What I Learned From Studying Abroad: Why Learning About Learning Is Important

When I first began my trek into the territory of second-language acquisition in 2008, I had never heard of project-based learning. Likewise, there was no Fluent in 3 Months. At least at the time, my only point of reference to education was a classroom-based curriculum, with the exception of threads on community forums. My ignorance isn't surprising - missing-out on middle-school science fairs and being swamped with AP busywork, knowing how the system worked was more important than knowing how learning worked. Although I had a passion for numerous subjects, knowing how to test-take is more important than what's on the test.

After visiting Germany in 2008 and becoming enthralled with the language, how to learn became much more important. Although my methods were sloppy, after two years I tested into intermediate German at the college level. If I had spent more time with grammar, I may have been able to slip into the advanced courses. And from this experience, I modeled my entire college curriculum on self-education. My entire drive was based on this, to take as many classes as possible and find out how to use it all. I began to read articles about project-based learning, about language learning. 

Only in Germany did I learn the most about what education is and what it should be.

My Favorite Finds in Marburg

St. Michael's Chapel

Marburg, like all cities, has its planned routes, its "must-sees", its monuments that put it in the guidebook, if not on the map. The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Tower, the Landgraves Castle, and the fairy tale trail through the old city are all fantastic adventures that take less then a day to complete. But after four months studying there, I was bound to find some hidden treasures:

1. St. Michael's Chapel - This chapel and graveyard was consecrated in 1270. I found it exploring the staircase near a döner shop at the Ketzerbach intersection, and later returned with Deb. Although we didn't go inside the chapel, the graveyard is enough to be amazed at: centuries old tombstones are sunk into the ground or attached to the side of the chapel, the edges withered and the faint epigraphs are the only reminders that these slabs might have labeled a grave. If you continue the upwards climb, you'll discover two routes - one leads to a winding neighborhood with a fantastic view of the castle, the other to Wehrda, Marbach, or the Emil Adolf von Behring Mausoleum.

A piece from the Shinto collection

2. Emil Adolf von Behring Museum - Behring (1854-1917) is accredited with discovered the diphtheria antitoxin and researching immunities. The Museum is located in Marburg's chemistry lecture hall, and I only stumbled upon the museum because my Arabic final took place there in the great lecture hall. I didn't get too much time to look around, but it even briefly skimming the notes, artifacts, and images from this collection was fascinating.

3. Marburg's religious collection - This gem can be found in the old city, on the way to the castle. There's a high wall with seven large hats - the seven dwarfs - and a building with slanted windows. Here, you'll find a vast array of artifacts - sometimes authentic, sometimes not - from world religions. Each floor houses two or three different practices, as well as seminar rooms, as the building functions as a religious studies center. If the museum isn't open, you can ask the desk on the 3rd floor, and they will happily open the entire exhibit. And if you don't know any German, the items are described in English as well. Hinduism and Buddhism definitely dominate, but there's a lot to be said for Christianity, Shintoism, Judaism, Islam, and other pagan beliefs.

The Marburg flea market.

And as a bonus, you should definitely visit the flea market. When I went to scour the finds, it was located in Waggonhalle. It's about a 20 minute walk from the train station, and like the one in Berlin, you can find just about anything there! It's many thanks to my tandem partner that I even decided to go.

Which reminds me, the one must-do when studying abroad: find a tandem partner! In Marburg, you can be matched with someone in the language center, and you can even get credit for doing it. It's a great way to meet new people, practice your German, learn more about your native language, and learn more about your host city!

Bis Bald! Goodbye Germany - For Now!

From up above, Marburg really is a beautiful city.

As some of you may know, my time here in Germany is coming to an end. To be specific - I leave this Thursday.  And I still can't completely believe it. For the past weeks, I've been treading through paperwork, packing, and saying my goodbyes. There's definitely a side of me who isn't ready to return, who wants another week, another month, maybe.

But I'm also ready to go home. It's time to start up my work again. And as much as I'll be glad to be in a familiar culture, speaking my native tongue, there will be things I miss.

