Norbert Klusmann

03 August 2015

The Best Day Ever (featuring Leipzig)

Best Kept Secret: Cabana in the park! 

Leipzig -- I had been told very good things about Leipzig. Many call it one of the most beautiful cities in Germany and, after visiting, I would have to agree. The train ride from Erfurt to Leipzig was only an hour and a half at most, which was really nice. The first thing that really catches you by surprise is the sheer size of the Hauptbahnhof. Think the length of two football fields with about 4 levels. It might even be more accurate to describe it as a mall that also happens to have place where you can board trains. After checking out all of the different shops (which takes longer than you might think), I headed south where I found a pop-up farmer’s market in the town square selling all kinds of fresh produce. From there, a large church was visible, so I went to check it out. It turned out to be St. Thomas Church, where Bach held the position of musical director for 27 years til his death. Although the Church wasn’t open at the time, I put my ear to the door and could hear music being played. All of the surrounding buildings are unaffiliated, but they were all named after Bach: a restaurant, a bar, a bakery, etc. From there, I kept walking south. Disclaimer: Leipzig is a great city to walk through. Its so beautiful that I was content with just walking rather aimlessly, but its also pretty easy to happen upon very cool things. 

The Bundesverwaltungsgericht.

That was when I spotted the Bundesverwaltungsgericht. The Bundesverwaltungsgericht is the Federal Administrative Court building, one of the five supreme courts in Germany. It is a very beautiful building that attracts the eye. From there, I headed into the city’s sizable park. It was a perfect day to be outside. I headed north and found this artificial beach/cabana style lounge that had just opened. It was the coolest yet most bizarre thing. I spent a few hours there and I plan on going back before leaving Germany. Now its lunch time and I was being indecisive about what I wanted to eat, so I headed into a bakery for a snack to hold me over. Inside, I find something very close to my heart. My Oma (German for grandmother) makes these jelly-sandwich cookies every Christmas and this bakery had the exact same kind. The owner of the bakery is an old man and I tell him this and he too gets excited. I finally decide on an all-you-can-eat sushi bar for lunch. I definitely got my money’s worth, with California rolls, spring rolls, beef stir fry and traditional green tea. Then I visited the Gallery of Contemporary Art. The exhibits on display were health/fitness related items and machines, which you could actually use, an interview with a Syrian refugee, art featuring an old text on master-servant sexual dynamic edited with modern, compromising photos, and lastly videos of performance art including a woman who walked into a department store and proceeded to put red lipstick on every inch of her face except for her lips. The gallery as a whole was rather thought provoking and worth the visit, without a doubt. At that point, it was time for me to head back to the Hauptbahnhof to catch my train. But, before I boarded, I made sure to indulge in the very American delicacy of Pizza Hut. I am not the biggest fan of Pizza Hut, but I was in such shock that they had it that I had to get it. Not a bad way to end the best day ever.

03 August 2015

A Culinary Tour of Erfurt

Traditional German breakfast at 

Mundlandung Feinkost & Bistro.

Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany -- The first thing you want to do after flying 10 hours to a foreign country is eat. You’re tired, stiff from sitting and famished (although the food on the flight wasn’t too bad). The first thing you eat is a little different from what you’re used to and, as a result, you start craving those flavors of home. Here in Erfurt, that narrows your options down to McDonalds, Burger King, or Subway. Nearly 2 months into my stay in the heart of Thuringia, those are the last things I crave… and here is why.

One of the foods that is synonymous with Germany in my mind is the bratwurst. Bratwurst, right? Pretty straightforward. Wrong. During a tour in our second day in Erfurt, our guide explained to us that every region has a different interpretation/style of bratwurst and that every region claims to have the best. After making this statement, of course, he claimed that the bratwurst of Thuringia were, hands down, the best. This sparked a very familiar memory in the back of my head. My father, a native German, warned me before I left that not all bratwurst are the same and that the bratwurst in his hometown of Bayreuth, Bavaria, were the best. German regional sausage pride aside, the bratwurst in Erfurt are delicious and quickly became a staple in my diet. Big bratwurst in a small roll, covered in mustard or senf as its called.They are affordable (1.50euro), tasty, and open late (11pm) in a town where everything closes early. My go-to bratwurst can be found at the Domplatz, at the blue and white stand.

