What I have Learned

I have learned quite a bit about Germans in the past two semesters. Quite honestly, if you polled the average American and asked them the first word that came to mind when you said "Germany," they would probably say "Nazi" or "Bratwurst" or "Berlin." This was unfortunately not much worse than the extent of my own knowledge, as I had only been in the country itself for about two days on my Austria trip, and that had not been very educational in itself. But now I know a lot more, and I like the country more and more as I hear about it.
Germany seems to be a country populated by people a lot like me: introverted on the street but interesting, intellectual, and genuinely loyal when it comes to true friendships. They can understand the value of real human connections, and waste no time in creating the appearance of social harmony. They are hard-working when they need to be, but they definitely know how to take time off and really enjoy their vacations. Germans have a strong sense of history and tradition that influence their cities, their ideologies, and their daily lives. I love the fact that their universities are so utterly different from ours, in the way that they go about teaching and the fact that they are so relatively cheap. Their emphasis on self-reliance and initiative is something I feel I need more of in my own life, and I am impressed by their ability to create their own educations.
I have learned a lot about food, drinks, greetings, states, cities, and traditions, but the real value of what I received lies in my understanding of the people themselves, and of course, my ability to communicate simply in German. I am looking forward to studying abroad in Germany or Austria, and cannot wait to put to use some of the things I will have learned in German 203 and beyond.