t have enough time, I didn’t speak the language, no one else was going, and so on and so forth. The more I think about it, the more I realize that these are not real reasons to not do things; they are mechanisms by which we limit ourselves.

I took away two main lessons that I think are worth sharing yesterday. The first is that Heidelberg is a beautiful city full of life, people, and nature. The other thing is that I am capable of being independent, navigating, and making my own decisions. This is a confidence which I think I was previously lacking, and this is definitely something which study abroad has given me. It broadened my horizons not just geographically, but also mentally. I encourage you all to not hold yourself back with excuses and doubts, and challenge yourself to (safely) do those things which you might otherwise have lacked the confidence to accomplish.

Until next time,

Alyson Kneusel

Blogger: Alyson Kneusel

Program: Reutlingen, Germany – Study Center

Hello all!

Public Military Service

In the last week and a half, I have visited Berlin, Copenhagen, and Hamburg. I’ve experienced an astonishing assortment of museums, architecture, and history.  However, the most impactful experience I had was entirely accidental. When attempting to visit the ancient history museum in Berlin, our group of American students stumbled upon a public military funeral service occurring outside of the Berlin Cathedral Church (shown to the right). I was shocked how much this made me evaluate the relationship between Germany and America. Not only that, but the experience made me question my own role in that history as an American student studying abroad in Germany.

The Berlin Cathedral Church is a beautiful and well-known landmark of downtown Berlin. With its original construction dating back to 1465 and church bells whose sound echoes across the center of downtown Berlin, it is a powerful symbol of German and religious history.

Altes Museum

However, most Americans would be more likely to recognize the infamous Altes Museum building which stands on the adjacent side of this main square. This building is shown in numerous textbooks of Nazi history because the Altes Museum was the site of a military march and speech for Adolf Hitler’s 50^th birthday in 1939. I have always viewed this image as just a page in the text, not an event in a place that really existed with real buildings and real people. Standing there the other day, I was struck by the fact that just a mere 77 years ago, there would have been Nazi German soldiers standing in that very spot.

Not only was that a humbling experience, but to see the German military assembled for the funeral right next to the location from that picture 77 years in the future, I realized how many people I have to be thankful to for the fact that I (an American student of mixed Jewish and German descent) could be standing in the presence of the German military in that historic spot without fear for my own safety.

Berlin Cathedral Church

Having grown up in a military community myself (living near MacDill air force base), I recognized how many aspects of the German military were not so different from our own in the United States. Watching them mourn their dead and hearing the military band play reminded me that even though our armies were once opposed one another, we are truly not so different. More than that, we hold many of the same values including those evident in the ceremony such as music, mourning the dead, respect for the military, and even the Christian ideals suggested by the location of the funeral outside the Berlin Cathedral Church.

I am not saying that I am thankful just to the Allied powers or just to the German military for this opportunity, but more that I am thankful for all the efforts which have been put in by all countries involved in rebuilding the relations between our nations. I was saddened to learn that this beautiful church I was viewing was in fact damaged by an Allied-forces bombing raid during World War II. As I continued through the rest of Berlin, Copenhagen and Hamburg, I saw more destruction from WWII in the cities. It became apparent to me that although the Allied powers prevailed in the war, no one really won. I’ve heard stories of all the civilians lost on both sides and saw the destruction of otherwise historical sites that had occurred during the war, and it was clear to me that such destruction can never be allowed to happen again.

I am not sure if I could have ever truly appreciated what was lost on both sides of the war if I had not had the opportunity to see this with my own eyes. For this reason, I understand how crucial it is our people experience different countries and cultures.  I fully encourage everyone, not just students and not just Americans, to travel to different countries. This not only allows us to appreciate our differences, but more importantly it teaches us to recognize what we share. I will not say that I think this will solve all the world’s problems and produce world peace, but this experience really makes me hopeful that through learning about each other and recognizing our similarities, we can take a big step towards a more peaceful future.

Until next time,

Alyson Kneusel

Author: Ian Olive

Program: Reutlingen, Germany – Study Center

Traveling in: Italy

Five forward gears, four tiny 15 inch wheels, three thrumming cylinders, two small round headlights, and one massive smile. There is an age old saying that it’s more fun to drive a slow car fast than it is to drive a fast car slow. My rental car really embodied the definition of slow. Think your car is slow? Think again. My Fiat 500 had a miniscule 1.2 liter engine pumping out earth-shaking power. (Get it? I was in Italy during the biggest earthquake since the 1980s!) With 69 horsepower and a 5 speed manual, I really needed to wring it dry to get anywhere in any semblance of speed. Driving this slow car as fast as possible on narrow switchback roads really challenged my driving skills, and the best part; it was 100% legal.

Driving in Italy is not for the feint of heart. It’s not even for people that remotely like to drive. To drive in Italy, you must absolutely love to drive and be willing to focus 100% of your attention on the road. The road signs do not matter, neither do speed limits. A road with two lanes basically suggest that there needs to be a minimum of four cars wide. Basically the rules of the road in Italy are merely guidelines or suggestions, but I had an absolute blast.

A car really gave me the opportunity to visit parts of Italy that I wouldn’t have been able to visit at all. Probably the most exciting was visiting the northern Dolomite mountain region near Austria. The landscape was incredible with sweeping mountains that poked out from the westbound clouds. It was simply magical. Because of the flexibility of the car, I was able to travel freely to cities like Pompeii, Florence and Venice. While you might not get anywhere fast or in one piece, an Italian road trip might just be one of the best things you can do.

Author: Ian Olive

Program: Reutlingen Study Center

I have a serious and dangerous problem, I will be completely honest. Despite my best efforts to pack lightly I somehow ended up with five different cameras with me here in Germany. Yes I said five. Like I said, I have a serious problem involving cameras..