Breakfast is often cited as the most important meal of the day and for someone used to eating an American diet, breakfast overseas is not what I was accustomed to. A traditional German breakfast or frühstück features coffee or tea, bread, pastries, jam, salami, and cheese. The best traditional breakfast I’ve had since arriving in Erfurt was at Mundlandung Feinkost & Bistro. Mundlandung is located on the Krämerbrücke (Merchant’s Bridge), a prominent part of Erfurt. The bistro has a very traditional look on the inside, with the option to eat outside as well. The plate I ordered was very beautiful and all of the components were very high quality. One of the cheeses featured was completely spreadable, with a nice mild flavor and definitely my favorite. Other options at Mundlandung include pancakes, cereal, and even scrambled eggs. But when I’m in the mood for a hearty, more American-style breakfast, I head straight for Double B. Double B serves omelettes, eggs over easy, BACON (which is not a thing over here), and home fries: all of the major American food groups. The food is very affordably priced and the restaurant has a nice, home-like feel to it, with solid reggae musical selections.

For lunch, dinner and any meal in between, Lunchbox Pizzeria is a SPICE student’s go-to option. 50 steps away from our dorms, quick and easy, no place gets it done quite like Lunchbox, as its affectionately called. We are not the first SPICErs to enjoy Lunchbox, as our forebearers also relied heavily on its delicious döners and fresh pizza. Döner is a Turkish street food that is now wildly popular in Germany due to the large number of Turkish that came to Germany. Its akin to the Greek gyro, but with the meat, sauce, and veggies stuffed in a roll instead of a pita. The two men that run Lunchbox know all of our names and always ask us where we’re traveling next. One little secret: they sell the closest thing to McDonald’s chicken nuggets you’ll find in Germany.

Lastly, the culinary institution I hold highest is Eiscafe Riva. Eiscafe Riva is just adjacent to the Krämerbrücke, location-wise, and is serving up the best ice cream I have ever had. So good, in fact, that I have become something of a daily customer. At a price point of 1.10 euro a scoop, it cannot be beat. Flavors of note include dunkel schokolade (dark chocolate), karmel, After Eight (mint chocolate chip), and Creme of Venezia. However, one does not come to Eiscafe Riva simply for the high quality ice cream. One comes to Eiscafe Riva to be served by The Guy. I do not know The Guy’s real name, but we’ve built something of a rapport during my time in Erfurt. He recognizes me and gives me “the hookup”.

I could continue to name delicious things one must try once in Erfurt (like the Thai-Chicken Curry from Cognito’s, Chicken and mixed vegetables from Asia-Food, or the Avocado Bagel from Coffee Fellows) but then this tour may never end. In two short months, I have tasted food that I will crave when I go back home. Honestly, the food here has aided in making Erfurt feel like something of a second home to me.

03 August 2015

Amsterdam

Scallop-avocado dish at an Argentinian Steakhouse.

Amsterdam -- Amsterdam is unlike any other city I have ever been to. Often times, the things that are highlighted about the city are those things that are taboo/unsavory in the eyes of old school Americans. Which is a shame, because Amsterdam has so much more to offer than that. I would like to preface my experiences on this trip by saying I have been to Amsterdam before, in the 8th grade. This visit was much more fulfilling as I am older now with more perspective.

The train ride going into Amsterdam was a sight to behold. I did not expect for the surrounding areas of the city to be so rural. There were miles upon miles of sheep, it seemed like. Although it was unexpected, it was rather nice. As a soccer fan, one of the cool things that is visible as the train arrives in Amsterdam is Ajax’s stadium. Ajax is one of the most heralded Dutch soccer teams. After getting out of the train station, we headed to our hotel, which was right in the thick of the city. We walked amongst crowds and crowds of people, but something was starkly different from most busy, major cities I’ve been to. For one thing, the pace of the city was much slower than cities that big usually are. I honestly think the people in Erfurt moved with more purpose. But it was a rather nice, smooth pace which I had never experienced before. Amsterdam is a very multicultural place, with visitors from every corner of the world. In Berlin, I was surprised to hear English just as much as German as I walked through the city. In Amsterdam, you’re probably just as likely to hear Korean being spoken as you are English. During my first time in Amsterdam, what drew me in the most was the canals, graffiti, and the fact that everyone biked everywhere. All of those things still held my attention, as I spent quite a bit of time at cafes on the canals (home of the best apple strudel I’ve had since arriving in Europe). This time, however, the things I explored most were coffee shops and Argentinian steak houses. 

Sleeping cat at the coffee shop.

