Halfway Through

By Kelly Enright

Alright y’all, we are halfway through with our class. Technically we aren’t meeting in the bomb shelter everyday (oh, I mean the Coliseum), but we are putting our brains to work in Munich. I feel like I am living a miniature study abroad; instead of coming for a year, it has been condensed into only 2 weeks. We arrived and experienced the welcoming from our host university, Hochschule fur Filmsehen und Film (HFF), and participated in a few fun touristy activities. Then we started getting comfortable in our surroundings, and began our hard work our projects. Now we are wrapping up and preparing to put the finishing touches on many things, and beginning to realize we depart the fine country of Germany in less than a week.

In addition, to reaching the ‘stages’ of study abroad more quickly than a long-term study abroad, we have also gone through the emotional stages faster, such as excitement, nervousness, comfort, and sadness to leave. However, since I do not believe I’d be able to survive a long-term study abroad, this class is perfect for me. I have been able to come to a foreign country and experience many aspects of the culture, in addition to working with a local university. I have also had the comfort of having people I know around, and even spoken a good bit of German (well it is my minor, I might as well put all that work to good use!). When the end of my trip comes, I will be sad to leave, but also relieved to return to my life as a spoiled American. I have realized how much we really take for granted with each passing day. I know it may seem repetitive in our blogs when we continuously write about all the differences, but isn’t that the point?

To me, the study abroad experience is all about just that, experience. Putting yourself in a new environment and learning everything you can about it. I am so glad that I have been able to spend time in Germany, and feel it has really opened my eyes to many things, but especially other cultures. In reality, Germans really are humans, just like Americans, but they just do things differently. It is learning to compromise these differences that is such a challenge for everyone, but I feel it is only an opportunity for learning. I will go back to USC with a newfound appreciation for other cultures, students, educational opportunities, and most importantly, I feel I will be a better communicator for mass media.