Learning About the World in Leipzig, Germany

Submitted by Hannah Paxton on the 2016 winter session program in Leipzig, Germany sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures…

This past week, I was able to present about the United States to the other eight countries that were present in my German language program at a presentation called “Landernachmittag.” Although I was definitely nervous to speak German in front of a bunch of my peers that speak much more German than I do, I was interested to see what kind of presentations that other students would give. There was a surprising amount of dancing, a lot of facts learned and a few countries most definitely stood out.

I enjoyed the combination Australia/New Zealand presentation because they were all enthusiastic about their nations as well as throwing in some playful rivalry! Australia is such an interesting place that is so far from where I live, and I’d be really curious to go there myself. New Zealand seems absolutely beautiful; I can see where my favorite film series Lord of the Rings was filmed! If just the pictures are stunning, I can’t imagine seeing it in person.

I also loved the Chile presentation. Hugo and Sebastian presented for Chile, and they are really fun guys who my friends and I had hung out with before. Hearing them talk about their country was really fantastic! The dance that Hugo did was incredible as well, I had no idea he was so talented! Of course, ending the presentation with free food really sold me on my wish to visit Chile. Ich liebe Empandas!! (I love Empanadas!)

Finally, I really enjoyed the Brazil presentation with all the different types of dancing. The culture in that nation seems so alive and vibrant, and very different from what we have in the USA. I also did not realize how large Brazil really is, which I found interesting because it showed an incredible amount of diversity. The presentations about the different countries were great, and I’m very glad we were able to have that experience!

Leipzig street Hannah Paxton 16W Leipzig, Germany DLLC sm