Yes. Coffee shops in Amsterdam actually serve coffee. But that is not why most frequent them. Coming from a culture that vilifies drug culture, one might expect coffee shops to be rather sketchy and hidden, but nothing could be further from the truth. There are menus and a focus on atmosphere through lighting, music choices, and customer service. I found some that were rock-n-roll themed and some with highly rated restaurants attached to them. The funniest thing I encountered in a coffee shop was a cat. I have been told that street cats hang out in coffee shops to catch mice, but this cat seemed to have a different motive. He nonchalantly walked to the center of the shop, plopped down and began napping. Somebody tried to pet him and almost got scratched. The Argentinian steak houses were definitely interesting. Argentina is one of the 3 biggest beef providers, globally, so they’re no novices when it comes to making steaks, but never had I ever seen one before. I ordered an Argentinian rump steak and a scallop-avocado dish that was really good. It was a little expensive but the experience was well worth it.

3 August 2015

Buchenwald Concentration Camp/Place of Remembrance

As the rain began to fall at Buchenwald Concentration Camp.

Weimar -- One of the first places I had the opportunity of visiting in Germany was the Buchenwald Concentration Camp is nearby Weimar. The bus ride from Weimar’s train station to the site of Buchenwald was rather quiet, in anticipation. The first thing you see when walking up to the actual camp is the watchtowers that were erected for every 150 feet of barbed wire fence. Before walking through the gates, we went inside of the holding cells. With records of nearly everyone who were held in those cells, many visitors leave roses between the iron bars in remembrance. When entering the actual camp, you see the gate with its slogan “Jedem das Seine,” which translates to “to each what he deserves”. Then you can finally focus on the landscape of the camp. All rubble from the destroyed buildings, save for a few, and just an overall feeling of nothingness. We then moved to one of the few standing buildings, with this one being where many of the capture Jewish people were medically examined and experimented on. Then it begins raining. It was eerily familiar to me. During my time in Ghana, I had the opportunity to walk the same path enslaved Africans walked on their way to the boats that would take them to the West Indies or America to be sold and then too, it rained. From that point forward, I’m not sure how much of the actual information I retained. But it was definitely an emotional experience I will never forget. You always hear about atrocities like this in history, but to stand on the very soil they stood and suffered on is completely different.

Weeks later, as a part of my SPICE International Public Relations course, I visited the Place of Remembrance in Erfurt. The Place of Remembrance is at the former factory of J. A. Topf & Sons, creators of the ovens used in places like Auschwitz and Buchenwald. During our guided tour, the most interesting fact that was shared was the motives of the company in building these ovens. My best guess was that maybe the owners of the company were supporters or even members of the Nazi cause. I also would not have been surprised if the company was forced into building these ovens for the Nazi cause. However, the truth was quite normal, but considering the circumstances, made it all the more sickening. The company’s motivations were strictly financial and craft based. The company’s engineers wanted to be the best engineers there were. So much so, that the Nazi’s reported back and said that the ovens provided were working even better than expected. This pushed the engineers to create two new, different models of ovens: one much bigger and another much more efficient, without a request from the Nazi’s. Out of sheer oneupmanship. Coming to the Place of Remembrance reenforced my experience at Buchenwald and helped put one of the most shameful acts in the history of the world into context. I would definitely recommend visiting both sites to anyone that gets the chance.

31 July 2015

Intercultural Adaptation Blog

Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany -- Cai and Rodriguez’s Intercultural Adaption Model speaks to how one’s sense of satisfaction goes through a tumultuous “U-shaped curve” as a result of culture shock and then eventual true cultural learning that leads to adaptation as time goes on. As a student studying in a foreign country, I can say that I have definitely experienced the steps outlined in this model. I would first like to say that it is very easy to stay in the “honeymoon phase”, especially in a program that values travel as much as SPICE does, as it easier to shrug off an experience had in a city that you will only be in for a few days. However, for me, in Erfurt, which has become something like a home for me during this trip, I have gone through a good number of the steps. My “honeymoon phase” lasted only about a week and a half. Initially, any cultural differences in commonplace practices did not bother me because of the traditional adage “when in Rome”. But the differences became a culture shock of sort during the second week during which many of my fellow SPICErs traveled and I did not. The time in Erfurt alone without people who follow many of the same cultural practices as myself to use as a crutch allowed the differences to get to me. Some of my personal favorites are the differences in personal space in Germany and the US (I am a big guy, so this really bothered me) and the fact that no one uses pleasantries here. While both of these things disturbed me, I would like to say I moved on to the following stage (Adjustment) relatively soon. After adjusting to certain basic German cultural practices, I had not yet found myself implementing them, but no longer did they bother me in the same way. Eventually, I too began cutting pleasantries out of my very basic German vocabulary and also feeling less defensive on densely packed trams. I do not think that I am at the final step, “Adaptation”, because my expectations are still very much so violated when people do these things. But that has to be expected. 2 months in another country is not enough time to counteract years upon years of cultural rearing and expectations. That is something I question about this model. After being born and raised somewhere and then spending a significant time as a member of that particular cultural society, moving somewhere and spending an equal amount of time there in a different cultural society, does your initial cultural rearing take precedence? I have a feeling it does. Are we more impressionable to learning and accepting cultural practices at a young age as opposed to an older age. There is a certain amount of faith I put in the old adage of one being “set in their ways”, but I wonder if research would support or disprove this. Lastly, none of these minor annoyances have been enough to spoil my time in Germany. I truly love it here… even if their ways are a little weird.

