Moin! On October 3rd and 4th, all of our Dickinson in Bremen students got the opportunity to participate in the festival for Tag der Deutschen Einheit (German day of Unity – the day East and West Germany legally reunified; a national holiday in Germany). Every year, the festivities take place in a different German state. This year, Bremen hosted the celebrations for the first time since 2010. Dickinson was invited by the Bremen Senate to join one of their tents for Bremen’s international cooperations. At one point, we neighbored with the Carl Schurz Deutsch-Amerikanischer Club (Carl Schurz German American Club), an important partner institution to the Dickinson in Bremen program for many years. Annalee Brant, one of our students this fall, shares her experiences after spending the weekend at one of the most important events of the year.
Before our shift at the Dickinson table started, Natasha (another DiB student) and I were able to walk around and see what Bremen had to offer. Every state in Germany had a stretch of land where they could share their culture and highlights. Additionally, every federal agency had a spot to talk about their work. My personal favorite was the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Aerospace Center), which brought two model rockets to Bremen! One is pictured above.
There were a lot of people from all over Germany at the festival, which meant that I got to talk to folks from Saarland all the way to Mecklenburg Vorpommern (two states in the south-west and north of Germany, respectively). I even got to see some attractions from Sachsen, the state where I studied abroad a few years ago!
But my favorite part of the festival was tabling for Dickinson College. I, along with other Dickinson students, had the privilege of meeting with folks from across Germany and talking about the 40+ year-old exchange program between Dickinson and the University of Bremen. Folks were curious about how Dickinson students found Bremen, and Germany, especially in the context of the current political situation. A film was shown to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Dickinson in Bremen program, and people really enjoyed watching it.
I enjoyed the festival so much that I went back on Sunday to continue to help out at the Dickinson in Bremen table. This led to my most exciting conversation yet, with the Bürgermeister (mayor) of Bremen and president of the Bundesrat (Federal Council), Andreas Bovenschulte. On Sunday morning, he walked around and met with some people who were tabling, including me at the Dickinson in Bremen table! He was very kind and we discussed the academic situation in the US and how it might impact students looking to study in Europe.
After an hour more of working at the table, I was able to meet a few members of the Deutsch-Amerikanischer Club before we will formally meet at bowling a few weeks later. They were very gracious and excited to meet all of the new Dickinson students. At the end of our time at the festival, Professor Ludwig, the Academic Director of the program, bought Alex (an intern and former exchange student at Dickinson) and I crepes from a stand! It was a wonderful first weekend in Bremen and I am looking forward to the coming months in Bremen!
The famous Bremen Town Musicians