by Jayden Smith| Summer 2024 |
My first night in Germany, our entire group, consisting of nine engineering students, ten psychology students, four professors, an RA, three of the professor’s children, and our program director, all went out to eat at an Italian restaurant . After being handed a menu, I pored over food options, Italian dishes with German descriptions. I had procrastinated on my German preparation for this trip like any good Engineering student, but in the last couple of days I had read a few articles on ordering food in German. As the waiter came by to take our orders, I was the first to order. I readied my best “Kan ich”… and then froze. At my hesitation, our house director, Lindsay, told me to “Just point.” I was crushed, as I pointed to the delicious spaghetti meal that I had chosen. I had failed the test.
Of course, I found out as I gathered my shattered pride from its pieces on the German carpet, it was all too normal and even okay to be bad at German, especially when I had put in almost no real work in learning it. Some humility, a few important German words, is thankfully enough to get by. As I was studying abroad for only a month and wasn’t any sort of linguist, this would have to do for me.
My name is Jayden Smith, and I am a Junior Electrical Engineering student from Weatherford, Texas. I took this opportunity to go study abroad, taking Engineering Statistics and Engineering Economics. Through group trips and other personal travel, I got to see cities all throughout Germany and one in the Czech Republic: Leipzig, Berlin, Prague, Cologne, and Munich. The highlights for me in each of these cities go as follows: first, its history, second, its churches, and finally, its food. Compared to the United States of America, my home country, there are so many world events that have happened in these cities. They have been around for centuries, and places like Berlin and Prague have witnessed many important events. The churches range from pretty new to old, and gothic to baroque, and are simply stunning in their size, beauty, and opulence. There is a beautiful one in every city and town. And of course, getting to experience new food is awesome.
Our class trips as Engineers were to science museums in Berlin and Prague. Both museums were large and contained lots of information, the Berlin one especially. It contained many well-constructed exhibits about everything from trains, computers, and textiles to pharmaceuticals, and many more. One thing that I especially liked about the Prague Science Museum is that the focus of the museum was all about items constructed in or related to the Czech Republic. I appreciated the unique national pride that the museum showed. It reminded me of all the unique ways that different cultures solve problems and make beautiful designs.
The part of the trip that I enjoyed most was visiting the Leipzig English Church. The church was similar to my church here at home. Unlike the other older churches we visited in the different cities, it was small and humble. But it was a packed and real, living church. It was something I really needed, going through the weeks far from home. Singing songs with people from diverse backgrounds and getting to know those around me, sharing one common language and faith, was incredible. It reminded me that even though we got to see all these incredible, beautiful things and new places, what I still loved most was fellowshipping with God’s people in church.
