Any of my initial expectations of what my time in Münster would be like were immediately thrown out the window in the beginning of the first week. By the first few days of classes I had already met so many other students from so many other countries. My classes started off pretty slow, and by the end of the first week i’d had enough of telling the class where I was from and where I lived. I was skeptical with how easy it was but i’m glad I stuck with it as I have more confidence in my foundation of the German language.
I think the first thing I’ll do when I arrive home is set up a chiropractor appointment from walking all over the city for four solid weeks on such uneven ground. I have to admit, the cobble stone was a pretty sight, as was the rest of the Altstadt, but it was absolutely horrendous to walk on for a month straight. Especially considering how much walking we all did. Although that walking was pretty good for me with all the heavy german food and ice cream I was eating…
The dynamic of our group was quite interesting. Each one of us was completely different from one another and I think that made the trip even better. I learned a lot from being around students from other countries, but I mostly enjoyed being around the group with our different personalities. Each week it seemed we added more and more friends to our shenanigans outside of class that made for some interesting stories.
The beginning of my time in Münster started out well. I was a little unnerved by some of the creepy behavior of some locals, but I quickly realized that people are much more cordial elsewhere, and there are some things you just can’t do or show in front of particular people. I was also consistently reminded that if you’re on time for the bus, you’re late, and to the frustration of many, this lead to miscommunication and confusion with activities and meeting up with everyone. This also lead to getting lost, which was the best way that I learned the city.