A large part of my day is spent traveling, 30 minutes from my dorm to the city center. Everyday. But I'll miss the trains even more. Here it's so simple to travel long distances, and it'll be something I think about whenever I try to maneuver a trip from Knoxville to Memphis. The variety of Megabus-like services will  be stuck in my memory, too - as I've used both the Meinfernbus and Deinbus when traveling to Berlin and Munich. A loss of this vast public transit system is a loss of freedom.

There's also the food. I'll miss quick bites at the Lecker Ecke. I'll miss auflauf, curry wurst, schnitzel and döner. But I'm also excited to get back to inexpensive and more authentic Mexican and Chinese food.

Greek wine and a broken cork...but we
 found a solution!

The scenery in Knoxville is definitely a downgrade from Marburg. Don't get me wrong, Knoxville can be lovely. But it isn't a picturesque German city with a castle from the 11th century built on-top of a mountain. However, both cities require me to walk to school up hill both ways, so at least I'll get a work out back in the USA.

And of course, I'll miss the friends I've made here - both through my dorm and through my tandem program. :)  For those who don't know what a tandem is, it's a language exchange. You find a partner with the language you are learning, and for two hours you practice - one hour per language. I've really enjoyed my time with everyone here, and I only wish I could stay longer!

There is one major thing I've been missing throughout the experience - American higher education. This may sound strange, for the money Germans pay to the university, it isn't bad here. But it's very different.

First, attendance may not matter at all. There were some classmates I only saw twice - once mid semester, and once during exams. Second, none of my lecturers or professors graded homework, or even took it up. Sometimes nothing was assigned. Classes also went at a slower pace than those in the US. It was definitely more laid back, and although I liked not having to buy a textbook, I feel like I thrive better in a more regimented environment. And I remember more.

Three of seven dwarves outside of the
 Religious Collection building.

Exams are one last thing about the education system that I really do prefer in the US. Here there are no tests until your final - at least in my department. It was difficult to study, because there was so much anxiety about the pressure to do well. When I go back, I think I'll be much more relaxed about exams, since I know in the US I have a grade buffer.

And a small tip for those studying abroad: I would suggest studying another language when you're abroad. I know that sounds insane, but it really made a difference for me. I took an optional course in Russian through the Language Center. Everything was in German, and it proved to be more useful than my Sprachkurs (Speaking course, in this case for German). In addition to that, I found studying Russian through German to be simpler, because of the similarities in grammar, such as the case system.

Studying in Germany never really matched my expectations, but it was definitely a great experience- good days and bad. I can't really tell if it's "changed me" - maybe that will come out when I'm back home. 

Nach Berlin mit Liebe

Hanging out with Marx and Engels! 

In June I finally had some relief from German bureaucracy. Since May I had been working to get all the documents for a German visa - not for myself, but for my boyfriend, Deb. Because I was inviting him, and I wasn't a German citizen, everything was more complicated - but nevertheless, I found myself waiting at the airport for his arrival. :-)

It being his first time abroad, everything was exciting - even my small town of Marburg!  But to be honest, we started sight-seeing two days later, in Berlin.

Berlin is like any other big city - at least, what I imagine big cities to look like. But it definitely has it's own quirks - the Ampelmännchen traffic lights, the retro subways, sometimes with wood-paneled interior, and hidden monuments. Seeing all of Berlin in two days is impossible, but we certainly saw a lot!

Our first full day in Berlin, we walked from 9:00 in the morning until 12:00 at night. We ventured into all the main sites - the Brandenburg Tor, Museum Insel, Checkpoint Charlie, the East Side Gallery, Podtzdammer Platz. As we traveled from the middle of the city to Kreuzberg, the hub for multicultural cuisine and indie shops (and my favorite district of Berlin), performers jumped from subway car to subway car playing music. This was much more enjoyable than the cursing drunkardette picking fights on our way back to our hotel, located in Moabit.

A gorgeous mosque in Kreuzberg,  located in-between a
Mexican and Korean Restaurant.

