Mission ‘Use a required assignment as an excuse to make friends’

It’s easy to stick to the familiar. In my case, the American bubble. It was about time to venture outside of that bubble so I took some time to ask an International neighbor about herself and how her German immersion was coming.

Maeve Hurson is a 20 year-old psychology student from Galway, Ireland completing a year abroad through the Erasmus Exchange Program. Having visited six countries she is no stranger to travel. After spending the summer working and traveling in Southern France two years ago, she knew she wanted to complete a longer program abroad when she got the chance. Erasmus is a 1-2 semester study abroad program within the European Union that is funded by the EU, and serves as a “great opportunity for [her] as a young European student.” She traded the National University of Ireland in Galway for the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. When asked to describe home, her face noticeably lit up. Although it is extremely rainy and cold in Ireland, “at the same time,” she emphasized that “when it is sunny, it’s one of the most beautiful places ever.” Being landlocked has made her love for the sea nearly skyrocket. The most important things to her are family and friends so naturally where they are, is where she calls home and wants to ultimately end up. If they would have fit in her suitcase, she says she would have brought them along (and also a blender). One of the impracticalities of being away from home is missing events like the back-to-back birthday she shares with her younger sister. Not to mention her brother’s monumental 18th birthday. Thanks to WhatsApp and facebook messenger she’s been able to keep in contact with the people that mean the most to her and partake in these events vicariously through video chat.

Fluent in English, Irish, and French she is now tackling German as her fourth language conquest. Aside from the language, the biggest differences she has noticed between Germany and Ireland are the improved public transit system and the blatant bureaucratic structures in society that must be strictly followed to do anything from register for classes to ride the train. Clearly a go-getter, her resilient personality helps her overcome some of the struggles she has faced as an international student. Initially intimidated by “the efficient German way of living,” she went to as many events as possible to push herself out of her comfort zone and make some friends. “Don’t be afraid to initiate conversations” she encouraged. In fact, “generally making new friends you think you’ll have for the rest of your life” is what she considers the best part of studying abroad. Most of the close friends she has made are specifically from the UK and Ireland. She shared that it can be “easier to get on with them and their similar humor and experiences. It’s easy to fall back on the familiar.”

Her worst experience in Germany thus far was being approached with sexist comments by drunken men after Oktoberfest during her first week here. It was disappointing for her to see that side of Germans. When you don’t live here and don’t speak the language it can feel particularly scary. Thankfully after the whole festival, she found that people were mostly respectful, but this drunk mentality is still not excusable. For this reason, she always travels in groups and feels safer always having at least one male in the group. Harassment is hard to avoid and we agreed that this is one of the sad realities of traveling independently as a woman. These encounters can cast a shadow on memories that would have otherwise been nearly perfect.

I asked whether or not she thinks her answers would have been drastically different if the interview had been conducted in one of her other fluent languages. She described how it can be “hard to convey things exactly how you mean” when you’re not speaking your first language, but overall it would be similar with a few holes where there is “no direct translation for certain vocabulary.” We connected over seemingly small things like the beach, but below the surface, our love for the sea is much deeper than just a hobby. It’s something we tie to home. Two different coasts on two different continents that mean the world to two girls who just met. A perfect example of how conversation brings people together and homesickness knows no boundaries.