Hello!! My name is Roxi Aliabadi and I’m a Political science/international relations major studying in Germany for a year. I will be the first ATU student to study abroad at Justus Liebig University in Giessen, so I will be posting about my experiences here often ;). I chose this location for several reasons. I’ve been to Germany several times and instantly fell in love with it for its many Disney-looking castles, culture, and its centralized location. Being in the middle of Europe makes it easy to explore many other countries and beautiful areas! Since school hasn’t started yet, I’ve taken little trips to Italy, Crete and the Netherlands. Some of the biggest influences of my choice to study abroad are my dad, friends and boyfriend, whom I’m staying with in Germany until school starts!
When school starts, I assume I’ll feel left out sometimes just because I don’t fully understand the language, and I’m nervous about that, but I’m going to Germany to learn! I feel very lucky to have the ability to come here and experience a new chapter of life because staying in one place, even if it’s home, makes me feel the need to get out and explore. It may be an unpopular opinion, but I’m actually very happy to leave campus :D, although I think I’ll mostly miss my friends and family back in the states.
There are several ideologies and beliefs I’m taking to Germany as an American. I am somewhat “patriotic” and loud as most Americans are, but I know that people here often have differing views, so I’m hoping to learn the locals’ points of view and their take on things. I’m also sure that I will adapt to their lifestyles and culture by the end of the year. Besides learning German, of course, some of my little goals are to learn how to successfully get on and off a train and to learn how to open and close a German window (if you’ve seen German windows, you know how different it is) :). One thing I’ve learned about that is very different is that people tend to recycle way more in Germany, which is great, but it will definitely be an adjustment for me as an American!
Regarding my academic program, I’m a bit nervous but excited. Although I hope to learn German through my studies, it might be hard for me to get through everyday activities at first. From what I’ve heard, classes and teachers are way harder than in the US, plus almost our whole grade is based on one exam. Subjects are also supposedly more fast-paced, but I think that’s a good thing. Either way, I can’t wait for school to start.
I am most looking forward to learning German and making new friends. It might be hard with the language barrier, but I’ll get through it. So far, the social culture in Germany (from what I’ve seen) is a little harder to get into because you really have to talk to others first, people usually won’t come up to you, which is kind of different than the US. I can’t wait for what this year has to hold!
-Roxi