Both Moabit and Kreuzberg turned out to be where Deb and I enjoyed ourselves the most. While in Berlin, we both contracted a cold. The next day, after walking from Moabit to Charlottenburg - which is exhausting, and visited the flea-market on 17th June Street, we made a quick stop in Kreuzberg. As we began walking in Kreuzberg, it began to rain heavily, and we took shelter next to a Korean restaurant. Deb and I had hoped to try some Korean barbecue, but without a reservation, we would have had to sit "yoga style", and both of us were too exhausted for that!

So we ended up back in Moabit - which is a beautiful area, and I wish we would have seen more of it! After freshening up and walking around, we settled for a small Indian restaurant, where Deb taught me how to eat biryani, rogan josh, and naan properly. More than tasty, the food was delicious! A hot one, at that! The next day our colds had nearly vanished - and then we were off to Marburg again.

Sculpture of Shiva, from Marburg's
Religious Collection

Although I enjoyed our time in Berlin, we had a ton of fun in Marburg. We visited Elizabeth's Church, dedicated to Elizabeth of Hungary who became a cult figure in the middle ages. The Marburg Castle was not nearly as interesting, as it has been modernized and turned in a museum for fairytales - with some folk galleries. They are working on the bottom of the castle, I think to show off a preserved version of the castle. Regardless, Deb and I both enjoyed observing the artwork, the religious icons and the armor and weaponry exhibits.

It was on our way to the castle that we stumbled upon the university's religious collections, which at the time were closed. So on Monday we returned, and ended up being the only ones interested in seeing the artifacts, taken or bought by Rudolf Otto. So we had a kind of private showing that encompassed nearly all mainstream religion - Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Shinto, Buddhism and so forth. Deb was able to contribute more to the Hindu and Buddhism descriptions - not all of which were authentic or correct on his account. And when we found an image from a Bollywood movie in the Islamic exhibit, we couldn't help but laugh!

Eventually, though, Deb did have to return to India. And although I missed him the moment he left - and I miss him now, my upcoming exams didn't give me much time to do anything but study!

Was soll man belegen?

Germany, where have you been all my academic life?

A month has already snuck by, but my schedule is only now solidifying. When I was signing up for classes, the advice I normally received was, "just show up and see if you like it". Then decide. So after a week and a half of that, I pretty much have my classes picked out, but even with an additional Russian course at the language center, the schedule looks pretty bare.

But this leaves time for other things - travel, exploration, tandem language partners, food shopping. Be aware, if you do decide to buy perishables, you better use them quickly - things spoil within a few days, and the lukewarm fridges are most likely the culprit. And that travel and exploration - planning takes up half of the time. Is it cheaper if I use this airport? How much does it cost to get to X. etc. Don't forget the bus rides to and from your train station.

Use it before you lose it.

If anything my organizing skills will have a boost by the time I get back to the states. But here's the lowdown on where to shop:

For food:

Aldi if you want the cheapest source. I spent 8 € there for 8-9 packages of vegetables and other non-perishables.

ReWe or Tegut will have whatever Aldi doesn't - but go to Tegut first. Both stores are higher end, but Tegut has more "in-between" options than ReWe. Both of these stores also carry paper goods and personal care items, among kitchen utensils and groceries.

For other things:

Kik or Woolsworth.

Don't buy that 8 € spatula at Tegut when you could buy it for 1€. Especially if you're only here for a short amount of time. They also have clothes, shoes, furnishings, etc. Woolsworth even has some snacks. And I'm pretty sure the cashier is sick of seeing me - I've been there almost everyday as I slowly collect cooking equipment.

Near the Kaufmarkt stop.

Dollar stores are amazing, no matter where you are. And going to these places saves money for more important things - travel. Luckily with the semester ticket, I can get to everywhere in Hessen for free. But that's why there's Flixbus and Ryanair - if it's not free, it can be cheap.

I still have only ideas of where to go next - but with a holiday next Thursday, I'll definitely be going somewhere.

“Es ist ein Wurzelkanal…”

The dentist office - clear on the other side of town, but they speak English, too.

So it’s a root canal. Gott sei Dank for German health insurance - which, I got, by the way, the same day as my internet modem. I never really needed to decide which one I wanted first. Although, unfortunately, just because I have a modem, doesn’t mean I have internet.

