My first flight left Milwaukee around 1:30 p.m. on May 27. I waited about two hours in Detroit for my flight to Munich, Germany.

The flight felt shorter than expected, and it was almost impossible to sleep because of my excitement about the trip to Germany. Upon arrival, I had the exciting task of navigating my way to the city of Ulm from Munich by train.

I rode a tram to the train station in Munich, and then a train took me to Burgau, where I finished by riding a bus to downtown Neu-Ulm.

My host mother greeted me, drove me around the city for a moment then took me to their house. We took the dogs out for a walk, which followed a path throughout Ulm and Neu-Ulm. We then returned and went to a Biergarten for my first traditional German meal, leberkäse.

On Monday, my host father took me to the Rathaus (city hall) so that I could finish all the logistics of my work. I met a few people who helped with the program from the German side. Then I went to work for the first day.

My first job here was at Gartneri Blessings, a vegetable farm. Here I would spend my days planting, harvesting and washing vegetables. It was a fantastic job and allowed me to improve my German skills because only two people could speak some English. I concluded this job on Friday the 17 and will begin my new job soon after my week with my family.

The language barrier was something that caused concern. Still, everyone here is very understanding regarding any struggles I have with the language. It also helps that many people in the city or stores know some English and enjoy practicing. It is fun in my host family’s house because they like to speak English, but I answer in German, making them switch back, allowing me to practice myself.

Traveling has been easy here this summer, due to the special deal on the trains Germany has implemented. They have a nine-Euro ticket, allowing me to travel for a whole month with the purchase of one ticket anywhere on the regional trains. This ticket allowed me to visit the synod convention for the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church. Here I was able to meet up with my former German teacher at MLC, James Danell.

Things have been incredible the first three weeks. I look forward to my next couple of weeks. My next job will be helping the city of Ulm organize the International Danube Festival, which will surely be a highlight of my trip.

— Noah Schaewe is a pre-seminary student at Martin Luther College and an outbound Hans Joohs Cultural Exchange intern in Ulm, Germany. Part of the internship is reporting on his time in Germany.