Two weeks into my month abroad in Freiburg, Germany, I have seen so much of the city and have improved my German language skills. I have German class Monday through Friday afternoons, and I have had a great experience with the class so far. Each day of class lasts four and a half hours, but we have two breaks to relax or go to a nearby cafe. The class itself is much like language courses I have taken in the past, although we cover a lot more material each day than I am used to, so it can be challenging at times. The classes are being taught at an international language institute, so my classmates come from many different countries, such as Canada, Switzerland, Spain, Chile, and many others. Many of them do speak English, but class is only conducted in German, and I use that time to practice German with all of my classmates. So far, I have loved meeting cool people from around the world that share the same passion for German as I do.
Outside of class, I use my time to explore the city, go to the store, or hang out with people from my class. Our faculty leader arranges group dinners for the Alabama students two nights a week, but other than that we are free to explore on our own and discover the culture of Freiburg. My favorite experiences in Freiburg so far have been seeing the Münsterplatz, pictured above, and visiting the Augustinermuseum, which had beautiful artwork ranging from stained glass from the 12th century to a Monet painting from the 19th century. I have also eaten many traditional German foods such as Schnitzel, Spätzle, Bratwurst, and Black Forest cake. One shock I have experienced while living in Freiburg is the lack of air conditioning in many of the buildings. I grew up in Texas and am used to the Alabama heat, so I always thought AC was a necessity. However, many shops here do not rely on AC, and our dorm room does not have any cooling other than two desktop fans. Luckily, it has not been excessively hot here, so I have been able to adjust by keeping the windows open for cool air in the mornings and evenings and finding places with AC during the middle of the day if needed.
Apart from my experiences in the city of Freiburg, I have also had time to explore nearby areas on the weekends. My first weekend here, I hiked through the Black Forest and reached the top of the tallest mountain in the forest. On the way, I took the Deutsche Bahn, or German rail and transit system, and I saw many historic houses and ski lodges with traditional German architecture. The second weekend, I took a bus just across the border to France and visited the city of Strasbourg. The city is in the region of Alsace, which has a unique blend of French and German culture. I went on a boat tour and saw buildings from the historic Petit France neighborhood, medieval towers, and the European Parliament building. Afterwards, I got to try authentic French croissants, escargot, and Flammkuchen, a regional specialty similar to a pizza. Over the next week and a half, I hope to keep traveling and possibly see Switzerland or other cities in Germany. Either way, I will be putting my German skills to use while continuing to immerse myself in German culture during my time abroad.