Madeline Hill
Overall Experience
I went for a 3-week trip to Swaebisch Hall, Germany, and studied at the Goethe Institut. This is a language school with many locations throughout Germany. There were students from all around the world with a wide age range. We had class 8:30-1 with a few short breaks through out. We studied grammar, practiced speaking and writing, and learned about German culture. I stayed in the student housing where I shared a suite style room with my friend, and a communal kitchen with the building. There was lots of free time in the afternoon, and several optional school-sponsored activities were also available, which were fun! I especially enjoyed the pretzel-making lesson where learned from a traditional master in his family owned bakery.
Learning experience
One thing I learned was to always do your research before visiting a new place. We arrived in Swaibisch Hall on a Sunday, shortly before lunch. We found our rooms and dropped off our stuff and looked up the nearest grocery store to buy some food. However, in Germany, especially in small cities, all the stores are closed on Sundays. We ended up having to eat out for the next several meals, until we finished classes the following day and could buy our groceries.
Memorable experience
One of the places I enjoyed the most was the church in the center of the old city. It was built Catholic and is now non-denominational but almost all of its original art was preserved. I visited it on three separate occasions, so great was its splendor. I also enjoyed wandering the twisty streets of the old city every day and visiting the shops and the many bakeries.
What did you not expect?
One thing that surprised me the most was the other students at the Goethe Institut. I expected many of them to be from the US and around my age. This was not the case, however. In my class of around 16, only four or so of us were from the US, and around 1/3 of us were college aged. I met people from many different countries, including Japan, Italy, Spain, and Columbia. It was encouraging to learn how to communicate with my new friends, despite all having different native languages. It taught me how to work with others that are different than myself, and going forward, I hope to befriend and work with many other people on the global stage.
What advice would you give?
Definitely go for it! I'm so glad I got to study abroad in during my time at ISU. It's a unique experience. If you are looking into the Goethe Institut, they have a good program, and they have many flexible options for time and place. You are on your own for travel, but they do provide a few different housing options depending on the location. A very specific thing about this school is that you need to register twice, once with the Goethe Institut and once with ISU, but you only need to pay once, and any scholarships will come through just fine.
How has this experience impacted your life?
One of my goals coming into college was to become fluent in German, and studying abroad certainly helped me to progress in my skills, as well as my German minor. I also became more independent, as the program is relatively unstructured in terms of travel because there isn't an ISU professor facilitating the trip.
How did you learn about this experience?
I learned about this international opportunity by browsing the ISU study abroad website, and learned more through talking with a student at the study abroad fair.
International Connections