As a German student at NCC, I knew I would want to travel to Germany during my academic career even though it is not required of my major. On a previous trip with my family I had travelled to Köln (Cologne), Heidelberg, Mannheim and Stuttgart and I was hoping to travel to a city I had not been to. Traveling to Germany during the D-term would allow me to experience a different region of the country and become acquainted with some of the cultural aspects. I have never been to eastern Germany before, although I have studied Berlin particularly on multiple occasions in my German classes.
-This is a map of Germany with all of the German states and their German names.
My dream is to teach German at the high school level, and to teach a language one has to understand the culture. It is one thing to learn about the culture in a textbook and another to experience it in person. This trip will allow me to do so. It will also allow me to improve my understanding of the German language. I am hoping that being surrounded by the language will help my comprehension and I am planning on using my German at every possible chance I get.
One thing that will help my comprehension of German is understanding the foundations of the language. We will be visiting some cities that have played a huge role in the foundation of the German language. In high school I learned about Martin Luther for the very first time. I was fascinated by what he did for Germany (even though it was not known by that name at the time he lived) and the Germany language. When I saw that this trip would take us to Wittenberg, I realized that I would be visiting the town that was occupied by one of my favorite historical figures. Since we are traveling in Germany mainly during December, I will be able to experience cultural aspects such as the Kristkindlmarkt, while continuing to learn about historical cultural influences.
-Here is a picture of a Kristkindlmarkt in Berlin.
-The city of Wittenberg, Germany now called Lutherstadt-Wittenberg, Germany.
Another area of German culture that interests me is the different types of architecture used in buildings. In my German 203 class we learned about architecture and how it was influenced by the historical periods it was used in as well as events and religions that were prominent in the area that the building was built. This subject has remained one of my most favorite aspects of German culture that I have studied and I am looking forward to specifically visiting different churches and cathedrals to examine their architecture.
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