Bippity Boppity Boo!
Sonya Gee sees Cinderella's castle and other places she's dreamed about
My favorite part of studying abroad is the opportunity to see places in Europe that I've always dreamed about. I've gotten to go to Paris, Rome, and other places in France and Germany. I've also gotten to see Neuschwanstein, the castle that Cinderella's castle is based on. I'm also going to get to see Pompeii, Italy, and that has been my dream since I was six years old. I've always been fascinated by Mt. Vesuvius and the history of that region, so to get to see the city and the body molds of the people is going to be so amazing and a dream come true.
Karlsruhe, Germany is a great city to study in. There is a castle right behind my dorm and I always go to the castle gardens to study and relax in the sun. The most challenging part has probably been taking classes in German. It's hard because I have to constantly translate what the Professor is saying and I struggle to find the words to get my ideas across. Other than that, I've enjoyed getting to improve my German and I've met some really amazing people. Everyone is eager to speak to me about the U.S., and they're most interested in who I'm going to vote for for President next year.
Another challenging aspect is the difference in the school semesters. The semester in Germany doesn't start until mid-April, so I'm having to attend classes and do homework and projects when there's beautiful weather outside and all my friends in the States are going to the beach and enjoying their summer freedom. But I shouldn't complain because I get to do all this in Germany.
Seeing Pompei was the most amazing experience of my life so far. I wish I had had more time to see everything or to go and see Herculaneum as well. Seeing the body casks was amazing. The bodies are preserved so well, and it is really cool to see what the people looked like in their final moments. It was also great to walk around a city that's basically been dug out from the ground and stumble across a fresco on a crumbling wall or the original writings on the storefronts. It was amazing and I'm already planning a trip back.
posted by Stacy Dyer '96
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