In the Weeks After Germany

Going to Germany this past summer changed me in so many ways, many of which I realized right as I got home, many I am finding now, and some of which I am sure will pop up in the future. Interacting with a culture so unlike ours can only make you realize one thing: maybe our way is not always the best way.

One of the big things that changed about me was my realization of how important it is to be able to interact with others. Before my trip, I had minimal Spanish skills but thought that was enough. After talking to people who spoke three or four different languages fluently (especially my 11-year old German brother who was currently learning his third and fourth languages), I felt very unprepared to face the world and realized just how important language is. I think not many people in the United States speak anything but English because we are not forced to; whereas, people in Europe have daily interactions with people whose native language is different than their own. Since being back in the United States, I have pushed myself to being more considerate and understanding to people whose beliefs are different from my own. I have started on the path to receiving my Spanish certificate, which prepares one to speak Spanish in a medical setting. I hope to continue practicing and one day consider myself a fluent speaker and start on my next language.

Traveling around Europe made me realize how culturally-sheltered I am at home. Seeing the Dom and other cathedrals, palaces galore, and gorgeous gardens decorating the city showed me how fortunate Europeans are. They walk past these sites everyday. They can see the gardens from their houses. These are everyday occurrences. I have always had a great interest in traveling but seeing so much made me realize just how much I enjoy traveling. I hope to travel more abroad with my family and am encouraging my friends to study abroad. I think that traveling helps you to change in ways that books and lectures cannot teach you.

I have found that I am much more interested in world news after traveling all over Europe. It is easier to want to learn about what is going on over there once you actually have been there and know where everything is. I love it when the news talks about Austria or Germany or France and I think, “Oh yes, I’ve been to the exact place they are speaking of.” Going to Europe also helps you to understand the politics of the country and realize why they make the decisions and laws that they do. German government is an odd circle; they support all their people medically, with jobs, and with education yet everyone, even policy makers, is scared to make the government too powerful because of their history. Compared to the United States, I can see how the government paying for your education can be a really good thing for individuals, therefore causing an enrichment of the country as a whole. It enables there to be a better skilled population, which is never a bad thing. On the other hand, America’s way of making people pay for their own college forces college students to work hard and strive for excellence because they know they are paying for it, whereas, they might be lazier if their money was not affected by how long they stayed in school.

Overall, my trip to Germany made me realize how much freedom and pride I am allowed to have in America. It’s an encouragement here to hear people say, “I’m proud to be an American,” while in Germany that would be very looked down upon. It is nice to live in a country that has had problems but not to the point of having eternal guilt. My German summer changed me because I am much more passionate about how our country reacts to current events.

I see myself changed in my daily life – not in ways that I can say, “Yes, that’s different,” but more as wondering if I would have reacted the same in past situations if they happened to me now. I enjoyed every ounce of my German experience and cannot emphasize how lucky I feel for being able to go abroad. My time there changed me and in ways I needed to be changed.