First Assignment

Dad's trip to Germany

There are many reasons for choosing to study abroad. For students at North Central College, there are multiple choices regarding the country and subject to study while abroad during D-Term. Out of all the possibilities, I choose to study in Germany mainly because of my family. One side of my family has German and Austrian heritage. Most of these family members speak German and my dad even studied there too. He stayed with a host family in Goslar during one trip and studied at the Goethe Institute during another. I’m hoping that by interacting with German people and the culture that I might be able to learn a little about my family and heritage. Secondly, my family is Lutheran and this trip focuses on some of the history of Martin Luther. I think it will be interesting to learn about the history of how this religion and Protestant beliefs started in Germany and what modern German Protestants think about it as well as any differences between Protestants there and Lutherans in America.

An additional motivation to go on a study abroad trip is that a few of the guest speakers at my school have talked about the importance of studying in a foreign country and learning about other cultures. The speakers who recommended traveling said that it later became a large part of their business careers and being exposed to it during college would be a great way to get introduced to the ideas of business travel and cultural differences and customs.

Marienplatz, München

[Mittenwald] I hope I don't get lost, but I most likely will.

I find that my expectations of this upcoming trip to Germany are expanding as I think more about it. When I first decided to go I expected to travel around the country and mostly to tour historical locations and buildings. However, after meeting with the group that I’ll be traveling with, I’m beginning to think more about the culture and the people of Germany. In other words, it is easy to expect the geography, buildings, and cities but it takes more thought to anticipate the “living” parts of Germany. I’m expecting to learn about the people’s culture and views about themselves, America, and the rest of the world. Also, it will be interesting to see whether there are differing or similar goals and values of the people there versus in the U.S.. Americans have a way of life that all of us are familiar with but while our group is abroad, I hope that we experience the European or German lifestyle so that maybe we can gather some insight to their points of view. On a similar note, I expect that we will learn from Germans and of the issues that they deal with that may be the same or different to some of the issues Americans face, such as: obesity, taxes, racism, and others. However, I think that one of the biggest things that we will learn in Germany is how their history affects them today. America is a relatively young country, but Germany has older history as well as even younger history from its transformation during and after WWII. We will be able to see how the people have been shaped by these events.

Overall, this trip is important to me because it is my opportunity to experience a piece of the world while I am still young, but at the same time, an adult and on my own to some extent. I have been able to travel, but always with family or to visit family. When I am alone I will have to find my own way around and figure out how to learn new things in a foreign country on my own. This trip may possibly be the beginning for me wanting to travel to other new locations around the world. I believe the trip will give me and everyone in the group some perspective.