I have been to Duisburg, Dusseldorf, Osnabrück, Celle, Berlin, Bergen-Belsen, and Münster, over the course of the entire cultural exchange program. In retrospect I am suprised at the amount of things we did while we were on the trip. There was barely any rest as we found ourselves constantly traveling, engaging in group activities and exploring the city, the culture, and its people in between. The hustle and bustle of it all made the trip the life enriching experience that it was, and allowed the friendships between us flourish. There was rarely ever a dull moment or an uninteresting day spent in germany. Instead we were constantly being challanged to grow and rise up to the challenges of the day. Some were the conventional troubles of tourists, such as the constant issue of language barriers, city buses, and all the things that at the end of the day aren't of much importance, but they are the type of things you take for granted and always put you on edge, reminding you that it isn't your usual enviroment.
Our journey's beginning recieved a warm welcome in Osnabrück. Everywhere we went, we were met with good food, and great company. The locals were eager to assist us and teach is in their ways to bring us out of our utter confusion. Certainly we could have expected some things in Germany would be differently than what we were used to in the states, some for the better or worse. Culturally speaking we floundered like fish out of water initially, but soon came to realize that things were not as dire as they initially seemed. The locals all had a good understanding of english, which probably made our goofy looking sign language and loud repetition of words seem a bit obnoxius to them. They certainly were much more prepared for us than we were for their culture, and have accomodated us in a manner that I am grateful for. However, we did adjust to the customs of the city and soon we were running amok, skillfully using the public transportation system while navigating cities at ease. I think many of us found many new things in germany to be greater than simply novel, and perhaps even preferred the systems that were embellished here to their counterparts back at home. Particullarly, the transportation really impressed me as a much more efficient system that successfully makes owning your own car a more antiquated system of life, something that will prove to be a key part of the puzzle as the increase of population further increases the strain on the infastructures of cities (Especially now that many are back in the US enveloped in the marvels of the traffic jam). It easily was the most valuable tool that we had and was our vessel for exploration throught the city, and is an inescapable cornersone of the Eurpean way of life. Amongst the other skills that we learned, our language classes proved to be vital as we deciphered the dialect and further tuned our ears to the new sounds we were hearing. Quickly we learned to pick up words from conversations. I'm still working on combining context and meaning to the sounds produced by the people, in addition to creating my own german sentances (undoubtably with awfull grammar) but I found it to be a usefull initiation into the german language, an endevour that I plan on further investigating in.
City tours were an interesting way to learn about the culture of the people. The nightwatchman tour was noteworthy for the clever mixture of humor and insight into the history of Osnabrück, as well as really delivering in the sightseeing department, offering us a view of the city that was aweinspiring and breathtaking from the top of a cathedral. Each story was crammed with a perspective that was fresh compared to the usual drags of your average city tour, enlightening us with insights that could only be delivered by a native of the city. I was also left stunned by the artwork at the Feelix Nussbaum Museum, which catalogued his amazing talent, presenting it in a tasteful manner that did justice to the messages of his paintings. His works have been forever etched in my mind.
Part 2 is on its way.
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