What did a typical day at the college look like?

I was mainly involved in teaching beginners and in the extracurricular program. This included a bi-weekly movie night, a weekly lunch get-together in the cafeteria, and the weekly “coffee chat,” which I could organize freely. There, for example, I offered workshops on culinary topics (apple turnovers and spaghetti ice cream), painting (German expressionism), and linocuts (in the tradition of Albrecht Dürer). Sometimes I also collaborated with other departments on campus, such as the library, which owns a genuine lock of Goethe!

What image of Germany did your students have?

As a student, I spent five months in North Carolina and during that time, I was sometimes asked shocking and ignorant questions. It was different at Gettysburg College. Many students knew Germany through their own travels, and their image was extremely positive: they associate Germany with efficiency, intellectual power, innovation, environmental protection, prosperity, and an honest culture of remembrance. However, I am aware that the students at Gettysburg College are not representative of American society because they mostly come from the educated upper class, which can afford the college’s high tuition fees—around $60,000 per academic year.

What things did you miss most in Gettysburg?

Although Gettysburg is very lively for its 7,000 residents, as it attracts history enthusiasts from all over the world, there are no public transportation options out of town, so you’re more or less stuck. Many colleges in the USA are deliberately located in rural areas to avoid distractions from the allure of a big city. Unlike in Germany, outings and trips were therefore always associated with a lot of effort. The country has an incredible vastness and is designed for driving, which was initially a strange feeling for me as someone from North Rhine-Westphalia, who is used to urban density and buses running every 10 minutes. I also missed “real” dishes and cutlery. In many cafes and restaurants, there are only plastic cups, plastic plates, plastic forks, and plastic knives. And then the sidewalks and bike paths! When walking in Gettysburg, sometimes drivers would stop to ask if you’re okay. Walking or cycling as a pastime and relaxation is unknown to people here. A student once referred to the 800-meter walk from his dorm to the cafeteria as a “hike.”

What misconceptions about the USA were you able to correct?

The way political issues from the USA are discussed in German news often seemed strange to me. However, the news snippets that wash over us from across the big ocean were not representative of the whole country. I experienced the campus in Gettysburg as very progressive, diverse, and tolerant.

Do you have any tips for future foreign language assistants?

German is my native language. But sometimes I was confronted with questions about grammar that I could answer intuitively but couldn’t explain on a theoretical level. Therefore, I recommend that future foreign language assistants familiarize themselves with German grammar rules. It was also helpful that I was able to contact the foreign language assistant in Gettysburg the year before my arrival to clarify any questions. That took away the nervousness before diving into the unknown. And finally: Since the campus is their home, many students also wear sweatpants and pajamas in class. However, the faculty is always very smartly dressed. I was nervous about the small age difference between me and the students— and dressing a bit fancier helped me be perceived as a teacher.

More information about the foreign language assistant program is available here.