After transferring back to North
Central, I assumed that my chance to travel abroad was long gone. I left North
Central and transferred to Northern Illinois University for my sophomore year
and then decided to come back for junior year. After a good amount of my
classes transferring as elective classes or humanities, I saw that in order to
graduate on time I would have to take a large amount of the business classes in
two quick years. I should have taken most of the classes throughout my years in
college but by transferring and returning, some of the business classes weren’t
technically the same from NIU to NCC.
Before graduating from high school
I decided that I wanted to take a language in college that I would actually
enjoy learning. Spanish in high school didn’t work out and I saw that North
Central offered German. I immediately decided that German was the language that
I was taking and pursuing. Now after three years and two schools, I am almost
finished with my minor in German. Having a minor in a foreign language I
figured that I should at some point visit this country before I graduate.
Over Spring break I created a
mockup of my senior year schedule and I realized that if I overloaded every
term I could graduate on time instead of having to stay for extra terms. This
eliminated my opportunity to study abroad for a term like I wanted to do in the
beginning. After remembering that we have D-Term trips here at North Central,
my hopes of traveling abroad came back into play.
I am beyond excited to travel to
Germany and use German in everyday conversations with German citizens. Berlin
is a beautiful and historic city. So much has happened there that shaped the
way the city evolved. I have learned so much about Germany and Berlin over the
years in my German classes, but to actually go there and see what my professor
were talking about is amazing. I can’t wait to step foot in Berlin and learn
even more about the city than I already have. I hope to learn all about the
historic culture of Berlin and Erfurt along with how both cities and all the
other cities that we will be visiting evolved since their creation.
This is the Erfurt Cathedral. It is located in the center of Erfurt.
In German 203 we created Wikipedia
pages for the German Bundesland and I was given Thüringen. Thüringen is in the
middle of Germany and is home to many of the cities that we will be visiting
next winter. One of the main cities that we’re staying in, Erfurt, is the
capital of Thüringen. After creating a wiki for Thüringen and Erfurt along with
other cities in Thüringen, I have seen many pictures of what we will be
visiting. I am so excited to be able to actually visit the places in the
pictures.
Wartburg is one of the castles that we will be visiting.
Along with seeing the big cities
and having as much fun as we can, I am also very interested in seeing the
concentration camp and secret prison that we are going to. Even though they
will be more serious of destinations, I am still excited to learn about the history
that took place where we will be visiting.
To end this blog on a happier note,
I can’t wait to visit the Christmas markets and see all the Christmas
festivities that will be going on while we are in Germany. I hope you all are
having a good end of the school year and I look forward to seeing you all next
fall!
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