Emma Steury, from Grand Haven, Michigan, is an MSU junior with a double major in English and German. She traveled to Germany this summer to participate in the German Language and Culture in Mayen study abroad program led by Liz Mittman and Patti Spinner, both Associate Professors in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University.
This year marks the 52nd year for German Language and Culture in Mayen, a five-week program where students study the German language while immersing themselves in the local culture. Steury wrote about her experiences with this program in the following article. For more information on the program, see the article the College of Art & Letters published when the program celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023.
When I told people I was studying abroad this summer, they always responded with “Have so much fun, that’s the experience of a lifetime.” To say that this sentiment is true is the understatement of the century.
Mayen was an absolutely incredible place and the fact that I was able to travel there and experience life there for a few weeks this summer was an experience I’ll never forget.
Doing the Mayen program gave me the chance to immerse myself in German culture in such an authentic way. We stayed with host families while there, and I had the privilege of staying with the sweetest lady, Frau Göbel. On our final day in Mayen, she made my two roommates and I coffee and we sat in her little garden and ate homemade waffles from her secret recipe, which she was kind enough to share with us, and I am framing for my kitchen.
Frau Göbel did not speak any English, which was the perfect opportunity for me to practice my German and not rely on translation. She told us about stories from her childhood and how she’d seen Germany change over the years, and that was an experience I wouldn’t have been able to have if it weren’t for the program’s design of staying with host families.
Getting to actually live in and experience a German household made me feel like I was actually a part of the culture, not just viewing it through a visitor’s lens.
Another thing I greatly enjoyed about this program was the way the classes were set up. We had class for a few hours in the morning four days a week, and the other three days were long weekends for us to travel and experience different cities and cultures.
We had class in the old town hall in the city center, and our classroom looked out onto the city square with a bubbling fountain and a view of the most charming yellow castle and its gardens.
Every day during our break between classes, we would head downstairs and into the café next door to grab a bite to eat. We went so often that each of us knew what each other’s signature orders were, and we ordered in German so often that we probably could have done it in our sleep by the end of the program.
The familiarity of our routine while we were in Mayen was so comfortable and endearing — it made us feel like we were truly part of the community, which was a lovely surprise.
By the end of my time in Mayen, I was able to navigate the city without a map, and it really felt like a home away from home.
I will forever be grateful that I got to experience this program and for the wonderful people I met while I was there, both American and German.
I cannot recommend this program enough — if you think there is even an inkling of desire to go on this program, do it! You will not regret it, and you will cherish the memories you make for a lifetime.
This article originally was published on the Office for Education Abroad website.
