Submitted by Rachel Harrell on the 2019 winter session study abroad program in Leipzig, Germany sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures & Culture…
Upon arriving in Leipzig, the first thing I noticed was the bitter cold and the fact that it wasn’t exactly what I expected. The buildings were such a mix of old, traditional and newer, more modern buildings. It also wasn’t quite as busy as I thought it would be.
This was my first time out of the country so I was anxious to see if Europe was, in fact, how everyone described it: cleaner than the United States and richer in history and architecture, among other things. Germany definitely seems cleaner and more considerate of the environment, however, I have encountered people smoking cigarettes everywhere which was a bit of a surprise to me. There are many more people smoking here than in the United States, particularly among the younger generation.
During our “Intro to Leipzig” tour and after walking around a little on my own, I noticed how many American stores/restaurants there are here. Just at the Hauptbahnhof I saw McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Subway and several other American food establishments. I also haven’t had much trouble with communication because almost everyone I have encountered speaks a little English. We attempt to use our German, but they easily recognize that we are not local and begin speaking to us in English.
These are just my initial thoughts and observations on Leipzig. Today, we also visited a museum on the history of the city in the old town hall. It was very interesting to explore the different parts of the museum: one for older times and one for modern times. My favorite part of the museum was the small room underground that had a trap door in the ceiling, leading to a larger room. The room could be accessed by a narrow stairwell, but on the audio guide it said documents were passed down to the room through the trap door for safekeeping in case of an emergency.
Overall, my first few experiences in Leipzig have been enlightening and have really opened my eyes to how influential America is to other cultures, as well as how much more of an emphasis learning foreign languages is for students here. This is one aspect of this country, or possibly Europe in general, that I find better than the United States.