Class Year: 2022
Program: Germany: IES Freiburg - Language and Area Studies
Email: bobesa01@gettysburg.edu
Hometown: Brewster, MA
Major/Minor: International and Global Studies & German Studies
Campus Activities: Program Coordinator at the Center for Public Service, where I serve as the coordinator of English as a Second Language Classes for adult learners in Adams county. I also work as a Peer Teaching Assistant for the German department. In the past, I've also enjoyed participating in events hosted by the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, volunteering for other CPS programs and participating in dialogue groups like eRace.
Favorite Experience: One of my favorite experiences in Germany was getting to know some of my German relatives. I have some cousins in Germany who I had visited as a kid, but the language barrier prevented us from developing close connections. During my semester abroad, I finally reached a level of fluency that enabled me to converse with my non-English speaking family members, which was meaningful for me not only because of the relationships I was able to form, but also because it showed me how much I had learned about the German language. I also really enjoyed traveling around Germany to visit my relatives because it allowed me to explore different parts of the country. I particularly enjoyed my trip to Lake Constance in southern Germany, where my aunt, uncle and cousin invited me to go sailing with them.
New/Exciting Course Abroad: One of the courses that I really enjoyed while I was abroad was my foreign language course. We focused a lot on the regional dialect, colloquial language, and idioms, as well as on local culture, holidays, and traditions. The course really helped me to feel like I was immersed in the experience and it granted me an inside perspective to relevant information about German daily life. In other words, this course crossed the boundary between "in the classroom" and "outside of the classroom" by teaching me the language and cultural skills that I used to engage in the host community.