30 July 2015

Reflecting on Berlin

Berlin -- After traveling throughout Germany and Europe, coming back to Erfurt has begun to feel like coming home. You get used to sleeping in the same bed, using the same shower, and eating at some of your favorite local food spots (shoutout to Lunchbox Pizzeria). But during our SPICE trip to Berlin, I found going to a major city to be a homecoming of its own. Berlin has all of the things great cities have: history, culture, museums, nightlife, and 4am döner.

As a native of Washington, D.C., I have to say that being in Berlin felt really organic and natural. The pace of the city was fast, with each person moving decidedly in different directions like cogs in a greater machine. The pace in Erfurt is much slower, which makes sense. It is in no way, shape, or form the behemoth that Berlin is. I found that out pretty quickly too. In Erfurt, finding your way home is pretty straight forward. If you can find the Hauptbahnhof (train station), then you can find Anger (Erfurt’s city center, in a way). And if you can find Anger, then you can make your way to the Domplatz (town square, which features in amazing church). From there, its a straight shot home. That journey, in total, will take you about 20 minutes. While in Berlin, some friends and I took part in a bar crawl. The bar crawl ends at a club called The Matrix. Well, The Matrix is nowhere near where the bar crawl began, but in the moment, its easy to not be cognizant of that. Long story short, my comrades and I found ourselves in a foggy forest at 4am trying to find our way back to our hostel. We figured it out, of course, and part of the experience of being in a big city is figuring it out, but that kind of LOST is just not possible in Erfurt.

Another interesting difference between Berlin and Erfurt is the amount of languages spoken and cultures present. Berlin seems to be a very diverse city, where I was just as likely to hear English being spoken walking down the street as I was German. Erfurt, on the other hand, feels a lot more traditional. Dr. Bowman’s favorite thing to tell us is that the second biggest ethnic group is Erfurt is Vietnamese and there are not all that many. But that isn’t to say Berlin is an authentic global bastion. Our SPICE group this year features not only Mountaineers, but Longhorns as well. Our counterparts from the University of Texas at Austin enjoy Mexican cuisine. I am also a fan. That’s selling it short a little. I’ve been craving Mexican food since I arrive in Germany near a month and half ago. One of our teaching assistants has friends that live and Berlin and she said that they told her the Mexican food was solid there. So we went out to have a fiesta of our very own. We ended up at a restaurant with the word “Cantina” in it and we were feeling pretty good about our choice. I noticed that everyone that worked there was of Indian descent, but my cravings told me to overlook my better judgement. We all ordered our food and it when it came, although it was good, was not what we were used to. The rice was basmati, which is traditionally used in Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine. I had a chimichanga and the chicken was delicious and really well seasoned… with Indian spices. It was an interesting experience for all parties involved. An Indian take on Mexican food.

One of the biggest transitions from life in America to life in Erfurt has been time. Not the 6 hour time difference, but instead how everything in Erfurt outside of bars and clubs close at an early hour. In the US, there are a litany of late night dining options, such as the fine stylings of Taco Bell or the ever-present McDonalds. In Erfurt, if you want to eat past 9pm, your best option is rushing down to the bratwurst stand at Domplatz before it closes at 11pm. Berlin was the complete opposite. Everything opens early and closes late. I think what speaks to that sentiment the best is the fact that the nights I spent there were weekdays: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. That breeds feelings of freedom not available in Erfurt sometimes.

