I noticed that I have become less sensitive to goodbyes. Yesterday, everybody what really sad because it was our last night in Darmstadt, and honestly, I don’t cry that much now. I rather remembered when I was Greg, Rovshan, and Rahman’s age and how much I cried when I was in Hong Kong and my first year in France. I did cry somehow, with Sheyna, Rahman, and Rovshan, because I considered them my closest friends, and I spent so much time with them and knowing that it would be easier to see Mona again made it more bearable. This month’s experience has been a crazy rush because every day there was something happening and not a day passed without learning something new or having fun.
I agree with what I said yesterday at the closing ceremony. Although it’s not my first time in Germany, nor my first time abroad, not even my first time meeting people from around the world, there’s always something new to learn. I will soon start writing my intercultural report and the amount of stuff that I have learned in one month is so dense that I am afraid of forgetting that before writing it down.
I have seen so many things in Hessen and in Baden-Wurttemberg. I love getting to know so deeply this region, details, and facts that not everyone knows. I love France this trip has helped me to understand Germany better and to realize that two neighbor countries can be very similar and different at the same time.
After ISU, I spent almost one week traveling around Germany. That makes almost 5 weeks in this neighbor country, and I regret not staying a little bit more. Nothing will replace my love for France (maybe my love for beer) but I think that this summer I have grown fond of Germany too. Although there are a lot of aspects where I feel France is better, I find that Germany also has a charm that not everybody takes the time to find out.
Language, for example. Maybe it doesn’t sound as harmonious as French or Italian, but its complexity is higher than French. The word composing and the articles variations according to the different kassus represent a big challenge in the German language, and the process of learning a new language is very fulfilling. If I stayed longer, I’m sure I would have made even more progress in German.
Food, okay I will grant that to France. Because nothing can beat that (maybe Peruvian food?). But Germany has beer! And that is something that I already loved, and I have discovered even more varieties and how it can perfectly blend into any moment of the day, under different forms. Is it hot outside? Take a Radler. You like standard correct German beer? Then try a Hell. Or do you prefer to play tough? Maybe the Dunkel is made for you. What about something you will never find in France? A Weissbier! My favorite moment was having dinner in Essen with some classmates and a professor and saying Prost! Mäss and halb join in the air. Beer was so normal that I got used to seeing people drinking them everywhere, in the tram, in the subway, even at the Mensa… And I love it when there is something familiar for everybody, except for me, because it pops out in the general picture and feels like a beautiful painting. Liquid gold, baby.
And forests. Lots of forests.
On another note, the speech of the major of Darmstadt was quite true. I agree with his insight about Energiewende and Prost, and these two are also a synthesis of what I have learned here. I have found through my job at Enedis what I like to do, and this summer school has inspired me for my career. At the same time, I have enjoyed each of the exchanges with the participants of ISU around a beer, especially with Professor Ingo Jeromin. His work actually gives me hope about what I do, and it’s good to know that what I do at work is not unknown.
There are many aspects of the German idiosyncrasy that I admire (and that French do not usually have). Equality, honesty and straightforwardness, I have found a part of me there. However, there are also things that I reserve for France: food, music, and language. I also started appreciating more France’s railway infrastructure, as Germany is more segmented than the former. Who would say that centralism would actually enhance the development of the transport network in France: all the ways lead to Paris.
Endnote:
I firmly believe that both countries certainly have a lot to exchange in order to improve. They have such a different history and therefore different personalities, but I think they can stand side by side. I still want to continue German, and thus pierce more into German culture, but I think that would be a later chapter in life. ISU has been steeping the toes into German waters, and the next step is diving into them. Bis bald!