Hi, my name is Kate and I’m about to finish up my semester in Germany! I pulled together some pics that I feel are a good representation of my time here.
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Pics 1 and 2 – These are from my time in Leipzig, where I chose to take my language course. Through it, I got to meet lots of people from all over the world and explore the city and the area from the perspective of a city native. If you ever find yourself in Leipzig, I highly recommend the zoo – it’s huge, there’s lots of opportunities to pet the animals, and students get in at a discount!
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Pics 3, 4, and 5 – Bremen! I loved the city and the campus. The schoolwork was tough for a non native German speaker, but as long as you stay organized, you’ll have lots of time to explore the city and make friends. Almost all museums here are free to students, so I spent a lot of time in the Kunsthalle. The 5th picture is from a soccer game I went to with other Dickinson and Uni Bremen students!
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Pics 6 and 7 – I got lots of chances to travel by myself ! I visited family and friends all over Europe, and made tons of lasting memories. Europe’s train system and the student travel pass make it super easy and pretty inexpensive to get around. Pic 7 is the view of a canal in Amsterdam, my favorite of all the places I visited.
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Pics 8 – I was also able to travel with my fellow Dickinson students on organized group outings. Most of the outings were in Bremen – German-American Mayors Conference, Literature Festival, etc – but I particularly loved the excursion to Berlin! My favorite part of the trip was getting to meet the playwright B. K. Tragelehn and hearing about his life.
During our Orientationweek, our students also had the change to participate in an exclusive tour through the Haus der Bürgerschaft, organized by the International Office of the University of Bremen.
from left to right: Alex, Kate and Haley
On 9th September 1966, the Haus der Bürgerschaft was inaugurated as the seat of the Bremen Parliament (Bremische Bürgerschaft). The state parliament of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen still meets here today and passes or amends laws for Bremen and Bremerhaven. (Source)
During the tour, our students learned more about the architecture and history of the building, as well as about Bremen’s state parliament.
If you want to find out more about Bremen’s State Parliament, find more information about it here in English or in German.
We would like to thank the International Office for organizing this tour!
On Sunday, we did a spontaneous little trip to Bremen-Vegesack, which lies in the north of Bremen, where the Lesum River meets the Weser. Around 400 years ago, Germany’s first artificial harbour was constructed here, and today Vegesack is still known for its Harbour. The bronze statue of a whale jaw as well as the “Whale fins in the waves” sculpture that can be found on the Weser promenade of the “Vegesacker Hafen” (Harbour) are a memorial to the historical whaling tradition and the “whaling town” of Vegesack.
Bronze statue of a whale jaw
We explored the promenade of the harbour as well as the “Vegefest”, a neighborhood festival in Vegesack that takes place every year at the beginning of fall. We explored the artistic flea market in the city center, tried some traditional “Schmalzkuchen” and listened to a local band playing American bluegrass, country and blues Music.
The weather was – in a typical Bremen way – a bit rainy, but that did not stop us from having a fun afternoon.
When I arrived in Germany on September 1st, 2024, I had no idea how the year ahead of me would change my life. It’s hard to discuss a study abroad experience without becoming a walking brochure – or romanticizing the challenges beyond recognition – so I will try my best to transparently and lucidly share some of my favorite memories and greatest challenges here. I’ll begin by imparting some unsolicited advice.
Delaney and I at Rhododendron Park
Do your best to have no expectations. This doesn’t mean you can’t visualize life abroad, but try not to overplan or expect how things will be when you get here, especially when it comes to your language abilities. Be real with yourself about the challenges.
Once you arrive, BEGIN TO VISUALIZE – I realize that this is contradictory advice from my first tip, but it takes a certain amount of opportunism and ‘committing to the bit’ to make the most of your time here. You might think to yourself: What’s something I’ve never done before? How do I experience the best parts of the city as regularly as possible? How do I want to orient myself in this city?
Live with Germans if you can; it makes a huge difference for your language skills.
Don’t judge your experience based on your worst day (or first, second, or third day.)
If someone invites you to do something, GO!
Upon my arrival in Bremen in late September 2024, I believed that my language level wouldn’t be sufficient to begin studying in Bremen. In short, I was right. If you don’t come to Bremen with a C1 language level, you have to be prepared to work really hard on simple academic tasks. When I first discovered this, I was consumed by panic; I worried I had made the wrong decision coming to Bremen. However, I soon realized my success was going to be dependent on my approach. If there was no way that my language level would be sufficient by the time I arrived in October, I would have to change my expectations. I adjusted my goals to manageable levels: practice speaking every day, watch German TV shows, read German books, try to absorb as much German as possible, and ask for help in classes when I need it.
With frustration, repetition, and some disappointment, I began a slow crawl towards proficiency. Some of my greatest victories have been making small comments in class and receiving a “genau” in response, constructing sentences that I’m proud of, and, greatest of all, making German friends. There’s an idea that there’s a correct, or ‘better’ way to go about learning a language – many of my friends in the program could study grammar rules and internalize them with relative ease, which made me pretty jealous. I, on the other hand, had to use what I call the “baby method.” I sheepishly stumbled through sentences and effectively babbled in German for the past 11 months, and it has been momentous for my German abilities. Learning a language is a humbling experience, and if you keep that in mind and choose to engage with the people you meet, you will have no trouble making friends here. And I will add that with 11 months of practice, my German has improved significantly; repeated exposure has helped me a lot.
To end this rambling, I will add to my final tip. If someone invites you to something, you must go; there is nothing else to do! Do it! Go! Bremer often say “Bremen ist ein Dorf,” or, Bremen is a village – it’s true. If you put yourself out there enough, you will begin to see exactly how close-knit Bremen is, and it is awesome. Anyway, viel Spaß! Wer rastet, der rostet!
Comment from Dr. Ludwig: Naomi is too modest. She has achieved B2+ for sure and speaks fluently. 😉
Mid-June, Dickinson-in-Bremen Alumnus Liam Pauli ’19 came to visit us in Bremen. Together with our current Dickinson-in-Bremen students, we had a delicious dinner as well as “Kaffee und Kuchen” (coffee and cake) with amazing cakes.
enjoying our wonderful dinner
Our students and Liam shared their experiences and favorite moments and places in Bremen, and Liam also provided our students with valuable insights on how it feels returning home after a semester abroad, as well as on possibilities after graduation.
We had coffee and delicious cakes during “Kaffee und Kuchen”
Thank you so much for visiting us, Liam, it was a pleasure to have you here and we are looking forward to your next visit!
