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My First Week in Reutlingen: Part One

It’s been a long and exciting week. (okay actually 10 days, but who’s counting?) Finally, I feel de-jetlagged and settled enough to reflect on everything, so this will be quite a long post. So I guess I’ll jump right in on arrival day.

The Arrival:
This is probably going to be the most challenging day of the entire semester. Don’t worry, it’s not a horror story. It actually went much more smoothly than I expected, but for me personally, and I assume for many, the first day in a new place is hard. It’s a huge adjustment to make, especially when you haven’t slept in 36 hours. I always feel pretty out of it the day after a transatlantic flight, but I got through it by focusing on one task at a time. First, we landed and got our luggage, then we met Professor Ostoyich and his family at the airport and took a bus to Reutlingen. I will forever be grateful to them for all of their help on the first day and throughout our orientation weeks. That day, they first took us to their apartment, which is on the same street as the dorms, and fed us, passed out our linens and cooking supplies, and explained the plan for the coming days.

The Dorms:
Then, we all moved into our rooms. I temporarily have one all to myself because there is an odd number of girls in this group, but I may be getting an international student roommate in the future. When I first found this out, I was really disappointed because I didn’t want to feel left out of things, but looking back on this week, maybe it was for the best. I’d hate to subject a stranger to my jet lag-induced temporary insanity. Don’t worry, I’m better now. I find it uncanny, how much the dorms here resemble the Valpo freshmen dorms. They are set up similarly, with 2 beds on either side, closets, a sink, and desks by the window.

And this is the view out of my window. It’s not spectacular, but I do get to see the mountains in the distance.

I think there are 3 or 4 dorms that Valpo kinds could potentially live in, but this semester, we’re split between Wurmhaus and Reichwein-Haus, which are pretty similar. I’m in Reichwein, which is more recently renovated, but this semester, Wurmhaus seems like the place to be. More international students live there, so it’s a little more lively, but I like the quiet on my floor. On each floor of both dorms, there are 2 halls of rooms and a shared kitchen and lounge in the middle.

**Helpful hints about moving in: Be sure to stop at the Valpo program storage locker where you can find all sorts of useful items donated by previous Valpo kids. There are phones, hair appliances, toiletries, blankets, cookware, clothes, and much more. It’s like a treasure hunt! Secondly, if you’re picky about pillows like me, bring a pillowcase/liner that zips. The European pillows here are like big, flat squares, but if you have an extra pillowcase, you can fold the pillow in half, and it’ll seem normal. Finally, BRING AN ETHERNET CORD. Some dorms do not have wifi, and I’m so glad I was prepared for that going in.

The first full day:
The next day was our first full day in Reutlingen. First we bought bus passes. (Be sure to have about 70 euros in cash for that.) We then had a brief tour of the campus and town, followed by a delicious lunch at a café. Most of us got the Maultaschen, a regional specialty similar to giant ravioli. I loved that the program paid for a few meals in the beginning, because we didn’t make it to the store for a few days.

After that, we spent some time exploring the city on our own and then ended up watching a movie/falling asleep in one of the lounges. The next day was a free day to settle in, and on Sunday, we had our first introduction to Tübingen, which I’ll get to in part 2 of this post.

We’re Capable of More Than We Think

January 12, 2014 / kaitlyncarzoli / 0 Comments

Hi! I’m Kaitlyn Carzoli, a junior German major and French minor studying in Reutlingen, Germany this spring. You can follow my adventures on this page as I dive into the life and culture of Germany and hopefully many other places across Europe! For now, I have a bit of catching up to do, so I’ll start by posting the three entries I wrote before arriving. This first one should give you a little bit of background on why I chose to study in Germany and my hopes for the semester:

As of today, I have about a month left before I leave to spend the spring semester in Reutlingen, Germany, and I couldn’t be more excited! Still, it goes without saying that I’m nervous too. Some of my biggest passions in life are travel, foreign languages, and foreign cultures, but even so, my decision to study abroad was not an easy one. I always knew I wanted to study in Germany at some point, but my fear of the unknown kept making me feel like I wasn’t ready yet. There were so many questions to answer, lists to make, and problems to solve, but if only I had just a few more months, maybe I would be ready by then. And then I realized something. I’m never going to feel ready, so I just have to get on the plane and figure it out as I go along. I’m never going to have all the answers or know exactly what to expect. There will be unforeseen challenges, and I have to make peace with the fact that not every decision I make will be the right one. But learning to meet those challenges is how I’ll grow and learn to trust myself. I know I’ll be a different person when I come back, and I’m excited for that transformation.