Initially, my very sound logic was that I was going to bring my Nikon D800 and a single zoom lens as well as my small point and shoot pocket camera. I would have one excellent camera for when I wanted the best possible quality and my small Coolpix A for when I just wanted some casual shots. But then I decided that my German-made Leica needed to come with as well. I mean how could one not bring a camera back to their birth home? Okay, so three cameras is not too bad, but I needed to shoot some film too.. So my old F3HP was thrown in the bag too. Great, now I had four cameras before I had even left the USA.

A few weeks ago I took a small trip to the gorgeous bohemian city of Prague. Filled to the brim with incredible, gothic and communistic architecture as well as having a fantastic pastoral color palette, it was a photographer’s dream. However, I only chose to bring my point and shoot camera. Despite having thousands of dollars worth of gear back in my apartment in Germany, I wanted to travel as light as possible. It was a refreshing change of pace and my back really thanked me. Yet somehow I came back with more cameras than I had packed. Before you call the doctor, hear me out, this camera was different.

While shuffling through the multitude of second hand stores in the center of Prague, I came across and strange old camera hiding on one of the back shelves. Normally I am very adept at identifying camera makes and models but this one stumped me entirely. The camera was a rangefinder style, similar to the Leica. With silver paint and black leather, it looked very retro. The only markings I could read was a large “4”. There was a name printed, but it appeared to be possibly Cyrillic.  The price in Czech Crowns worked out to around ten dollars, and I had absolutely no idea if it actually worked or not, but decided it would make a cool desk ornament. It came home with me later that day. After a bit of web surfing, I discovered that the camera was called the Zorki 4. Made in Krasnogorsk, Russia, during the mid ‘50s and ‘60s, the camera was very popular in the Communist regime. It was a very beautiful and durable design and, much to my surprise, was fully functioning.

I decided try it out the next day and bought a roll of B&W Kodak TriX 400iso film. I had never shot this type of film before and figured since it was a new camera and a new location I might as well try something new. After getting to understand the few controls of the camera, I went out to explore the city. While I was used to the way this style of camera functioned it lacked one feature that I typically rely on. All modern cameras have something called a “light meter” which will either pick a correct exposure for you or give you suggestions for the perfectly lit photo. I took this as a challenge, the light was constantly changing and if a photo had a bad exposure, there was no one to blame but myself. It honestly was an amazing feeling to shoot with a completely manual camera. It’s a similar experience to driving a classic car; everything is mechanical and works with a beautiful industrial precision. Each shot was a process, and I felt that I was actually creating photographs instead of taking a snapshot.

The two week wait for the lab to develop my photos was agonizingly painful. I had high hopes for the results and dreamed every night about their swift completion. Okay, maybe I didn’t dream about it, but there is something inherently magical about analog creation. It just seems to be much more real, much more creative. The feeling of having a tangible photograph printed and in your hand is a very proud moment. I have taken photographs that have gotten thousands of hits online but I have rarely liked a photo as much as the set from Prague. The ability to carry prints around and show your friends and art professor is another bonus.

As with any other profession, photographers often get in the mindset that they need the latest and greatest gear. We call it GAS or Gear Acquisition Syndrome. I’ll admit and say that I definitely fit into the category.  A very cool Youtube series by DigitalRev TV called Pro Photog, Cheap Camera really highlights how a creative   mindset really out does an expensive camera.

My time in Prague with the little Zorki was pretty revolutionary. Never had a used such a cheap, technologically inferior camera and had so much fun while actually creating photos that I can be proud of. I think this is a turning point in my photographic career. While I thought my creative basin was beginning to run dry, I discovered all I needed was a different tap. I have an upcoming trip to Italy later this week and the only cameras I am bringing are the Zorki and the point and shoot. I am traveling light and traveling creative. It’s not about the newest and greatest gear, it’s about how the photographer applies themselves with it. I am more than content with the enjoyment my cheap Russian camera gives me. But then again, a package just arrived from Japan with a new lens, my first Canon! I will never learn…

Author: Ian Olive

Program: Reutlingen, Germany – Study Center

When I graduated from high school I remember receiving a book written by Dr. Seuss from my then girlfriend. Titled Oh the Places You’ll Go, it is one of his most famous works, full of color and poetry. Originally I passed that gift off as simply a kind present with an inspirational, if metaphorical, message. I had always professed a desire to travel, wanderlust if you will, but I never imaged the opportunities that would soon be presented to me a few years later.

In the last few weeks, I have traveled all the way from Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany to the tip of southern Sweden with an extended stop in the German capital, Berlin. I’ve taken a variety of transportation from cars to buses to trains and boats. At one point in my journey, the train I was aboard even took a boat of its own while crossing the Nordsee from Sweden to Denmark.

While staying in Berlin, our group took a series of small day trips to significant historical areas in the region. Probably the most breathtaking and emotional site was Sachsenhausen Concentration camp about 40 kilometers from Berlin. The camp was established in 1936 and became one of the largest in Germany with an estimated 200,000 prisoners detained. Visiting the camp was a hallowing endeavor- just imagining the horrors and atrocities that were committed at this camp.

Being a city of culture and historical significance, Berlin attractions range from the Brandenburger Tor, to the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie to Tempelhof Flughafen, the center of the Berlin Airlift, there is no shortage of interesting sites. I rented a bicycle for the day and was able to see so many historical sites that I often read about in history books. If you have the chance to visit Germany, Berlin should be at the top of your list!

After returning back to campus, I was able to reflect on the amazing journey that I have been having so far. I couldn’t but help think back to that Dr. Seuss book and marvel at how far I’ve come in such a short time. I’d recommend a semester abroad to anyone without a hint of reservation. It has been one of the biggest highlights of my life. Don’t hesitate to apply now!

– Ian