I am 4 days away from leaving Tübingen and I absolutely cannot wait. Do I tell you what you want to hear? Or do I tell you the truth?
The truth is...the last 5 months here in Tübingen have not been the happiest for me. Sort of a roller coaster. Big ups and big downs. I know I must take some of the blame for not trying to burst the California bubble earlier, but I feel a lot of the fault can be placed on the program I am enrolled in.
There are 54 of us Californians here together in Tübingen. This is a small town, so there is no escaping. Maybe half of them live in my area of student housing, and most of the rest live together on the other side of town. I have a Californian on the floor above me, one on the floor below me, and ONE INSIDE MY FLAT. We were supposed to be "immersed" in the culture here......I am definitely not supposed to have a Californian as a roommate.
We also did not get to pick our own classes. The program consists of a strict set of classes that are made up of either all Californians (where we all speak English the whole class) or mostly Californians. The few classes we have with other students are the language classes, where thankfully we speak German, but more than 50% of these classes are still made up of Californians.
There is no escape. Some of them are fine with this. They live near each other, they have class together, they go out together, they travel together. And always, mind you, speaking English. Not my idea of immersion.
The other MAJOR problem is that I am 34. And everybody else is 20. I know it is unconventional for someone my age to be enrolled in a study abroad program, but I did it to try and broaden my horizons and put myself out of the comfort zone to see how far I could go. And I can't go ANYWHERE when I am chained to 53 other twenty-year olds, whom I cannot relate to at all.
So, I am very much looking forward to next semester. I get to start over. New city, new people, new roommates, new classes (that I get to choose). And hardly any Californians, whew!
There was absolutely nothing I could do about the classes, but believe me, it wasn't for the lack of trying. My advice to you....if you are looking to study abroad, find out exactly what the program entails. Especially if you are older, like I am. Honestly, it's been a personal hell trying to fit in with the 20 yr olds (which has been my mistake this whole time--I actually tried to fit in, instead of branching off and doing my own thing).
Most programs aren't as structured as mine. There are some students here from Connecticut, Michigan, and Oregon, and their programs are completely different. There are not so many of them here together, they get to choose their own classes, and they have a real chance of immersing themselves into the new culture.
On the other hand, my program is so structured that we didn't have any hassles getting here. The Visa process, matriculation, registration for classes and registration with the city were all taken care of for us. They even opened our bank accounts for us. Other students have to do all this on their own.
But you can learn a lot by being forced to handle things on your own, so even if your program doesn't baby you like mine did, don't let that scare you away. You'll figure it out!!
Well, I guess I have learned my lesson the hard way. If the roommates suck, move. If you don't like the people you are surrounded by, reach out. I have 5 more months left, so let's see what I can do!
http://www.iie.org/en/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program
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