Willkommen to Germany!
FINALLY! After months and months of being anxious to depart for Germany, the time finally came. Our flight wasn’t scheduled to leave the GSP airport until 11:07 am, but we decided to meet at 9:45am. Since this was my first time traveling without my family and flying on an airplane (ever) I decided to say goodbye to some of my relatives before I left for the airport. I was on interstate I85 by 9:00AM and as soon as I got near Woodruff rode the traffic stopped completely. I was already really anxious, so to be stuck in traffic for almost an hour was tickling my nerves. I arrived at GSP a little before 10:00AM. At this moment, I still had no idea what to expect when I got on the plane. I envisioned a really big plane with very comfortable seats. To my surprise, we boarded a really small plane. I felt a little claustrophobic once I got in my seat, but I just whispered a prayer and I was fine. Once the engine was fully running and the plane begin to accelerate into the air, I felt really excited. I felt like a child experiencing the ocean for the very first time. Since we weren’t given the option to sit near each other on the plane, Dr. Goodman (the professor who briefly stayed with us) was seated up front, Hillary (education major) was near the back, and I was in the middle. It was very apparent that the people seated around me had flown before because they were either napping or reading a book. I was the only one staring out the window amazed at how Greenville/ Spartanburg looked from above. Since the flight from Greenville to Newark, N.J was only an hour and a half, I decided to write in my journal until we landed.When we arrived in Newark, the weather was cold. We all brought layers because we knew what to expect. The number one thing that got my attention while we were walking through the Newark Airport were the serious faces. We tend to smile a lot because we are overall happy people, so I guess that explains the puzzled faces we received. During our four hour layover, we ate, walked around, and before we knew it we were departing for Germany! By the time we got on the plane we were really exhausted, but I still had an adrenaline rush. For this flight we were separated again, but I was seated next to a very sweet couple who were traveling with a missionary group to Germany. Since this flight was eight and a half hours long, I read a few chapters in my novel, watched two movies, and then I slept. I actually slept very well, and shortly after I woke up the flight attendants were serving breakfast. After we landed and went through security, we met up with Laura, a student from the University in Stendal, Germany.
During my study abroad experience in Germany, I had the privilege to tour Berlin two times. The first time I toured Berlin was the first day we arrived in Germany. Laura, the University student from Stendal, took us to the Berlin Train station to put our luggage in a locker and to get some breakfast. Even though this was our first day in Berlin, we were so exhausted. It had been around twenty hours since we actually slept in a bed. The one to two hours of sleep we got on the plane to Germany was just enough for us to have energy to keep our eyes open. I vaguely remember touring Berlin the first time.
We paid for a bus tour of the city, but was also allowed to get off the bus to walk around and look at the buildings. I recorded most of the tour on my IPhone while we were on the bus, but it was a little difficult because I kept dozing off.
Kaiser William Memorial Church
FINALLY! After months and months of being anxious to depart for Germany, the time finally came. Our flight wasn’t scheduled to leave the GSP airport until 11:07 am, but we decided to meet at 9:45am. Since this was my first time traveling without my family and flying on an airplane (ever) I decided to say goodbye to some of my relatives before I left for the airport. I was on interstate I85 by 9:00AM and as soon as I got near Woodruff rode the traffic stopped completely. I was already really anxious, so to be stuck in traffic for almost an hour was tickling my nerves. I arrived at GSP a little before 10:00AM. At this moment, I still had no idea what to expect when I got on the plane. I envisioned a really big plane with very comfortable seats. To my surprise, we boarded a really small plane. I felt a little claustrophobic once I got in my seat, but I just whispered a prayer and I was fine. Once the engine was fully running and the plane begin to accelerate into the air, I felt really excited. I felt like a child experiencing the ocean for the very first time. Since we weren’t given the option to sit near each other on the plane, Dr. Goodman (the professor who briefly stayed with us) was seated up front, Hillary (education major) was near the back, and I was in the middle. It was very apparent that the people seated around me had flown before because they were either napping or reading a book. I was the only one staring out the window amazed at how Greenville/ Spartanburg looked from above. Since the flight from Greenville to Newark, N.J was only an hour and a half, I decided to write in my journal until we landed.When we arrived in Newark, the weather was cold. We all brought layers because we knew what to expect. The number one thing that got my attention while we were walking through the Newark Airport were the serious faces. We tend to smile a lot because we are overall happy people, so I guess that explains the puzzled faces we received. During our four hour layover, we ate, walked around, and before we knew it we were departing for Germany! By the time we got on the plane we were really exhausted, but I still had an adrenaline rush. For this flight we were separated again, but I was seated next to a very sweet couple who were traveling with a missionary group to Germany. Since this flight was eight and a half hours long, I read a few chapters in my novel, watched two movies, and then I slept. I actually slept very well, and shortly after I woke up the flight attendants were serving breakfast. After we landed and went through security, we met up with Laura, a student from the University in Stendal, Germany.
During my study abroad experience in Germany, I had the privilege to tour Berlin two times. The first time I toured Berlin was the first day we arrived in Germany. Laura, the University student from Stendal, took us to the Berlin Train station to put our luggage in a locker and to get some breakfast. Even though this was our first day in Berlin, we were so exhausted. It had been around twenty hours since we actually slept in a bed. The one to two hours of sleep we got on the plane to Germany was just enough for us to have energy to keep our eyes open. I vaguely remember touring Berlin the first time.
