by Abby Jones ’25
Statue of the Bremen Town Musicians in the city center
When I began telling family and friends about my upcoming study abroad in Bremen, the first response I got was often about the famous Grimm fairy tale “The Bremen Town Musicians.” Although these famous animals never actually made it to Bremen to play music, I have been overjoyed to participate in the music scene during my exchange semester. Playing trombone has been a hobby of mine for the past 11 years, so it was a priority for me to find a way to keep playing while abroad. This has been an invaluable experience for me as a musician, but even more so as a world citizen and language learner.
The first contacts I made with musicians in Bremen were with members of the Unibigband Bremen, the big band jazz group made up of both community members and students of the university. A musician was kind enough to lend me a trombone free of charge, and I began to attend rehearsals. This experience pushed me out of my comfort zone in many ways, making it an incredible learning experience. Although meeting a whole group of new people speaking German was a bit awkward and stressful at first, through the language of music, communication came easily. In the familiar setting of a music rehearsal, speaking German began to become much more fluid for me. Many members were just as nervous about their English as I was about German, creating an environment of working together for mutual understanding. This helped me immensely in getting over my fear of making mistakes when I speak.
Abby (second to the left) at trombone practice
I am also thrilled to have the opportunity to work with a trombone instructor at the University of the Arts Bremen. Through these one-on-one lessons, I have learned so much both musically and culturally. After so many years of playing trombone, in order to improve, I have to break habits formed from years of experience and try slightly different techniques to get more out of my instrument. Because it is mostly a mental battle, it has been extremely interesting learning from someone of a different cultural background. I have gained some insight into how language is connected to many parts of life.
Together, these experiences have been crucial to my adjustment to and enjoyment of the Dickinson in Bremen program. I was able to find a community of people patient with my slow German and willing to answer my random questions about life in Germany. Many of them have taken the opportunity to ask me about American culture, leading to fun moments of connection that feel to me like what exchange programs are all about. In weeks when schoolwork gets particularly tough, having time carved out to socialize and relax with music has helped me find balance.
In addition to participating in music myself, I have also enjoyed attending performances of professional musicians in Bremen. The arts are very accessible to students, with tickets to theatre and opera productions costing only around eight euros! In this way, I have been able to get really great seats to impressive classical music productions.
Engaging in music in Bremen has made me memories and taught me skills I will carry with me long after this semester is over, but for now, I look forward to enjoying my last two months as part of this community.
Mr. Schreiner is a member of the “Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands“ (CDU) in Rhineland-Palatinate, which is a successful Christian-democratic, conservative, and economically liberal party in Germany. He is the head of the ‘Klimaschutzpolitik’ for his faction, which means he has input in every form of climate protection-based policy in Rhineland-Palatinate. When I first arrived in Mainz at the end of March, I had no idea what to expect. All that I wanted to get out of this internship was to be able to see how the inner workings of German politics function. It did not take long for me to see Mr. Schreiner meet with numerous Mainz Citizens daily and work with them to better his beautiful city. On the very first night of my internship, Mr. Schreiner said to me “Come to my event tonight, it will give you a true insight into the way politics work here.”
The event was called a podium discussion, which Mr. Schreiner was the moderator of. I was unaware until the beginning of the event that the two men discussing at the podium would be Nino Haase (non-party) and Christian Viering (Die Grünen), the two men running for Mayor and at the time in a run-off race. Although it was apparent that they were competing against each other, their civility and respect for one another were incredible. Even though I might not be German it was evident to me that both candidates had the goal to make Rhineland-Palatinate better for all. The event itself was delightful and truly set the tone for the rest of my time in Mainz. The next day I was able to sit in on the CDU-Fraktion’s group meeting where they discussed what they would say at the next Parliament meeting, and then I was able to witness them in action hours later as the Bundestag met. My everyday life in Mainz was simply enhancing and unimaginable, every day was so different from the last.
One day Mr. Schreiner took me to the city of Sinzig to meet with businessmen and discuss how to avoid another possible flood. After that meeting, Mr. Schreiner drove me around the town so that I could see the impacts of the last flood and he informed me of all the tragedies that occurred in a certain area. The next day we met with two architects from Berlin and Mr. Schreiner gave them a private tour of Dom St. Johannis, the older delicate Cathedral in Mainz. I was very lucky to see the insides of this beautiful historic Cathedral for myself, and I could not believe how spooky the hidden crypt aspect was.
However, my absolute favorite experience of my internship did not even take place in Mainz. On a Friday in late March, Mr. Schreiner, his team, and I drove to a town called Würzburg in Bavaria. There we learned about the new innovative ways that people are becoming more carbon-friendly and what adaptations ‘Wine Mountains’ have made in the past few years. Both topics were insightful to learn about and everyone was extremely nice. It was tricky to understand the Germans from Bavaria because they have a very unique dialect, but I had an amazing time.