Luckily, underneath all my nervousness lies a stronger peace. I know that everything will be okay, because on a smaller scale, I’ve experienced this sort of transformation before. In high school, I studied German for four years, and for some strange reason, I really had a knack for it. During the summer before my senior year, I was blessed with the opportunity to spend a month living with a German host family and travelling around Germany with other students. On the first day, I was so terrified that I almost didn’t get on the plane, but by the last day, I would have given anything to stay just a little longer. On my last morning there, I sat down to breakfast, and my host dad told me something that I’ll never forget. Roughly translated, he said that we’re always capable of more than we think. I’ve decided, that’s going to be my mantra in Reutlingen. It sounds cliché, but that summer profoundly changed my entire way of thinking about myself and the world, and somehow, I felt more at home in Germany than I ever have anywhere else. So in a way, I’m thinking of my semester in Reutlingen as a homecoming of sorts. I’m going back to a place that I love, and I’ll get to rediscover all the things that I’ve missed about it.

Like the breathtaking landmarks:

And 500-year-old buildings that look like this:

And this:

And of course, the amazing food!

So that’s just some of what I’m looking forward to this semester. Next, I’ll post my general study abroad packing tips and some pre-departure thoughts. Then, I’ll be all settled in and ready to add new content about my first week in Reutlingen. If you are at all interested in studying abroad at Valpo, keep up with this blog, and if you want to know even more, check out my travel/food blog at spoonfulofzucker.blogspot.com .

Bis morgen!

–Kaitlyn

The Reutlingen group and Dr. Stroebele

A great opportunity

October 24, 2013 / studyabroad / 0 Comments

The Reutlingen group and Dr. Stroebele

A short, but very interesting update! Last week the Reutlingen cohort was invited to meet with the Cultural Minister of Reutlingen, Dr Ströebele. Dr Ströebele warmly welcomed the Crusaders at City Hall. The night went smoothly and everyone had a great time- the event allowed the students to interact with the cultural minister, asking him questions and listening to what he had to say.

The students greatly enjoyed the opportunity of meeting an important figure in the city of Reutlingen. The event was even covered on the official website for Reutlingen! The article also gives in-depth information about the Valpo Reutlingen program. Check it out: (though you might not understand it)

http://www.reutlingen.de/de/Aktuelles+Info/Nachrichten/Nachricht?view=publish&item=article&id=5109

Leipzig and Wittenberg

March 4, 2013 / emilywambach / 0 Comments

Our first class trip was great! I was a bit worried about how it would work out, thinking that maybe it would end up being hectic. But I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected! This trip specifically was designed for our Theology/History course that focuses on Martin Luther and Johann Sebastian Bach (I know, a strange combination). It was a lot of fun. A lot of walking, but still fun!

Our week started off in Leipzig in eastern German state Sachsen. Meaning on the other side of the country… meaning a long train ride, a long train ride that started off with Mary-Ann and I running to the bus stop to catch the bus so we could catch that train. All that matters though is that we made it! And I was able to sleep the entire way there, so that’s good too.

This is the boys choir that preforms for the Thomaskirche. This would be the kind of choir the Bach was incharge of during his employment!

By the time we arrive to Leipzig the sun has already set. And we’re greeted with the lovely spray-painted sign of “SWABIANS GO HOME” (Reutlingen = The middle of Swabia). But that’s alright! Good thing we aren’t actual Swabians! And our hotel/pension is only a short walk away from the train station so we start our way over. To get there we cross over a popular street car stop, in which Dr. Jennings alerts us to watch out for said street cars before crossing. And what do I do? Walk in front of a street car. (It was not my day as you could tell…) Luckily I just needed to quicken my pace to get by.

But to any of you who doubt my competence, I’ll have you know that everything went great afterwards. Our main reason for visiting Leipzig was the Thomaskirche, the church that Bach use to be employed at. It’s a beautiful gothic church and has a huge statue of Bach by the side of it! Lucky for us we were even able to listen to the boy choir while we were there. After spending the whole day exploring Leipzig, it was nice to sit down and relax.

This is where Luther lived in Wittenberg!

The next day we took a day trip to Wittenberg. As many of you should know, this is where Martin Luther used to live, teach at, and most of all, this is where he posted his 95 Theses, starting the Protestant Reformation. Everything in this town was very old and quaint. It was so cool to be able to see everything that we learned in class! We visited his old house and the Schlosskirche where he posted the 95 Theses. The church was under construction, but luckily we visited at the right time to see the church mid-renovation! It was really cool to see the church empty, and we were even able to go into places we normally wouldn’t be allowed to.

