I have many thoughts about this trip; however, one of my main takeaways is that things tend to not be as scary as they originally seem. When I left the US for Munich, I was so nervous as it was my first international flight and my first time in a different country which was made…
Tag: Munich
Accessibility in Munich
As I mentioned in a previous post I have a certificate in Disability Studies. So, with that in mind I wanted to compare the accessibility of Munich and the US. The US has the ADA (the Americans with Disabilities Act), and Germany has different laws for disability rights. I am not that familiar with…
Language in Munich
On this trip I have taken two language courses at the Goethe Institut in Munich where most people in my class spoke multiple languages fluently, where as I am only fluent in English. This was a topic of conversation by comparing how different countries view knowing multiple languages. The most surprising part to me was…
What No Tuition Could Cover
I have a bad habit of thinking I know what something is going to be before it happens. I arrived in Munich with two goals, a rough sense of what the next several weeks would look like, and the quiet confidence of someone who had done their homework. I was not wrong about everything. But…
Six College Students, One Legoland, Zero Regrets
There is no dignified way to tell people you spent your Saturday at Legoland. You just have to commit to it. Six of us from the program piled onto a train to Günzburg on what I can only describe as a collective act of shameless joy. We are, technically, adults. We are studying in another…
Emily is in Germany!
Hi everyone! My name is Emily and I am majoring in Neuroscience, minoring in Chemistry, and have a certificate in Disability Studies. I have always wanted to study abroad and when I applied to Pitt a few years ago that was one of my goals in undergrad; however, I had no clue how I was…
Sprechen Sie Deutsch? (Unfortunately, Yes)
I have a complicated relationship with my own mouth. On paper, my German is fine. I can read a menu, follow a conversation, parse the grammar of a sentence with the focused intensity of someone defusing a bomb. But speaking — actually opening my mouth and producing sounds in real time, in front of real…
Landed in Bavaria!
There’s a version of this introduction where I explain Munich as a purely logical choice: it’s a global city, it has a distinct legal and civic culture, studying abroad looks good on a law school application. All of that is true. But it’s also the less interesting truth. I’m Emerson, a pre-law student at the…
Munich Culture from an American Perspective
As I reach closer to the end of my time in Munich, I find myself reflecting on how different my experiences here have been from those back home. The culture of Munich, and perhaps Germany as a whole, is similar in many ways to what I am familiar with, but there are certainly a few…
No Guardrails: The German University Experience
When I first came to Munich for my exchange program, I thought that the biggest culture shock in my studies would be the language barrier. I knew that my courses would primarily be in English (which is a lifesaver), but I thought navigating the administrative parts of university would be less than English-friendly. Despite my…