My experiences at Samford University in Birmingham, AL
It’s been a long time since I came to Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. A lot of stuff has happened… Where shall I start?
Birmingham is a great city. It has a lot of different areas and Samford is in an area called Homewood, a really nice neighborhood. One of the disadvantages here is that there is almost no public transportation, so without a car you’re always dependent on somebody. But, it’s not that bad because the Americans here are really nice and friendly and drive you almost anywhere you want, especially the Cheesecake Factory. They have the most amazing cheesecakes there in every way you can imagine. It’s a MUST to go there if you’re here!
I take a class with a clinical experience, so I’ve observed an American High School. It’s an inner city school with a high rate of poverty and crime (it really depends on the area which school you’re attending). The students and teachers were really nice to me but you could see a huge difference compared to German schools. Equity (especially in funding) is a really big problem. Also the school system in general is really different, which was kind of confusing for me standing up every morning for the pledge. But all after all, it was a really good experience to see that and it really made me think about how I treat students.
Samford University is a really great place for studying abroad. Not only has my English improved, but I also met so many nice people and made so many new friends. Some of them took me a to a real American Pumpkin Patch a few weeks ago. You go on hay ride and collect a pumpkin from the field with great friends. It was great to see these traditions before Halloween. On Halloween – all Americans go crazy! There are a lot of things you can do: most of them have small Halloween parties with friends or other communities and also there are still some (College!) students who go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood.
In addition to all that, I had the chance to work on campus with a German professor, Angela Ferguson. I work as a Language Lab Assistant with the German students, who are mostly beginners. It doesn’t feel like a job to me because I really enjoy it and we have an incredible good time together. First, they were all very excited to meet a “real German person” – and now, I have actually become great friends with some of them.
Angela Ferguson also introduced me to the “FDSK” – club (Freunde deutscher Sprache und Kultur). All the people in the club are either Germans, speak German or have German origins. They have their own little decorated room with German and American flags and it kind of looks like the Oktoberfest – kind of kitschy. This may sound weird now, but after 3 months without your home culture I loved it. They’re really nice, warm people who welcomed me into their community. And I ate a real German “Currywurst” and drank German beer!
Last weekend we celebrated one of the biggest American holidays – Thanksgiving! I had the opportunity to spend a very traditional Thanksgiving at my friend Lexie’s house in Hoover, AL with her parents. Each family has their own traditions when it comes to Thanksgiving. At the Roberts’ house, we spent the whole morning baking apple, pumpkin and chocolate pies. For Thanksgiving dinner we had traditional turkey (of course), meat stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, asparagus, carrots and corn. After dinner we ate the pies (yes, all of them). Thanksgiving is also known as the “eating holiday”… Their family tradition is to watch the movie “Miracle on 34th Street” during late dinner (when you eat all the leftovers in sandwiches).
The next day is called “Black Friday” where almost everything is on sale in the stores. People seriously go crazy and the shops open at 4 a.m. Also on Thanksgiving weekend, everybody starts their Christmas decorating. Lexie’s dad flew us with his small plane to their old house in Greenville, AL to pick the Christmas stuff up. I’ve never been on a small plane before, just the commercial jets – it really was amazing!
The time goes by so fast and now Thanksgiving is over, the final exams are coming and I almost cannot believe that I only have 2 weeks left. I will miss so many people here. But I’m also happy about seeing my family and friends again. But before going home, I will take a trip through the United States including hanging out in Miami, FL and Washington D.C. I will spend Christmas in California and New Year’s in New York which I’m so excited about.
I know I’m never going to have experiences like these. Studying abroad at Samford University is a great opportunity to improve your English, getting to know the American culture and making new friends.
Thank you so much for this opportunity!
Elisa Berhalter
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
My first cultural experiences
After 4 weeks, it’s time to look back at my start at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.
The first shock I had was right after I landed, because I landed without my luggage, which came later that night. On the way to the campus, I was really impressed by how huge everything was especially the food portions and the highways.
I was kind of disappointed at first because there were just a few freshmen students there. But right after my classes began, I made so many new friends. You cannot not make friends here on campus. Everybody’s just so nice and lovely to you and they’re all very interested in getting to know some German words or something about European culture. A lot of Samford students have never actually left the country, so they mostly hung on my words while I talked about home.
Before I got here, I actually hadn’t thought about spending half a year in the “Bible Belt”, which is most likely the most conservative region of the States. That was my second shock. Most of the people are very Christian, which is not the same “Christianity” I belong to. The majority goes to church every Sunday, doesn’t date anybody with whom they couldn’t imagine marrying and when I first heard about their way of praying, which is so dramatic, I thought it was kind of a show – but it’s real. You get used to it and after a few weeks, you see it as normal.
