A few years ago, as I was writing an essay reflecting on my time studying abroad, I explained that the most necessary ingredient for a successful stay was humor. It’s been a little over three years and I still find this statement to be remarkably true.
In the month between my arrival in Augsburg and the beginning of the semester, I was helplessly going about trying to figure out the necessary requirements for registering with the University. Since I was new in the city and the only foreigner I knew that was studying here (at that time), I hung on to the slow trickle of information that was given to me. Indeed, I had already been accepted to the Environmental Ethics program, but that didn’t quite mean that I was an actual student yet; I still had to take a German proficiency test (passed), sort out health care, and pray to all the University Gods that I didn’t forget any important documents back in the States.
Surprisingly, with the amount of things that could have gone extremely wrong, registration (which was less than a week before classes started) went without a hiccup. Other than that, I had to get my head around the University’s internet system (UofMers: not quite WolverineAccess/Ctools) for which to enroll in classes and making ‘the perfect’ schedule (no classes on Friday = Travelday!).
Here’s where the humor part becomes important: at any given time, especially now that I’m at the University and among students, I can either completely misunderstand a conversation or stumble upon my own speech. As I haven’t been in Germany for that long, I’m still working hard at comprehending/speaking fluidly and correctly. Trip-ups are bound to happen and it’s not comfortable having my lingual ‘imperfections’ exposed, but I just have to remember to laugh it off and acknowledge that things will get better over time.