I have no idea why it doesn’t work. It says ‘connected’ both for WiFi and ethernet. And today I received a letter in the mail, stating that if my internet existed, it would have a limit of 10 MB. So, in the meantime, I’ve kept myself busy with grocery shopping and Arabic homework. 

Which brings me to study part of this exchange: this was my first week of classes. True, my translation class doesn’t begin until next week, but I’m already pretty psyched about the rest of my courses.

The goods.

My Arabic class, luckily is starting where I left off in the States; however, we are only covering three chapters. I need to cover the rest of the book - which as slow as this class is going to be, there shouldn’t be a problem. This also explains why they have an A4 level of Arabic, when the European Framework goes by A1 and A2, and maybe A1.2, etc. This framework, by the way, makes way more sense to me than the American structure of “beginner, intermediate, advanced”. The terms in the European Framework are not as cumbersome and the definition of each division and subdivision are clear to a point. 

This is how it compares, at least based on my experiences at UT:

A1 = beginner, 1^st two semesters at the Uni

A2 = also beginner. Second 2 semesters at the Uni

B1 - advanced classes.

C1/C2 is considered fluency. If you want another idea of how this works, the Russian book for the beginner class here covers both A1 and A2. Мост 1 and its accompanying workbook, are together more compact, less expensive, and  more flexible than the textbooks I’ve looked at in the US.

Lecture hall in the Center for Near Eastern Languages

And for those of you who are already bored, a class taught in English might be of interest. Mondays I’m learning about the Caucasus region in a seminar styled class, meaning I’ll have to give a presentation at some point. It’s a term frequently thrown around on the news, but never explained. For the record, we’re covering areas in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Dagestan, Chechnya: from southern Russia (think Sochi) towards northern Turkey and Iran. Instead of glaring into the political side, it’ll be geared towards looking at the local perspective. 

And if you’re interested in what it’s like to be at a Germany university, it’s completely relaxed. Except for Arabic, I have my other courses once a week. So far I haven’t had to buy books, each class is about 75 minutes long except my German language course, which runs 3 hours. Even in Arabic, we’ll have no exams or quizzes until the final. Homework is a bare minimum. Weekends begin on Thursday after 10 am. 

„Die Nacht wird Hell”

Translation: "The Night will be light (beer)." 

There are only two hopes I have when I wake up: that the health insurance card comes in the mail, and that the internet modem magically appears in the room when I’m out eating at the cafeteria. 

For the past three weeks I’ve had a searing toothache whenever I eat or drink cold or hot foods. A week before I left for Germany, I had a crown put in, and although I followed all the instructions, I have a feeling it fell out. 

The lack of internet I can deal with. I practice my languages, I write, I go out, I play games. I explore. 

And during this time, completely alert without my headphones, I’ve realized the extent of German beer-culture.  You can walk around outside with beer. You can drink it by the river mid day. You can choose your restaurant based on what beer they serve. There’s a Chinese biergarten, a Greek biergarten. Cheesy replicas of ancient statues and all; and I might even visit the Greek biergarten. I’m curious as to how good their 10 € moussaka is. But, obviously, that should be saved for a special occasion. However, it only opens in the evening - a bit spooky, considering it lies besides a graveyard. I guess it’s something for the ghosts to do.

Irodion: The Greek Biergarten. But how Greek is it?

There are other food-related items I’ve noticed, besides the abundance of coffee and bread shops. Surprisingly, the orange juice here is incredibly underrated. I’ve been craving the clean, orange taste it since I left the youth hostel. It’s honestly the best orange juice I’ve had. 

Organic food, too, is sometimes cheaper than the synthetic. It’s true that the organic peanut butter looks a bit like misty facial cream, but on a budget, it’ll work. The meat, however, is incredibly expensive. And I feel like half of the meat is schweinefleisch. 

And of course, even the student cafeteria is much better than at my institution. Sometimes I can get a meal for less than 2 €. Still, the downstairs cafeteria, which is similar to a cafe, is brimming with bread and meat items. So this morning, when I was telling myself to get the pasta salad, I still went for the schnitzel. 

And so it’s lucky for me, that I’m in Germany with a bad tooth. Although I have to reject a lot of hot or spicy foods right now, there’s plenty of bread to fill the void.