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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