We paid for a bus tour of the city, but was also allowed to get off the bus to walk around and look at the buildings. I recorded most of the tour on my IPhone while we were on the bus, but it was a little difficult because I kept dozing off.
One of the most fascinating sites we toured was the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church which was built in 1895. The church was so beautiful and antiquated. There was a beautiful candle lighting inside of the church where you could burn a candle for a loved one. In order to light a candle, you had to donate to the church. The ceiling of the church was covered in glittering art nouveau-style ceiling mosaic depicting members of the House of Hohenzollern going on pilgrimage towards the cross. There was also photos of the church before and after the war.
Holocaust/ WWII Memorial
Stendal's Pension Sellent: Bed and Breakfast Back Patio
Bed and Breakfast Morning Meal
International Night at the University of Stendal
(The local newspaper came and interviewed students studying abroad.)
For seven days we were welcomed at the Europaschule GS “Am Stadtse” which translates to European School at the Stadtse. The primary school covered grades one through four. On our first day we were welcomed by the Principal, Frau Anke Franzen, and the Assistant Principal, Frau Andrea Thiemann. The day we arrived there were two teachers with birthdays, so there was a lot of food and coffee during the breaks. We were given a guided tour of the school and then from 9:35 until 1:15pm we were in classes. We were given a schedule for which classes we would attend each day at the school. During our stay we attended English, Social Science, Art, Math, P.E., and Music during our time at the school.
There were many times when we were given the privilege to teach and assist the students in the class. The majority of the students were still learning how to speak English, but we had very little problems with communicating with the students.
We visited this small, government run school in a rural village called, Schinne. There were only 6 teachers in the entire school that just taught 1st through 4th grade. The total number of students averaged around 80. A horse pasture, small homes, and open fields surrounded the Grundshule Schinne. It was a great experience to see how the rural schools in Germany functioned. The teachers were very close knit among themselves and the principal. With a faculty that small, it was cool to see how close their relationships were with each other. The students were excited to see some new faces when we arrived!
We visited the Grundschule Schinne (Primary School in Schinne) for one day. Since we couldn’t walk to this school, the principal drove us to the school. It was about thirty minutes on the outskirts of town.
The last school we visited was the Bilinguale Grundschule “Altmark” (The Bilingual Primary school of Altmark). We had the opportunity to visit this school two times, and were placed in English speaking classes that taught a variety of subjects. The first grade students are taught mostly in German, except for an hour or two of English class once or twice a week. After the 1st grade, students are placed in subject areas where all of the teaching is in English. The Bilingual School focuses on learning to listen to the English Language and speak it clearly. The atmosphere was very relaxed at the Bilingual school. It was impressive that the students came to school and spoke English while most of them spoke only German at home with their families.
The second time we toured Berlin, we were full of energy! We woke up early on a Saturday morning and took a train with Rika, a University student from Stendal, and two foreign exchange students from Jordan. Even though it took a long time to arrive in Berlin, we had a great time on the train ride to Berlin. When we arrived in Berlin, we met up with about forty to fifty other students studying abroad. The students were from Jordan, Cuba, Israel, and the United States. Hillary and I were the only two American students. The city of Berlin was very crowded. Instead of being on a bus tour through Berlin, we had a walking tour with a tour guide who was very interested in the American culture. Each building we walked by the tour guide would tell us information and then give us time to take pictures.
The tour guide took a group picture of all forty to fifty of us in front of the Reichstag building, but we were never given a copy.
After the tour, we were given the freedom to tour the city of Berlin on our own. We all agreed that our first stop was going to be somewhere to eat! We ended up eating at the Mall of Berlin, which was very big and three stories tall. The food court was located on the top floor and had a really great variety of cuisines including some good German places. We all ended up eating Thai food. We shopped, grabbed some ice cream, and then we went to a grocery store that was located down below the mall in the "basement" or maybe not the basement, but I do believe it was underground!:)
Hotel Adlon (Same hotel Michael Jackson Stayed in with Blanket)
Holocaust Memorial
Brandenburg Gate
Atrium (Had the best mushroom dishes)
The Atrium was a great, small restaurant that we visited twice while in Stendal, Germany. Located in the downtown shopping/historical district of the town, the Atrium had a variety of dishes that could satisfy many different preferences. We went there for an International Night to met several of the university professors and administrative staff. It was a fun 3-hour dinner, complete with dessert! We went back to the Atrium with the two students from the Hochschule that had been showing us around since we arrived in Stendal.
Uenglinger Tor Stendal (Sachsen-Anhalt)
Street in Stendal
Side View of Shopping Strip
Bottom Level of Coffee Shop
The Coffee was so smooth and rich.
The Best Coffee Shop Ever
Saturday Shopping in Stendal and Berlin
Roland Statue in Stendal (Beside favorite coffee shop)
Sculpture in the Middle of the City
Stadtsee Stendal in Stendal, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany (Big Lake)
The Best Cheesecake I've Ever Had! (Better than The Factory)
Okay, well this isn't nearly all the photos I have from my college study abroad experience, but I have to end it there or else this will be the longest post ever to man-kind. If your a prospective college student, current college student, or you know someone who would be interested in studying abroad leave a comment or question below. I would love to hear about your study abroad experiences. I actually have many more interesting things to tell, but I'll leave that for another post!;)
Enjoy the rest of your week :)
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