by Laci Bex| Fall 2024 |
Leipzig has quickly become my home away from home. Throughout my time here, I have had the opportunity to gain so many valuable experiences, and I am so thankful for that. Not only have I gotten to know Leipzig, but I have been able to dive into so many different cultures through my travels to other cities and countries. From Berlin and Weimar day trips to our EFT in Greece and my week-long trip to Italy and Croatia with my friends, I have had the opportunity to experience so many unique places and cultures. The world is truly beautiful, and it is such a blessing to see it and to enjoy all that it has to offer.
While I have been here, I have had the opportunity to take multiple Bible classes as well as German, People and Culture of Germany, and an Honors Colloquium on Career Development that was super beneficial to me. I absolutely loved our German class. Anne is the best, and we have had so much fun learning the language through conversations, games, and silly songs.
When you live in the same house as all of your classmates and professors, it creates an amazing atmosphere for fostering a truly deep and strong community. Our class discussions have always been lively, and we’ve shared multiple meals and conversations together. We make sure to plan special times of connection, such as weekly house meetings, house church on Wednesdays, or fun events and activities. Some of these activities include going on late-night cinnamon roll runs, karaoke, pumpkin painting, movie nights, and adventuring to the Leipzig zoo! (Which I highly recommend going to if you get the opportunity)
I have seen a lot of growth in both myself and my classmates through how we interact with German culture and our comfort level with the language. I remember the first tram we got on to go across town. We were so confused. We definitely would have gotten lost if Dr. Boyles hadn’t been navigating for us. Everything from our first trip to a restaurant, cafe, or grocery store was new and unfamiliar to us. We weren’t confident in our German, and often, we stumbled through our orders. But, over time, we learned and gained more confidence as we continued to live in the city. The language barrier quickly became less daunting, and by this point, public transportation was like second nature to us. I think that it has been a really beneficial experience and challenge to go to a place where I didn’t know the language and to learn how to interact with the people and culture of the city that I am in.
I would definitely encourage future study abroad students to find a church home on all of the weekends that they aren’t traveling across Europe. For me, I absolutely loved the Leipzig English Church. They are a super welcoming community of people, and they accepted me and every ACU student that went there with such an inviting presence. I was able to meet so many amazing people there and gained access to a valuable community of other people who were not native to Leipzig, but are all living here and growing together.
Danke Shön!! Tschüss!!
