by Ella Roberts | Summer 2023 |
The idea of traveling the world and exploring places and cultures different from the one I have grown up in has always fascinated me. From listening to the stories of my loved ones’ time abroad and creating niche Pinterest boards dedicated to faraway places, it feels as if I had practically been planning a study abroad trip for years.
After many hours filled with long delays, uncomfortable plane naps, and confusing time zones, we finally arrived in Leipzig. The first few days were slow, allowing me to grow used to the parallel dimension that seemed to be Leipzig. I soon realized that it’s impossible to fully prepare yourself to study abroad. You can research your destination and study the culture, but background knowledge will never be as effective or exciting as the hands-on experience that you receive. Even my extensive Pinterest board for Leipzig couldn’t prepare me for the jolt of culture shock. It wasn’t that Germany was completely different than the U.S., but it was these slight differences that threw me for a loop. The city was teeming with life, but it seemed mostly peaceful. There were cars on the streets, but also many people walking, biking, or riding the trams. People were friendly, but they interacted with each other differently. It was just enough of a learning curve to make me feel like I had entered a brand-new world. There was no way I had simply gotten on a plane and ended up here.
We made the most of our short time abroad and did our best to throw ourselves into the experience. My group spent most of our time wandering in and out of the beautiful museums and art galleries, exploring the historic streets, and painting pockets of life in Leipzig. We took short trips to visit Berlin, Dresden, and Weimar and learned about the country’s history. You could practically feel the weight of the past resting on your shoulders as you walked the streets so many historical figures had walked prior. There isn’t history like that easily found in the U.S. You could be walking in a busy part of Berlin, full of skyscrapers and glass buildings, and suddenly happen upon a cathedral from the 1800s that had been damaged in World War II and never fully repaired. The market square in Leipzig is ringed by modern stores but features the old town hall that was built in the 1500s. The balance between new and old contributed to my feeling of being in a different world and not just a plane ride away from Texas.
My time in Germany was filled with joyful moments of learning and friendship and is memorialized by the absurd amount of photos I took (2,079) and the sketches I created sitting in front of buildings older than anything I had ever seen before. I learned so much in my time abroad and experienced things that I will never be able to stop talking about. From the breathtaking artwork I’ve spent the past two years learning about to the lush parks that go on for miles, everything I was able to experience left a lasting impression and made me feel that despite me not knowing exactly what to expect, I was able to step out of my comfort zone and let the trip shape itself, all the while discovering new and exciting things.
