I am thoroughly brainwashed by the German language.
So I arrived in Münster on Monday night - a miracle in and of itself. In Cologne I hopped on the wrong train, one heading all the way to Amsterdam ... I somehow managed to connect with a Münster-bound train in Düsseldorf. Upon arriving in Muenster, I searched out a pay phone to give Rebecca a buzz to let her know I had made it. She met me right there, on time, standing behind me as I dialed her house!
I met Rebecca through a German professor from Webster University a few months back, and it was great to see her again. I knew it was going to be nice to finally settle down for a few days, tame the madness of being alone and stranded in unknown cities. She graduated from Webster with a Bachelor of Arts in both Art History and Philosophy, and was now preparing to continue with her Masters in Art History at the Univeristy of Muenster. All that she's strived for to get where she wanted to be - in Germany - is for me an inspiration.Tuesday we had the German class. From 8.15am until 3.30pm ... a long day. Wednesday went similarly, only that we ended around 1.30pm instead. It was great - the students were from all over the world, but had been in Muenster anywhere from 1 to 3 years. And the majority of them had excellent German, which at first was a bit intimidating. Rebecca reminded me, however, that they had LIVED there for some time, had jobs where they had to speak German, and even German boyfriends...so I shouldn't be worried.
It was pretty neat to test my German with the other students, and I quickly found myself speaking unhindered. Most of them were much older than I (although they rarely looked it) - 25, 26, and up - so I felt "itty bitty." But the way that German universities work corresponding to the ages of its students, it was absolutely normal. Students my age, 19, are still considered to be in "Gymnasium" (a type of equivalent to high school) and most students take a year off before starting university. As I rambled on about my plans for the future, how I'm lost and not sure what to begin first and when; how I had an interest in urban planning and environmental design, how I wanted to help improve city environments and someday work in Germany, and how maybe I'll do my Masters at a German university too, most of them just looked at me, astonished, and said, "You have time, you have time! How old are you? 19?! You have plenty of time - I'm 27 and still not completely sure..."
I want so much to believe that "I have time." But I am fully aware that time costs money, and neither one are on my side.
It is stunning: the costs - of the universities, health insurance, student fees, an apartment - are a mere fraction of what they are in the US. Rebecca is paying Euro 150, - for an entire semester of the German course, while most US universities charge, at the very least, $600 per credit hour! During the class time, we got into a discusson comparing and contrasting private and public university education in Germany and in the United States. Most were absolutely astonished about the cost of our education for both private AND public colleges. And we wonder why certain groups of people in the US don't make it to college. More and more I'm beginning to see that it's not necessarily a lack of will, motivation, or even of opportunity. It's a lack of funds.
Overall, my stay in Muenster was a great experience and very relaxing. They city left me with a very good impression, a place that I would have no problem living for many years. The attitude of the Germans is so open and I felt almost liberated. When I walked around the city, people continued to stand idly by, maybe glancing my way, but then went back to their own thing. I LOVED that! It's so hard for me to feel like random people are suspicious of me, as I've felt all too often both in St. Louis and in Vienna. There have been some days when I've felt that all the time I spend learning - about the culture, country, and language with which I'm through some kind of past life connected - is going to waste. During my short stay in Muenster, I began to sense - for the first time in a long time - that my strides are not in vain. My desire to become integrated into this culture will someday be honored.
[Photos: 1. Myself, Rebecca, and another student from the Uni Muenster inside one of the lovely hang out places, 2. The theology building of the University]
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