Michael Trevino ’11 – After many hours of travel, a full week of tutelage, and countless delicious meals I finally have a moment to myself to sit back and recollect. I arrived last week in Schwäbisch Hall, Germany to begin my month-long intensive German course at the Goethe Institute. One of the reasons I choose my particular study abroad program was the opportunity to come to a traditional German town and brush up my grammar under the guidance of some of the best language instructors in world. Needless to say it’s been difficult, albeit very rewarding.
Although Schwäbisch Hall is a relatively small German town, there are people from all over the world studying here. It is not unusual to have classmates from Turkey, Romania, Indonesia, or even places as far away as Brazil and Peru. Despite all this diversity, I have been taking the time to soak up the traditional German culture with my classmates. Everything in this city has a story behind it, and the houses and churches themselves are beautiful. Although many might not consider it on par with the standard tourist fare in Europe such as the Eiffel tower or the Vatican, it certainly has a charm of its own.
For the next few weeks before I transfer to Vienna, the only major travel plans I have is visiting some of the bigger cities in the area. Frankfurt and Stuttgart will surely prove to be interesting in their own regard, but I certainly have yet to be bored here. There are always new people to meet, new food to try (contrary to popular belief, German food is not all meat and potatoes), and plenty more to learn. In less than a month, I will hopefully be writing from Vienna. If it is anything like Schwäbisch Hall, I think I will be in for a treat.
