Paktikum Paper
The conclusion is a little rusty, but I always have problems with writing conclusions.
Praktikum in Staats Theater
When I first heard about the Rotary Youth Exchange program, my brain was preoccupied with other more important thoughts. I had high school, homework, and after school activities on my mind. I had little thought for any kind of study abroad experience.
Despite thinking little of this program, I decided to go to the meeting to gather more information about it anyway. To my surprise, Katie Brewick, an exchange student to Germany last year, attended the meeting. She supplied me with a very brief-yet informative-speech about her year long journey abroad.
“It’s an awarding experience”, she explained, “and not only that, it is a chance of a lifetime.”
When listening to her speech, I slowly developed the aspiration to take on the same exact task that she had undergone. That task, which is an immensely huge one, requires me to be an exchange student in a foreign country for a year. When I came to the decision to participate in this program, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. My mind was filled with the romantic and exciting aspects about exchange, never did I think about the truly difficult parts of it.
So my reader, to tell the truth, the feeling of nervousness did not overtake me until a week before my departure. That’s when I realized how little time I had before leaving the beautiful USA for a year. And, when time came to board the airplane perhaps you can imagine how many thoughts were jumbled up inside my head.
This went on the whole flight and I was feeling that I wasn’t thinking straight until I landed in the Bremen airport. There, I greeted my Rotary Club and host family for the first time. Then again, at that time too, my mind was still in that dream state. I knew that there were big adventures ahead of me. Now, five months into my exchange, I have come to the conclusion that my previous thoughts are right.
Since my stay here, I have transformed into a different person. Whether the changes I have undergone from my exchange are good or bad, I know for sure that I have gained knowledge and have learned more than plenty about my species on this planet. I have learned that with every single human being, there is a different personality and a way of living. That is one fact that I love about humans: every person, whether they’re laid-back or adventurous, everyone will always have an interesting story to tell. After all, we all live in different families, work in different jobs, and have different life experiences.
As for me, my life experience in Germany will be a magnificent story waiting to be written!
One experience I will never forget is my Praktikum. During the eleventh year of their studies, Germans are authorized to do one of these. Praktikum, a word when translated into English, is defined as “internship”. During this internship, students spend two weeks working for a company or a business while earning no money. Since I am here to embrace the German culture, I made a decision to participate in my class’s praktikum by working at a theatre in Oldenburg called The Staats Theater. There, I broadened my knowledge about the theatre business, improved my German, met interesting people, and had fun.
When I first found out about myself participating in this part of German schooling, my heart filled with angst. I did not speak German well, let alone did I think I could manage working two weeks in an office where German is the only language spoken. On the first day of work, I met Matthias Grön and Hanna Wanders. These people, people who I have become fond of, are employed in the Staats Theater Office. Matthias, who greeted me, first, took me to a place full of old and rusty cars. Junkyard, a place like this is called in English. “Why are we here?” I asked in German, standing in the middle of the junkyard with a puzzling look written on my face; like a story with no end. Anyone would find the junkyard a peculiar place to be when working for the theatre. “We are here to pick out a car to use for one of the sets”, he replied. It immediately made sense to me, so I began my search for the perfect car. Later, Matthias found an old, beat up, Jaguar coated with, I believe, a tint of red. He asked me for my opinion about his findings, whether the old jellopy suited the set and all. I nodded, hoping that my opinion mattered. And, as for that, day one was complete.
After the visit to the Junkyard, the rest of my time in praktikum went smoothly. I worked with Matthias very little, which saddened me because I grew to like him. On the other hand, I spent a lot of time with Hanna. Hanna, in my opinion, is a very helpful, sweet woman. When I first met her the second day into my praktikum, she greeted me with an open heart and a warm smile. Thankfully, she made me do jobs that did not require any German speaking. For the first week, I was only obligated to copy and sort papers.
On a Friday, the very last day of my praktikum, Hanna asked if I would like to participate in a theatre group with people my age. I, with eagerness, accepted her offer to participate in this group. When arriving at the place where this group takes place every Friday, I found how many friends from school were in it. After participating in the group, I made a decision to join the group…permanently. Now, every Friday for two hours, I enjoy theater group with friends I have made from both school and people my age outside of it.
The Praktikum in my eyes was a stressful, yet rewarding experience. If I could turn back time, I would love to relive my time working in the Staat Theater.