On March 14th most of the students on the Freiburg Study Group 2015 finally arrived in our new home in the Black Forest. However, I was very fortunate to have worked as an intern in the Carl Schruz Haus Deutsch Amerikanisches Institut Freiburg for the past two months, therefore my experience with arrival in Freiburg may be somewhat different than the others. Even if it was months ago I still remember my first impressions of Freiburg clearly.
Whenever someone who isn’t from Germany asks me where I am studying, they have usually never heard of Freiburg. Freiburg doesn’t have the intense history of Berlin, the famous Bratwurst and Lederhosen of Munich, nor does it have the huge economies of the bustling cities of Hamburg and Frankfurt. What it does have is its own totally unique character. One of the first things most people (myself included) notice about Freiburg is the beautiful old cobblestone medieval streets. Even though Freiburg was heavily damaged in the war, there is still a charming medieval atmosphere that permeates the city. The old waterways in the streets have been retained to today, and almost every Freiburger you meet will be sure to tell you that if you accidently step in one legend says that you will marry a Freiburger. Two old towers which serve as remnants of the old medieval gates to the city still overlook the cityscape today. However, one of the beautiful towers has an enormous McDonalds sign written across it, something that as an American I personally find terrible and embarrassing. Our study group even calls this tower “McTurm” (literally Mc-Tower). Apparently this McDonalds sign was only allowed due to McDonalds helping in the restoration of the tower, yet it is still ironic that not even a beautiful old medieval edifice can escape Ronald McDonald’s grasp.
Besides medieval character, another thing Freiburg is famous for is its green, perhaps even a little hippie culture. This is especially true at the student dormitories in the Vauban; however, I will leave that for someone else to discuss in a future blog post, as we did not move into the Vauban until later. All across the city one can see the green culture of Freiburg, such as restaurants being completely vegetarian or vegan, or simply being called “Super Natural Fast Food”. Bikers are everywhere, and what I find so fascinating is that it isn’t just the students who are biking, but people of all ages. Germany and Europe in general are much more bike friendly than the United States. Freiburg, however, seems to be right up there with Amsterdam in sheer amount of bikes and bikers. One of the first things I noticed living here in Germany is how much more efficient their trash and recycling system is. There are multiple bins for different types of refuse, such as one bin for food items, one for paper, one for plastic, one for glass and one for other general trash. At first the system looked intimidating, but after just a few days it became second nature to me to separate everything when I was throwing it away. All of this takes about one second and I hope that one day the United States can convert to such an efficient system, as I am sure the Germans have much less of an impact on the environment than us Americans who just stuff everything in one trash can without a thought. The German Green Party (Bündnis 90/die Grünen) is awarded more influence in Germany due to a different political system (and perhaps a different political mindset!), and it is noteworthy that the mayor of Freiburg, Dieter Salomon, is a member of the Green Party.
Another one of my first experiences that I have enjoyed is getting to know the locals. Granted, there are huge differences across Germany in local customs and behavior, however there were certainly some unforeseen differences between Americans and Germans in culture that I encountered during my time in Freiburg that shocked me. There are the usual stereotypes such as Germans being less outgoing with people they don’t know and thinking the Americans are “fake” while Americans don’t understand why the Germans are so cold sometimes. However, there were many small differences that I also noticed. For example, Germans bring in cake and treats for everybody else in their office on their own birthday, rather than people bringing it for them. At my going away party at my internship I had to spend the entire evening beforehand cooking so as to follow tradition, although I’m not sure if my southern cheese dip and sweet tea were the traditional items that they were expecting!
Regardless of these comical differences, I truly enjoy getting to know the Germans, which is so much more interesting and worthwhile due to the fact that we actually speak in German. Although it is often tempting to speak English as the Germans seem to speak better English than most Americans, most of the Germans are very impressed that we are making the effort to learn their language. Even if they are tempted to show off their English skills, they are usually pretty obliging in helping you with your Deutsch. One thing that I think is an excellent trait of the Freiburg study group is how we actually get to learn so much and feel connected to Germany and Freiburg. It often seems that when Americans go abroad they simply stay in huddles of other Americans, while not learning a word of the foreign language or making an effort to experience and respect another culture. The Freiburg group, on the other hand, is completely focused on being as much a part of and integrating into the local community as we can. We’re enrolled in classes in German at a German University, while living in student dorms with other German students. Sometimes this seems quite challenging, and many times it is! Regardless of any difficulties, I am certain that the rewards of being able to accomplish such a feat are far more important than any awkward moments with learning a second language that we may have.
I am looking forward to the rest of my semester, and can’t wait to look back at the end of July and see how much all of us have grown and changed; not just our language skills but our character and world views as well.
William Andrews
Dusk picture of the Johanneskirche
Costumes from the Freiburg Fastnacht Parade
