STARTKurs occupied the majority of March and gave me some much needed time to settle in. After the multiple choice + speaking assessment (don’t stress about it!) I was placed in the 4th class, along with people who had been speaking German their entire lives, but also others who had only been taking it 2 years. This diversity of experience really helped me and ensured that we learned well collaboratively. Although I managed to nail down some aspects of grammar that had always been hazy for me, the most helpful part of the course was meeting and talking to new people. I recommend that you spend the lunch and breakfast break chatting with others over a Schokocroissant. I know plenty of people who are now traveling during the break between STARTKurs and the semester with people they met in the course.
The UMass orientation in the Black Forest was beautiful, filled with Apfelschorle, mountains and cats. It was also nice to meet up with a fellow Mount Holyoke student studying in Heidelberg. This trip also forced to me to solidify my course schedule and draft emails to professors. Registration for classes differs depending on the type of course. In my case, I was aiming for enrollment in 2 English literature courses, which already appeared pretty full on CAMPUS (the University system). However, I simply emailed the instructors, explaining why I wanted to take the course and how my background prepared me, and both admitted me. Instructors often keep open places in their courses for international students, or at least sympathize with the fact that you can’t register at the same time as everyone else. I am also taking 3 courses in the Deutsch als Fremdsprache department, which requires a different method of registration (explained in STARTKurs).
Following STARTKurs, I left Tübingen to travel to Berlin with a friend from Mount Holyoke who is studying abroad in Greece. We stayed in a hostel (8 bed room!) in Mitte, and made it a goal to do as many free activities as possible. We visited Musuem Knoblauchhaus, took an architecture tour of the Bauhaus Archiv (only free because they are closing for renovation soon), walked around Alexanderplatz, and hit up the Flohmarket am Mauerpark, among other excursions. Although it was Easter weekend, we still found lots to do. Even though I don’t know Berlin well, it was fun to show my friend a German city and use my language knowledge to help us get around.
We then took RyanAir to Athens, where we stayed at her apartment for a few days, before spending Greek Orthodox Easter weekend on the island of Syros. Although it admittedly isn’t the cheapest destination to fly to from Germany, Greece was amazing, nostalgic (my mother’s family is Greek) and very special to me. If you by chance have somewhere to stay in Athens, I highly recommend it, especially in early April, when it is still the shoulder season, but so warm (70s F°!!). After braving the snow and sleet in Berlin, it was a welcome change. In Athens, you can also get into the Acropolis for free with your Universität Tübingen ID (it usually costs 20 Euro!).
Now I’m back in Tübingen (after flying RyanAir back to Frankfurt, then a FlixBus), gearing up for classes and keeping connected with Mount Holyoke through planning my senior fall.