Erfurt has become like a second home to me during this trip. I have become so comfortable here that now I recognize familiar faces and they recognize me in turn. However, it was nice to have a taste of home in Berlin. So much so, that I may return next summer for an internship there.

12 July 2015

First-Half Reflections

Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany -- Nearly a month into my experience living and studying abroad, my interactions with German natives have met some of my expectations, exceeded others, and completely disproved many things I may have thought. My first encounter with my German SPICE colleagues was at the SPICE meet-and-great at Peckham’s Coffee House. Although I did not directly converse with them, I did have the opportunity to observe them in conversation. They seemed really excited to learn, which would support the sentiment that Germans are just generally more focused and serious than Americans. The idea that our colleagues were not interested in having fun crept into my mind as well. We are on our summer break, in school of course, but also focused on enjoying ourselves and experiencing all of these foreign places. My idea of them rapidly changed once we got in the classroom together. The structure of our Media Psychology course was very interactive and free flowing. I believe this is what gave me a much more accurate image of German people and culture, as a whole. We would be discussing things that, as Americans, seemed like foregone conclusions, like our skepticism of the government or how sensationalized and glorified the armed forces are. The German students could not really wrap their heads around this. In Germany, the media is run by the government. In America, the idea of having the majority of significant media sources controlled by the government scares us. Military service used to be required for males of a certain age in Germany. Now that it isn’t, Germans are not jumping up to join the military. In America, joining the military is a honor and there are many ways to honor those individuals and show your patriotism that are embedded in our culture. Even though we are not in the military, the end goal is the protection of us as citizens, so as a whole, we’re involved. In the end, I think what I learned most was not that Germans don’t necessarily fit the preconceived notions we have of them. But that, after learning the culture more and understanding the “way of the world” in another place, the behaviors exhibited aren’t nearly as far fetched as they once were.

My interactions with others outside of the SPICE program have been varied but still very interesting. Around Erfurt, I have seen Cultural Convergence Theory at work. Cultural Convergence Theory is how communicators, if given the opportunity, attempt to find the shared commonalities which creates greater cultural uniformity on larger scale. One of my most memorable experiences occurred at 4am on a Thursday night/Friday morning. We had gone out that night (a mixed group of University students and SPICE students) and we were leaving a local club in Erfurt called Musik Park. While waiting for the tram, I encountered a few people from the club that recognized me and sparked up a conversation. One of the young men spoke particularly good English and it appeared that he was really enjoying the conversation. He knew I wasn’t German, so in an attempt to find the shared commonalities between us, he brought up sports. Jackpot. He focused on basketball the most. He asked for my favorite team (the Washington Wizards) and shared his love for the San Antonio Spurs. The San Antonio Spurs are known for having great international players but none of their players are German so I asked where this passion stemmed from. He responded that he loves Tony Parker, the Spurs’ French point guard. I asked about the most prominent German basketball player in the world, Dirk Nowitzki, and he affectionately called him “the big f*cking German”. From there, the conversation ventured into the king of sports globally, fußball. I found this to be the most interesting part of the conversation by far. The other members of the group, with little grasp of my native language, jumped in passionately as well. They asked me what my favorite German fußball club was. I responded Bayern Munich, normally one of the top 3 clubs in the world and the strongest German club by far. My response was met with groans of disbelief. I asked what was wrong with my choice, I thought everyone like Bayern Munich. They quickly corrected me. Apparently, no one outside of the state of Bavaria likes Bayern Munich. All Bayern Munich does is steal every other German fußball club’s best players. This is where the point of greater uniformity was not met. However, I think that is one of the beauties of Cultural Convergence. Once we finally reach a point where our commonalities no longer match up, there is an opportunity to learn about other people’s cultures and ways of doing things that you may not have been as receptive to had you arrived at that knowledge in a different way.

3 July 2015

Face Negotiation Theory 

Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany -- Face Negotiation theory works to explain the factors that affect how a communicator responds to and handles conflict. And, more specifically, how ones culture or the situation goes into impacting how they respond. This is seen as communicators negotiate face: self-face concern, which is protective concern over one’s own identity image, and other-face concern, which is protective concern over the identity image of the other involved party. Mutual-face concern also exists. The creator of this theory, Stella Ting-Toomey, explains face as a “communication respect issue. It’s a claimed sense of social self worth that I believe every human being wants and needs”. The curveballs that situational responses throw people of similar cultures makes this theory viable even between people of the same culture, however, as a student currently studying in a foreign country, I am about to see how communicators from differing cultures negotiate face in an interaction of conflict.