I really hope I don’t get fat here. With my scholarship, which covers tuition fees and residence, I can have 12 meals during the week at the “caf” You can’t eat healthily in America – you can eat fast food or salad. Healthy stuff is really expensive. But you can also go to the gym on campus which is free for Samford students. Also, if you order, for example, a small coke at a restaurant, you’ll get a cup which is almost inconceivable of what your ideas about a “small” drink are. Everything is big. Big, Bigger, America!!!
I already took my first trip after 2 weeks of being here. I went to Orlando, Florida to see a huge American football game and to go to Disney World! This brought out the little child in me… But it was so awesome! Florida is one of the hottest spots I’ve ever been to!
Studying in the United States is totally different than in Germany. After the first weeks I can say that I can’t relax here or just hang out and have a great time. If you take a class, it could be 2 or 3 times a week. You must have 12 credit points because of your VISA, so I have 4 classes now.
Also, you have to do homework!!! Next shock! And tests, quizzes, research papers, oral presentations, assignments…. during the semester! And of course there is a final exam… But I think I can learn so much here and I can’t complain myself because the American students pay about $20,000 tuition fee per year and I don’t have to pay anything. They don’t have anything like “moopaed” so you have to buy the textbooks which are quite expensive, but it’s the only thing I had to pay by myself. So stop complaining about the €500 tuition in Germany!
It’s not so much of a party semester than I thought it would be because most of the students aren’t 21 (legal drinking age) and alcohol isn’t allowed on campus (Yes, we are a Christian school.) But you just have to know the right people.
I love being here at Samford! Everybody’s so nice to me and I already made plans of coming next summer again and visiting my new friends! It is so worth the expenditure! Guys, you have to apply! You will love it!
Elisa,
Samford Student 2009
The first shock I had was right after I landed, because I landed without my luggage, which came later that night. On the way to the campus, I was really impressed by how huge everything was especially the food portions and the highways.
I was kind of disappointed at first because there were just a few freshmen students there. But right after my classes began, I made so many new friends. You cannot not make friends here on campus. Everybody’s just so nice and lovely to you and they’re all very interested in getting to know some German words or something about European culture. A lot of Samford students have never actually left the country, so they mostly hung on my words while I talked about home.
Before I got here, I actually hadn’t thought about spending half a year in the “Bible Belt”, which is most likely the most conservative region of the States. That was my second shock. Most of the people are very Christian, which is not the same “Christianity” I belong to. The majority goes to church every Sunday, doesn’t date anybody with whom they couldn’t imagine marrying and when I first heard about their way of praying, which is so dramatic, I thought it was kind of a show – but it’s real. You get used to it and after a few weeks, you see it as normal.
I really hope I don’t get fat here. With my scholarship, which covers tuition fees and residence, I can have 12 meals during the week at the “caf” You can’t eat healthily in America – you can eat fast food or salad. Healthy stuff is really expensive. But you can also go to the gym on campus which is free for Samford students. Also, if you order, for example, a small coke at a restaurant, you’ll get a cup which is almost inconceivable of what your ideas about a “small” drink are. Everything is big. Big, Bigger, America!!!
I already took my first trip after 2 weeks of being here. I went to Orlando, Florida to see a huge American football game and to go to Disney World! This brought out the little child in me… But it was so awesome! Florida is one of the hottest spots I’ve ever been to!
Studying in the United States is totally different than in Germany. After the first weeks I can say that I can’t relax here or just hang out and have a great time. If you take a class, it could be 2 or 3 times a week. You must have 12 credit points because of your VISA, so I have 4 classes now.
Also, you have to do homework!!! Next shock! And tests, quizzes, research papers, oral presentations, assignments…. during the semester! And of course there is a final exam… But I think I can learn so much here and I can’t complain myself because the American students pay about $20,000 tuition fee per year and I don’t have to pay anything. They don’t have anything like “moopaed” so you have to buy the textbooks which are quite expensive, but it’s the only thing I had to pay by myself. So stop complaining about the €500 tuition in Germany!
It’s not so much of a party semester than I thought it would be because most of the students aren’t 21 (legal drinking age) and alcohol isn’t allowed on campus (Yes, we are a Christian school.) But you just have to know the right people.
I love being here at Samford! Everybody’s so nice to me and I already made plans of coming next summer again and visiting my new friends! It is so worth the expenditure! Guys, you have to apply! You will love it!
Elisa,
Samford Student 2009
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