So basically, the first half of our trip went great! I had a lot of fun and I would love to visit Leipzig and Wittenberg again!

It’s Market Day!!!!

January 22, 2013 / maryanncraft / 0 Comments

Every Tuesday and Saturday in the morning there is a fresh market in the ‘Stadtmitte,’ which is the German word for the middle of the city. In the US these are not very common in the winter, or even in the summer. I mean, we have our farmer’s markets but the market here seems to have a lot of things that you would not find at a farmer’s market. I saw a fruit that was apparently called a lychee (pronounced leechy). It’s a fruit that has a harder shell on the outside. This wasn’t the only strange thing about the market, though. There were vendors selling meats and cheeses. I don’t know about the rest of America, but when I think market, I don’t automatically think of cheese and meat. There were also a lot of vendors selling bread. Let me tell you. Germany is one giant country made up of bread! Bread is a staple part of any meal here. It almost seems as though they need the bread here in order to survive. It’s a way of life, I guess. Anyways, the location of the market isn’t too shaby. Reutlingen is an old town, as are most towns in Germany, and so the location of the market is in an old world feeling place. Everyone here seems so nice, from the vendors to the shoppers. I haven’t even said the most mind boggling thing yet, at least it’s mind boggling to me. Germany’s citizens are very environmentally concious about everything. Everyone tries to recycle every little thing they can. Well, when everyone goes shopping, especially at the market, they bring their own bags. I’m pretty sure, though I am assuming and you know what that means, that every person in Germany owns at least two to three canvas bags to do their grocery shopping. The best thing about the market, I mean besides all the fresh food, is the one vendor off to the side selling lunch. We went to the market for one of our first class trips and while at the market we were getting hungry, so some of us went to this vendor to get something to eat. This next part is a little embarassing to admit, at least on my part, but I’ll tell it anyway. I had ordered a bratwurst in a bun. The ketchup and mustard were in the oddest looking containers I had ever seen. My friend must have seen how confused I was, that she explained to me that I needed to pretend I was milking a cow. The face I made had a couple people around me start giggling. That was possibly the coolest way to put mustard on a bratwurst. So after I finished my lunch, I quickly snapped a picture from afar! The market was just such a good place to visit. It seemed a little peaceful at the time, because we went when the snow was falling and the temperature was bearable. All in all, it was a successful outing in the Stadtmitte!!!

Germany, here I come!!!!

December 13, 2012 / studyabroad / 0 Comments

Hi, my name is Mary-Ann and I'm one of the Reutlingen bloggers!

When I prepare for the grocery store, I make a list of everything I need. I mean usually I end up leaving with more than on my list, but hey, who doesn’t?? During finals (and I’m sure you can relate to this!) I make lists of everything that needs to get done. Sometimes I’m so swamped that I even need to write down time to relax and to stop stressing. Story of my LIFE!!!! Finding out I was accepted into the study abroad program and that I was going to be studying abroad in Reutlingen the spring of 2013, what did I do? That’s right. Made like 80 lists of everything that I was planning on taking with, what I wanted to see, things I wanted to do….writing lists was probably the stupidest thing I could have done at the time. Why? The whole point of writing lists, for me at least, was to reassure myself that I don’t need to stress about everything. Boy was I stupid. With each list I got more and more nervous. Try so nervous that I had almost-couldn’t-hold-the-pen-cause-my-palms-were-so-sweaty kind of nervous (which for a girl is pretty disgusting to admit – so I apologize in advance). Nervous couldn’t even begin to describe what I was feeling. I started to think about all the things that could go wrong. Not to freak you guys out, but it was stuff like forgetting my passport (not even possible, though who thinks rationally when they’re freaking out?!?!), not having enough money, buying the right passes, not packing too much or (oh my gosh!) not packing enough……you get the idea. But then a thought occurred to me. (And I hope with all this worrying, that I didn’t freak you out about studying abroad. Trust me; I can worry enough for the both of us.) And let me impart this wisdom upon you: anything this nerve racking (and stressful!!!) must be exciting and worth all of the mixed emotions. Mixed emotions usually indicate something that is going to be so worthwhile that we often times look back and wonder just why we were so nervous and hesitant to begin with. Life is more unpredictable this way (and even a little fun!). And let me tell you, I am not comfortable with the unknown, but there’s just something about finally going to a place where I might not know what’s going to happen that gets me a little excited and that whatever will happen, I know that it’ll be worth it. Don’t get me wrong, family and friends will be sorely missed, but I also know that if I don’t take the chance to go now, when will the next chance for me to travel come? Never let an opportunity as priceless as this one be passed up. With the end of the semester coming, I might be stressing out about finals (let’s be real, I AM stressing out about finals), but the thought that I would be going on my own little adventure next semester keeps me going and makes it all worthwhile. Germany, here I come!!!!

