Department of German
As a fourth-year German major, I assisted Professor Maxim this past June in leading a group of fifteen Georgetown students on the German department’s annual five-week summer program in Germany’s oldest city, Trier. At the local German university, two of Georgetown’s graduate students, along with a teacher from Trier, instructed the students in either one intensive six-credit course or a combination of two other three-credit courses, while Professor Maxim served as advisor for the social service colloquium in which students have the option of working with various social outreach organizations in the city.
For the duration of the program, we lived with host families, which proved to be a helpful factor in the enforcement of the compulsory German language pledge. Our housing requests were honored; I was excited to stay with the same woman from my own study abroad time in Trier two years ago, along with a fellow student. Additionally, students could voice preferences as to families with and without children and pets.
When not taking classes or eating surprisingly-delectable lunch for two euros and fifty cents in the university “mensa,” students spent time either exploring the “Innenstadt,” i.e., the pedestrian section of the city center, or on other activities with the entire group. With Trier’s location in the Mosel wine valley, we enjoyed the opportunity to participate in several wine-tastings and vineyard visits and tours. Our group also enjoyed an interactive, dramatic tour of the Porta Nigra, which served as a Roman defense wall and lookout point, and is also the main attraction at the annual Altstadtfest or “old city celebration” at the end of June.
We would also particularly look forward to the weekends or long afternoons, when Professor Maxim would arrange trips for us to visit the fortress Burg Eltz and other cities in the region such as Bonn, Heidelberg, and Luxembourg.
As I reflect on my two experiences in Trier as both student and assistant, I realize why I wanted to come back this second time and that I am so glad that I did. While my memories naturally consist of “Pommes” (French fries) on the town square, mastering public transportation and sightseeing, my most treasured thoughts are those of the relationships I formed with my host mother, her family (I attended her son’s wedding!), and even several Trier university students. My time spent learning German and studying abroad in Germany shows me that the point of learning a foreign language is to enable us to connect with people outside of our own culture. Although my conversations with Germans usually began with commentary on our cultural differences, I was able to form invaluable relationships when we discovered common elements in our seemingly different lifestyles.
- Marisa LaValette (COL ’08)
Trier summer program assistant