Two of my main concerns before going on this
trip was that I would not be adjust to the culture adequately and that I would
have a hard time communicating with other people. While my family have already hosted two other
German students prior to this exchange, I did not get close or indeed talk very
much to either of them and instead let my sister be the main host. While I took three years of German, class
time was not always spent wisely. I
tended to study with the short term goal of getting good grades on my tests
instead of actually trying to remember everything. As a result, I often feared speaking due to
my extremely limited vocabulary and need to think out what I was going to say
for an awkward amount of time. However, I
was quick to bond with my partner Philipp and found out that my communication
skills were better than I thought they were.
I quickly found out that a large number of people spoke English and were
looking forward to practicing speaking with me.
By listening and paying attention to my German friends’ conversations, I
was able to greatly improve my ability to understand what was being
communicated. One life lesson that I
learned from this experience is that I realized that it is more important to
seek to understand rather than to be understood.
Besides increasing my understanding of the
German language, I was able to get to know the people better. Unlike the other two Germans that my family
has hosted, I actually made an effort to get to know my exchange partner. I was a bit unsure of who to pick as it is
very difficult to get a good feel for personalities just from reading to
bios. I chose Philipp because he seemed
pretty normal and because he said that he played video games. I was a bit embarrassed while he was staying
with me in America as most of the Germans wrote that they were athletic and did
sports in their bios whereas I sat around at home and was kind of lazy. As it turned out, he tended to sleep in and
play video games too in his free time.
It was also a little bit awkward at first as I am not the type of person
to start or engage in conversations unless I am really excited about the
subject. Luckily, there seemed to be a
mutual understanding for the situation.
Philipp and I did have some cool conversations about Final Fantasy and
The Legend of Zelda as both of us were shocked that the other did not play the
other’s favorite game series. I enjoyed
talking with some of Philipp’s friends and thought that it was interesting how
similar American and German teenagers are.
I also spent some time talking with my host parents and visiting some of
their relatives. Lessons done in the
classroom did not prepare me and words cannot describe all of the emotions and
energy I felt while talking to other people and experiencing their culture.
German class was filled with mostly learning
about different grammar rules and vocabulary for three years. Most of the stuff that I learned was not
directly useful during this trip. Being
able to use the genitive properly and knowing how to say evil witch and
diarrhea are not the most beneficial things to remember, especially if I do not
remember other grammar rules and vocabulary used in everyday speech. Being able to write grammatically correct
German sentences and fairy tales has no use if I have to have my text book with
me to do it. Knowing about the history
of Austria, various artists, and how the story of Max and Moritz ends is very
interesting but has almost no use in the real world. What I found mattered most were the valuable
skills of being used to feelings of being uncomfortable, adapting and learning
by observing others, and most importantly, not getting frustrated while
struggling to do something and still making mistakes. While it is extremely beneficial to be able
to effectively communicate with other people, there is no other feeling than
that of being able to laugh with those laughing at you and thoroughly enjoying
every experience that you take in.
I feel proud for haven taken part in the GAPP
exchange and challenging myself with a cultural immersion experience. There is a big difference between visiting a
bunch of countries for a few days each only to sightsee and go do touristy
things and living with another family. I
was not only able to see many amazing sights such as the Alps and visit cool
churches and castles, but I was also able to experience the everyday life of
another culture. The moments I have
experienced through immersing myself in the German culture have given me a
greater understanding of my own life. – Connor Wise
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