By Mary-Ann Craft, German and Biology Majors from Kendallville, Indiana. More posts to come soon!!

Why Reutlingen?

December 13, 2012 / studyabroad / 0 Comments

I chose to go to Reutlingen because I have always wanted to go to Germany. I am a German Major and have been studying the language for almost 6 years now. However, despite all this time, I have never actually been to Germany. As a German major, this can be really tough because the majority of my peers have already visited Germany. I look forward to going to Germany and see exactly what my peers have been telling me and what I have learned in class. I choose Reutlingen for these exact reasons and I hope to show everyone what my learning experience.

Despite all these years of learning German, I still do not know a lot about daily life and popular culture in Germany. I am excited to not only learn more about the daily culture, but to experience it myself! I hope to make a lot of friends while I am there too, to help me with the culture shock. Also I

To prepare for Germany, I lived at the German House! Here's our fancy Easter Dinner.

wish to perfect my speaking proficiency while in Reutlingen, bringing me to the same level as my peers. This way I hope to become someone that my peers can also look up to, such as I have looked up to them.

Another reason why I choose Reutlingen is to visit the many places I learn about in my German classes. Our professors have set up a list of places to visit while we are in Germany, many of them relating to what we have learned. I hope to visit all of them and visit many other parts of Germany as well. I also choose going to Reutlingen because it is near the border of other countries. Because of that, I hope to visit as many new places as I can while I am there, in Germany and other countries as well. Having never been outside of the United States before, I am super excited to experience all these new places and cultures!

My friends and I getting ready for Homecoming!

I really am going to miss home and all my friends back at Valpo, but this is a trip that I have been looking forward to for a long time. I only wish that all my friends could have come with me to experience Germany with me as well! Realistically though, I hope that they will keep in contact with me and support me as I learn and grow. I hope that they and other Valpo students can learn from my experiences. With the prospects of visiting so many new places and increasing my language skills, there is no reason why I would not go to Reutlingen!

By Emily Wambach, German Major, Japanese & Communication Minors, from Knoxville, Tennessee. More posts to come!!

Think seriously about Study Abroad: your new favorite semester at Valpo.

December 7, 2012 / juliemaddox / 0 Comments

Alumni Guest Blog.

Daniel Jarratt, Valpo alum, studied abroad in Reutlingen, Germany in 2005 (R-75) and writes about how his experience impacted him. Valpo alumni are invited to email study.abroad@valpo.edu to share their story on how studying abroad impacted their lives.

Studying abroad is — plain and simple — a lot of fun. How about jumping into thermal baths and caving in Budapest, punting boats on a river through a medieval German town, or summiting the tallest mountain in Wales?

Studying abroad is unique. Where else can you have an entire castle tower to yourself for a night in a youth hostel? See the Queen of England from 3 feet away? Walk through Roman catacombs, part of the tangible history of the early church?

Studying abroad is living history. Stand where Martin Luther translated the Bible and where Shakespeare was born. See bombed-out Coventry Cathedral, the home of the Community of the Cross of Nails of which our Chapel of the Resurrection is a part. If you have ancestors in the area you’re studying, find their old homes and people who share your name.

My co-hort – R-75

I lived in Reutlingen, Germany, for three semesters (spring 2005, fall 2007, spring 2008) on two Valpo overseas programs (including one after graduation), and I did everything above and much, much more. My time in Germany was, far and away, one of the most meaningful experiences that Valpo provided.

You can and should finish your degree in four years, except for a small handful of majors which have special arrangements.
I was frugal, and you’ll be afforded student rates on almost everything if you head to Europe (or another touristed area). Studying abroad was a very good value.
There is a long history of the Grand Tour, and many of Valpo’s students (and the University itself) are its heirs. Over the last four centuries of Western higher education, students who wished to further their education traveled extensively specifically to learn about the world beyond their community and nation. If you have the chance to study abroad during college and you don’t, you’re cheating yourself.

