I received the program manual about 2 weeks ago and have read through it all, so here's a quick update. Most of the manual's about culture shock, baggage guidelines, money, insurance, personal safety, and other things you guys won't care about, but I did discover where my culture immersion program will be!! The program will be at a boarding school located in a village called Bad Laasphe, Schloss Wittgenstein. It is designed to provide language and cultural immersion training for my year in Germany. It will be 3 weeks of intensive language courses combined with a weekly workload of 22 hours of the German language that will give me a basic understanding of the language which is absolutely necessary to be able to communicate with my host family (whenever I find out who they are). While at the culture immersion camp, I will also participate in orientation activities and discuss ways of dealing with homesickness, culture shock, program expectations and rules, and more.
I also learned where the mid-year and re-entry seminars will be. In January, the mid-year seminar will take place in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler near Bonn, which is the former capital of West Germany!! The purpose of the mid-year seminar is simply to reflect on our year so far, set new goals for the next few months, and work on solutions to challenges we may be facing.
The re-entry seminar will be in Berlin in late May or June!! We will attend sessions where we will reflect on our experiences, discuss what we have learned from the German culture, and determine how we've changed as a result of our year spent in Germany!! While in Berlin, we will get to visit museums, the theater, and presentations about the history of Berlin. Also, we will get to visit the Bundestag where we will be able to witness a legislative session.
I will update everyone again when I know where I'll be living!! Hopefully I'll find out soon seeing as I leave next month!!!!! :)
-Rachel
