Farewell to Our Graduate Exchange Students!

The German Department was so fortunate to host two graduate exchange students for the 24/25 academic year, Marlene Teige (TU Dresden) and Julian Bastian (Universität Trier). They have written reflections on their time at Georgetown, and we are going to greatly miss them!

Marlene Teige (TU Dresden)
„Und was machen Sie jetzt daraus?“ – THE Pfeiffer-Interpretation Question will guide my short reflection on an exchange year at Georgetown University, in Washington, DC.

I have been given the opportunity to learn that Kleist is an author that loves coincidence to be a part of his prose. Just like Kleist’s prose, it was more or less a coincidence that I found out about the exchange between TU Dresden and Georgetown University. When I first came to the US, I was not sure what to expect.

I wrote down a list of questions before entering the US. I want to share some of these questions briefly:

• Why do Americans decide to study German?
• How is German taught?
• How is literature treated? How is the literature contextualized?

***Disclaimer***

I now see how some of these questions might come off as naïve, but as I had never been in the US before, I was curious how this system works.

Here are some of the things I found. Let’s call them “Fundstücke,” or to be more on Kleist’s theme, “Findlinge”:

I was wondering why people in the US were so tempted to learn German that they not only want some insights but want to actually study it and get into research. It was kind of eye opening, once again, to realize how beautiful the German language actually is. So the interest in learning the structure of the language, the connotations, the context and cultural background is more than understandable. One area I found interesting were the many different ways of approaching a language.

I found classes at Georgetown that focus on active communication and have genuine interests in what students think. The seminars lived from the interaction and the exchange of thoughts that are based on extensive preparation. Reading is the essence for all that I’ve learned and I`ve learned a lot. Writing was an improvement of the ability to make the new knowledge productive, and discussing it led to a deeper understanding and a change of perspective.

The way we contextualized literature gave me the chance to reflect on Germany’s background and its international relations. In some sort of way, I learned a lot about where I come from.

So let`s go back to the leading question: What do I do with all of that?

I want to teach what I´ve learned, and inspire others in the ways I`ve been inspired. I will continue reading – now that I am able to read in double time, there is no doubt that the number of books in my booklist will decrease.

And I will keep all the gratitude I am feeling towards the people I’ve met. It was not only a pleasure but an experience I shall not forget. What I learned in the US will stick with me and eventually influence my future.

Julian Bastian (Universität Trier)
Wunderschönen guten Tag aus Washington DC,

I am here to talk about the last 10 months. I will tell you the truth and nothing but the truth. First of all, I have to admit that I like nothing more than a really cold Fanta Grape!

You might be thinking: why is this information important in this context? But sometimes, you just have to wait to see the bigger picture…

I started my adventure in August ’24—alone and with two suitcases full of Germany’s finest clothing collection. After selling all my furniture, I flew to Baltimore, where no one was waiting for me at the airport. So I went on my first quest: get to Washington DC. I deeply believe that life is good, so I accepted the offer from this charismatic young man to drive me to DC. Some people would say that’s crazy… yeah, thinking about it again, I realize it could’ve been a dangerous situation, buuut it worked out for me—like so many things in the States.

Anyway, back to the car ride. This incredibly nice man drove me from Baltimore (A) to Washington (B) without causing any life-threatening problems. And I learned so much about the city: the neighborhoods, gentrification, the different universities, and how some groups behave. That was maybe the best introduction I’ve ever had to a new city—real talk!

He dropped me off in front of my hostel in AdMo, where the next task awaited me. The problem was: I had booked the hostel with my mum’s credit card. And maybe it’s a surprise to you, but my name is not Sabine Bastian Jr. But no problem for my man Benjamin…

Just to clarify: I won’t explain everything that happened in such detailed fashion.

My time as a Georgetown student ended so fast… I began my studies in August as a young, blonde guy from Germany with fewer grey hairs and fewer wrinkles. But the wrinkles are from laughing so much—and the grey hair? That’s from not getting any vitamins in my diet here.

The classes taught me a lot, but life taught me even more.

“Live, Laugh, Love”—a simple saying to live by, but a hard one to pronounce for me as a German. But that’s exactly what I did here.

Every day I tried to follow this deep advice. I mean, there’s a reason why so many people in Germany choose it as their first tattoo… no one really knows what it means, but it’s provocative.

My path to Georgetown wasn’t the straightest, but my walk to Georgetown was really straight. Every morning I walked along the Potomac River to Georgetown, the Rosslyn skyline in front of me. A motivational walk—with the knowledge that I was going to destroy the day again in table tennis.

To have meaningful talks in the parlor about the animal of the month.

To see people you like every day!

But there is one really big point to complain about:

There is no Fanta Grape at Kaffeestunde. Fanta Grape is the best taste ever! Even better than fruit punch. I argue that an American exchange experience is incomplete without grapes.

To prove this last point, I’ve done some research—from the perspective of a Fanta Grape.

All the best,
Julian