Prepratory Language Program

I feel like I am in kindergarten again. Every day I catch the bus to school. It takes twenty minutes on the bus, and another ten walking rain or shine. A large group of us are all headed the same way. We meet on the bus, talk on our way to class, and meet up again during our recess. Breakfast is served in the cellar, and depending on when you are let out, you might have to wait in line on the staircase and eat in the aisles till space at a table opens up. I find myself staring out the window towards the old city across the river as the end of class draws closer.

This first week has been all about meeting each other within our small community of international students and getting to know the city. Initially, people were split by regions, then countries, and finally language. The purpose though is for us to learn German, and now that our classes have started and introduced us to people from everywhere, we are becoming to come together as one big group of international students. English is the next most spoken language since most give up on German and revert back to what they know. No matter which language one is speaking though, accents poke through and people keep their identity.

This is the first step of the process to get us integrated into life at a German university. They hold our hand during the beginning and take us through the registration procedures for the winter semester. After that, we should be prepared to join the German students with all the responsibilities included. Over ten months left and I already know that time will go by much faster than I want it to. The Preparatory Language Program will feel like a short, yet memorable, part of my academic career here in Heidelberg. We will look back and reminisce about how easy life was with a home room in the Max Weber Haus where breakfast was served and we were taken care of like kindergarteners.