Study abroad is important for many of the same reasons the liberal arts are important. If you believe that education should be about more than just vocational training (and you’re at Valpo, so I assume you do), studying abroad is a key method of learning the liberal arts. In fact, it may be the most effective: immersing yourself in a work — a book, a symphony, or a place — outshines lectures by even the best professors.

You (yes, you) should study abroad. Living in Germany was one of the best decisions of my life, and my only regret is I couldn’t stay longer. You’ll feel the same way too.

in front of the Brandenburg Gate

Daniel Jarratt, VU’07 with TV/Radio Production and Humanities majors and a German minor.

Germany!

September 20, 2012 / studyabroad / 0 Comments

I have been looking forward to going to Germany for a very long time, basically ever since I started taking German as a freshman in high school. Well, now that I have the opportunity to be here, it is basically a dream come true. However, there are some things that one notices as an American that either take a while to get used to, or to acknowledge as normal for Europeans. I expected this before my airplane even landed in Europe, though, because I know that most of what Europe has in common with the United States can be counted on one hand (maybe two). The differences can be put into general categories, such as culture, architecture, and language. These differences are probably what will make up the most exciting parts of my time here. For example, most Europeans speak three languages (including their native language, and probably English) if not more. But it’s ok if they don’t speak English, because why else would I take German for six years and study abroad in Germany for a year if I didn’t want to speak a lot of German while I am here?! Of course I do not plan on spending the whole year in Germany, so culture and architecture will have more of a prominent role during my travels through countries like Italy, Spain, France, England, et cetera.

From country to country, cultures may not differ so much, but compared to the United States there is a pretty big difference. Americans are primarily all about Thanksgiving, Christmas, and (for some) St. Patrick’s Day. Europeans, however, have a lot of different festivals, traditions, and important seasonal times like Spargelzeit (asparagus season) in Germany, and the running of the bulls, which is most famously held in Spain. Differences in architectural style are quite apparent from country to country, though, especially when traveling from North to South.

In cities like Florence, one sees Renaissance architecture literally towering over the city with buildings like the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (commonly referred to as “the Duomo”), one of my favorite buildings in Europe. However, if one goes to London, then Neo-Gothic architecture is seen in buildings like the Palace of Westminster. Different architectural styles can convey completely different feelings and time periods. For example, if one looks at Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, even though it was built in the late nineteenth century, one typically associates a fairytale with its appearance, so it is very much fantastical creation. The Duomo causes me to think about Leonardo da Vinci and humanism coming into existence in art. However, when one sees the Palace at Westminster one is almost overwhelmed with the amount of detail, and is almost forced to think of a monarchy and ornate crowns.

Even with giving just a few examples, one can see how there is so much to experience by traveling just a couple hundred miles in any direction. In Europe, having a building that is three-hundred years old is completely ordinary, and citizens care a lot about their traditions and culture. Experiencing all of these things might be overwhelming for most Americans, but even if it is a lot to handle it will still be worth the while to be submerged up to my neck in a new environment that “spoiled” Americans can’t really experience anywhere in the United States. I guess what I am really looking forward to is having a new experience every day, while being placed in the middle of a real-life history book. The best part is that I don’t have to read hundreds of pages to know different time periods, because I can simply travel to different locations to experience them.

By John Ertel, more blogs to come soon!

Schloss Lichtenstein

May 8, 2012 / sarahtiemann / 1 Comment

Over this past weekend we went on yet another excursion in the Reutlingen area. We hiked to Lichtenstein Castle. We invited a few of the other international students that live in our dorm to come with too. The castle is only about fifteen kilometers away from the University so we took a bus to the bottom of trail and began our journey up yet another hill to yet another amazing castle.

To get the full effect of this adventure, you should know what the weather was like. The trip adviser said that one should do this on a sunny day because you have to hike for about four kilometers through forest and meadows on narrow paths. So naturally, we would choose the day that it decided to have eighty percent chance of rain the entire day. So as we were slipping and sliding hoping not to fall of the cliffs, all while the weather kept changing from sunshine and warm to rain and wind (we thought we were back at Valpo).

We finally made it to Schloss Liechtenstein and took a tour of the interior of the castle. Our tour guide was very animated and made a lot of jokes in German which I have learned just to nod and smile to. Afterwards the sun decided to shine and we ate a late lunch on the castle grounds. Later we hiked back to the town of Lichtenstein in explored the city, even though it was a Sunday and everything was closed. Overall it was a great day just touring around the area and a nice relaxing day before finals began.

Check out more of my photos at https://plus.google.com/photos /113496106333285759017/albums?banner=pwa

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