Hallo from Schorndorf, Germany

Hello (or perhaps I should say "hallo") from Germany! Anyone who knows me knows that I am passionate about all things German. Therefore, it is no surprise that I chose to spend the next seven months living, learning, and working in southwest Germany.

I applied to Universität Stuttgart and Universität Hohenheim, both located in Stuttgart, Germany, but I live in Schorndorf, which is a village about 25km outside of Stuttgart and is home to around 40,000 people. When I first visited Germany in 2008, I knew no one. Talk about scary! But now, Schorndorf truly is my second home. I know the baker, the cashier at my favorite grocery store, and even the mayor by name. That's why when I decided to study abroad, I instantly knew I wanted to study here in Schorndorf. While Drury has an exchange program with Lüneburg, Germany, returning to Schorndorf was just too good of an opportunity for me to pass up.

While living here, I stay with a host family. I have a small apartment to myself inside their home. My host father, Udo, is a doctor here in a village just outside of Schorndorf, and my host mother, Lucia, is the office manager of his office. My host brothers are Timo and Jerome (my exchange partner from the German American Partnership Program). They are both studying at university in the city of Bamberg, Germany. Staying with a family is such an amazing opportunity for me. Living in a home where German is spoken all the time makes learning the language much, much easier.

When I was in Schorndorf over the summer, I met with the mayor, Matthias Klopfer, and asked him for an internship. Of course I thought I would get turned down. Even Germans get turned down for internships, so why would they choose me? Well, they did! I will be interning with the Schorndorf City Council (or in German, Stadtverwaltung). I will also spend time working in the City Museum (or in German, Stadtmuseum). My job will consist of many things, but one of the main tasks will be translating documents and web pages from German to English to increase tourism with the United States and the UK. I'm excited to get a behind-the-scenes look at how a German city is run.

Recently I was accepted to both Uni Stuttgart and Uni Hohenheim, which is a huge relief. Uni Stuttgart has a stronger political science department so I'm leaning toward it, but I am going to meet with both universities next week before making my decision. Germany has a ridiculous amount of bureaucracy, so it's quite a process. Nothing is easy when it comes to getting a residence permit, insurance, etc.

In my free time here, I meet with friends or grab coffee in the city and in the next few weeks, I will be visiting with Drury friends studying in London, Sweden, and Greece. I also plan on visiting Russia and Auschwitz (in Poland) this semester.

Speaking of coffee, I have to go! In Europe, kids don't drive cars like we do in Springfield. We walk everywhere (I guess all the delicious breads and pastries here make up for it!). Bis später!