During the first four weeks in Germany we took classes in German language and culture. On the first day we took a placement test to separate us into three class levels. Every morning we broke into these groups for language class.
The afternoons were spent differently every day. We either had culture, politics, history, or liturature, or we travelled. Some of the afternoon classes were excellent. The politics teacher was amazing and I felt like I learned a lot from the history classes. The literature teacher, on the other hand, was horrible. I guess that can be expected. Not every class is valuable.
The trips we took were the best part of the program. We took tours of companies, like Merck and Opel, we learned culture "hands-on" in German cities like Frankfurt and Heidelberg. We even took a bicycle tour to a brewery in Gross Umstadt to learn about one of Germanies favorite cultural elements. The trips were probably more educational than any class, because it makes such a significant difference to be there, surrounded by the history, a part of the culture and the language.
The first four weeks kept us busy all the time. There was so much to see and so much to do. We learned about thousands of years and square miles, squeezed into four weeks and a transport pass.
In
another time and another place
People lived lives different from
our own, but they affect the way
we live here and now.
Learning from them tells us more
about ourselves.