by Abigail St. Clair| Summer 2025 |
My time studying abroad in Leipzig this summer has impacted me in a way that changed how I see the world. When we arrived at the villa, we had an orientation about how our time would be spent and the cultural differences to consider. I didn’t expect social norms, collectivism, and daily habits to impact me so deeply. In our psychology class, we talked a lot about social norms. The people in Germany are very private, and the Stasi is heavily responsible for this passed-down behavior. We learned to behave accordingly to these norms, whether in the grocery store, tram, or a restaurant.
In America, we talk loudly in public places, but in Germany we had a heightened awareness of our volume and shifted accordingly to our surroundings. I recognized how Germans have a communal culture—from riding trams instead of driving individually, leaving drink bottles for the homeless to collect funds, and spending time lying outside at the park. American culture is highly isolated since people have to drive everywhere and things aren’t within walking distance, for most people do not use public transportation. Germans recycle everything, and Americans usually don’t. I was genuinely surprised by how clean and environmentally conscious everything there was. People spend more time outside in Germany—not just walking, but relaxing and gathering in parks. I loved the park, and our group would walk to the park at least once a week to sit and talk, and to play games with each other and strangers. I recognized how this time outside slowed the pace of life down for the Germans; they actively rested and spent time with the community.
Furthermore, everything is closed on Sundays in Germany, so people are forced to rest and be home. I absolutely loved this part of their culture, and it helps you to experience a Sabbath when the world is not going, going, going. Our group went to the English-speaking church on that first Sunday, and the church body was united in Christ. I didn’t truly recognize how we Christians are the out-group in the world, but I understand now how they hunger and thirst for brothers and sisters in Christ. In Germany, the pastor said that only 0.7 people come to faith per year. Fewer than one person per year becomes a Christian. This is sobering, and the church only has 77 active members. But, because Christianity is less prevalent in Germany, the other Christians truly look at you like a brother or sister in Christ, regardless of your denomination, nationality, or background. I witnessed this unity in the church when a woman from Africa read the scripture, a little boy demonstrated with a balloon for an analogy, and after church, when we stood outside talking to the pastor and congregation while having coffee and cake. You see, the church wasn’t made up of alike individuals, but our commonality was in Christ—experiencing this taught me what unity really means as a fellow believer.
Although we didn’t attend church again due to our weekend travels, we still encountered powerful spiritual and historical experiences elsewhere. We traveled to Munich, Prague, and Gdansk on our weekends, and at each place we saw the most extraordinary churches. It is mind-blowing that people crafted the churches with their hands and worked on so much art; the details were so intricate and adorned every inch of the room. The thought of people worshiping and praying there for centuries gives me chills and a renewed reverence for the Lord. Our class excursions went to Berlin and Weimar, each trip touring with a guide, learning the history. We learned about the Berlin Wall, the concentration camp of Buchenwald, the Topography of Terror, and the memorial to the Jews. These excursions were informative, but immensely heavy. The weight of evil from the Nazi party, the horror brought upon the Jews, and the separation of Berlin by the socialist party was extremely disheartening. Walking and talking about this history brought Psychology into perspective- understanding the behavior without excusing it, seeing how something like this could happen, and the importance of learning from the history so that this does not happen again.
