Alumni Club Scholarships 2019-20: Interview with Michelle Edwards

The first four  Alumni Club Scholarships for AYF participants have been issued! We are deeply grateful to the JY cohort of 1984-85 for establishing the Gentry Scholarship Fund under the auspices of the American chapter (AYF Alumni Association, Inc., or AYFAA). And we are equally grateful to the Freiburg-based German chapter (AYF Alumni & Friends) for supporting two current AYFers with scholarships and for their tireless efforts to organize events to make our students feel at home and create forums for exchange across JY and AYF generations.

As a representative for this first Alumni Club Scholarship group, Michelle Edwards, a Gentry Fund awardee, has some stories to share about her time so far in Freiburg. Thanks, Michelle, for being our AYF student spotlight!

What was it like to arrive in Freiburg?

When I first arrived in Freiburg, I had already been traveling for three weeks in Ireland and Spain, and I was beyond excited to finally have a place to unpack and relax and make my own. I was completely exhausted from a very early flight and I just wanted to sleep, but I ended up meeting one of my roommates and we ate cookies and drank tea together. It was scary to imagine being here for an entire year, living with three people I didn’t know, but I knew that I would be able to do it.

How has it been adjusting to life in Germany?

Adjusting has been difficult, though. I found out that I need to spend more time on my own to recharge from meeting new people and speaking a foreign language. However, I have many amazing friends that have really helped me adjust. I still need to work on getting a regular sleep schedule, and not having a microwave really threw a wrench into meal planning, but I feel at home and comfortable in Freiburg now. I know I’m going to miss it when I get back.

What would you say is your favorite thing about Freiburg?

One of my favorite things about Freiburg is the scenery. It’s beautiful to hike and look over all the forest and hills. And now that it’s getting colder, the leaves and trees are turning different colors, it’s beautiful. But my favorite place to go is the Dreisam river. I live in Vauban, so the Dreisam is really close. I like taking walks along the river with friends, even though after it rains it’s super muddy. I guess I won’t miss the mud too much, but I love the river and the Black Forest.

Are there any people, places, or things that you miss from home?

Although I really do love Freiburg and the life and friends that I have here, I miss home a lot as well. I miss my family. I miss my mom’s cooking and hearing about my sister’s dramatic teenage life in person. I miss my dad’s popcorn, and my brothers’ jokes, my dog and my cat. I miss my friends and my coworkers. I miss American pizza, which the Germans are always confused by because they have pizza—but it’s not the same. I miss the lakes in Madison and the paths in the woods near them. Honestly, I miss a lot of things. I’m excited to see everyone in the United States for Christmas, but I’m glad that I will have more time to study German and enjoy Freiburg afterwards. I know I’m going to miss Freiburg and the friends I’ve made here when I go back.

One thing I won’t miss is the doors in Germany. I don’t know if it’s just me, but for whatever reason, I can never guess which way the door is going to open so my life is just a constant battle of running into doors or trying to pull on doors that need to be pushed.

I also think that I have more free time here, and the culture surrounding university is different. The Germans are all super helpful, and they’re not competing to be the best in the class or to get the best score. They want everyone to succeed, and they’re very welcoming and helpful. In my discussion class, they speak so fast and it’s about really complicated social and political issues, but whenever I don’t understand they’re happy to explain and help me. And even when I mess up in German, no one ever minds. They’re all really supportive and friendly, and I think in the United States people aren’t always as patient or understanding with foreign students.

Michelle with AYF friends on Schauinsland

What would you say is the most rewarding aspect of learning German?

Another amazing thing about my discussion class is that I can really see an improvement in my German. Every class, I write down all the unfamiliar words that I hear people say so that I can look them up later. My first class, I could barely keep up with the conversation. I could usually understand the basic idea, but I had no idea what exactly they were saying about it. Now I can understand what their opinions are when they speak in discussion, and while I don’t understand every word, it’s such a huge improvement from that first day.

I hope that I can continue using German in the future. I’m not sure what kind of job I’ll have, or where I’ll be living, but I’m majoring in International Studies and Linguistics. I hope that the job I get in one of these fields will involve learning and speaking more German, but I honestly don’t know where I’m going to end up. It’s kind of scary to think about, really, because I’ll be graduating in December a year from now. I don’t think I’m quite ready for that, so I’m glad that I have more time here in Freiburg.

Questions were posed by AYFAA board member Elizabeth Kunze (AYF 2012-13) and the interview was initially published in the AYFAA Newsletter put out by the American Chapter of our alumni club on December 20, 2019.