During my time in Germany so far, I have definitely experienced self-face concern, on the sides of both communicators. My second week in Erfurt, while many of my fellow SPICErs were off traveling throughout Europe, I decided to get more familiar with the city. I was interested in finding some of the more basic things I access back home, like grocery stores, thrift stores, etc. Also, I wanted to ride the city’s tram city in its entirety. One evening, I’m riding the tram’s 3 line and I happen past a mall. To my surprise, the mall is open (everything here closes early). From my day’s earlier travels, I had bought a few things from other grocery stores. Inside of the mall is a big, Target-style store call Kaufland. I decided to check it out and once I had finished looking, started to walk out. As I try to walk out, one of the clerks, a much older lady, comes and pulls at my sweatshirt, berating me in German. I turn around quickly, confused about why she’s grabbing me. She points to my bags. I try telling her that my bags are from a different store but she pulls to the customer service desk. I resist at first, but then follow her and show her my receipts that show the logos of the other grocery stores I bought the stuff from. After she sees the receipt, she smiles and brushes off my sweatshirt. I eventually smile back and leave. She stopped me because the identity image she has of herself at worth says theft is not acceptable. I proved my innocence of any crime because of my own self-face concern.

I think mutual-face concern only really occurs when you care about the other communicator as well. In cultures like America and Germany, that only happens with people in your inner-circle, otherwise we’re a lot more focused on ourselves. In cultures more “we” centered, such as Japan, mutual-face concern probably exists much more frequently because it is culturally embedded in them.

25 June 2015

Communication Accommodation Theory

Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany -- Communication accommodation theory speaks to how during interaction, people shift their speech styles to become more like those they are interacting with, as well as in ways that they believe others can receive and understand those message best. As you might imagine, interactions between people that do not speak the language or come from the same culture yield interesting results in regards to this theory. So far in my study abroad experience, I have seen this theory at work… everywhere.

Mostly commonly, my best examples of communication accommodation theory come from interactions with older people. In a collaborative effort, they will cobble together however much English they have (which tends to be very little) and I’ll cobble together my very minimal knowledge of German and that, in conjunction with a seemingly universal series of hand gestures and pointing, communication occurs and mutual understanding is reached. I will say that these interactions have by far been the most fruitful and least stressful. However, the less smooth interactions tend to exemplify the theory best. Take it as step further: in this case, I know even less German and they know even less English. In some of these cases, the German individual I am communicating with (this can especially happen at restaurants), if it gets too difficult, will leave in the middle of the conversation and fetch someone with better English. But when that isn’t a possibility, we both begin to accommodate for the other in our communication. We rely ANYTHING we may know that could get our point across. And although these interactions are a lot more uncomfortable, they’re much more rewarding in the long run I feel. 

I think some of the work for communication accommodation also comes into play before the interaction even occurs. At Pizza Lunchbox, a döner/pizza shop near our dorms, I seamlessly order a “kleiner Döner mit pommes”. Then the guy behind the counter begins asking me a question I have no idea how to answer. He eventually point to the grown and then outside. I realize he’s asking me do I want to eat my food here or to go. This is when I have to do my job as an accommodating communicator for next time. I ask the man, “Was ist (gestures outside) in Deutsch?” He tells me (the word is slipping my mind at the moment). But my point still stands. The next time, the guy working won’t have to accommodate me in that way. I’ve grown from the interaction as whole and the work done on both sides.

31 May 2015

Introduction

Washington, DC -- Hallo! My name is Norbert Klusmann and I am a rising junior majoring in Communication Studies with a minor in Political Science. The fact that I will be in Germany in mere weeks is still incredible to me. Ever since I heard about SPICE, I knew that it was an experience I too wanted to have. The fact that it is based in Germany is icing on the cake. I visited as a child to see the German side of my family but everything is a little hazy in my memory and I know, at the time, I was far more interested in playing my Gameboy than I was taking in the country and culture. Taking this journey at this stage in my life surely gives it more weight and the fact that I have my Communication Studies courses and my fellow Communication Studies scholars there with me to help frame my experiences and interactions will make them all the more meaningful. I am eager to travel, to see all there is to see, to take risks, to meet new people, to learn new things and, of course, to have fun. I appreciate how SPICE is set up with the experience in mind. I will undoubtedly learn a ton in the classroom over the upcoming two months, but I also know that the Germany and it’s people have even more invaluable lessons to teach me.