It has officially been two weeks since I arrived in Mannheim, Germany (aka Mannhome!), and a lot has happened—so let me fill you in!
Remember the lost keychain and suitcase fiasco? Well, it all turned out alright. Delta emailed me to let me know that my keychain/wallet and AirPods had been turned in. Luckily, my AirPods were still there, despite having all three of my debit cards, my driver’s license, and 300 euros in cash stolen. It was hilarious when I asked the Delta worker over the phone if she could open the AirPods case to make sure they were actually in there… (I’ve had my AirPods stolen before—just the AirPods, not the case). They were indeed inside! I immediately had the keychain shipped to my parents’ house along with my new debit cards. In the meantime, I Venmoed with friends and exchanged the 100 dollars my dad gave me at the airport into euros.
Honestly, once that problem was solved, I moved on to the next one: my suitcase. The man at the Frankfurt Airport guaranteed me that it would be delivered by 5 p.m. on Monday (I had arrived in Frankfurt on Sunday morning). Guess what wasn’t there by 5 p.m. on Monday? My suitcase. The good news is that it finally arrived at 9 p.m. that night. I was at the grocery store, Penny, near my apartment when my roommate Allie called and said that someone had knocked on our apartment door (on the fifth floor, by the way) with my suitcase. It was strange, but I didn’t ask any questions—I was just grateful it had arrived. I seriously thought I’d never see that suitcase again! It was a travel nightmare, but once I got all my belongings and finally got some sleep, I felt (somewhat) back to normal.
Adjusting to Mannheim
New city, new people, new experiences—it’s all so exciting! When I first walked out of the train station into the streets of Mannheim, it felt like I was in a movie. I was so jet-lagged and exhausted, yet wide awake at the same time. Since I’m familiar with German culture, I haven’t experienced much culture shock, but there are definite differences between Columbia, SC, and Mannheim. Most of them I’m excited to embrace—using more public transportation, recycling, and speaking German when out and about!
A few things have surprised me, though. First, the weather has been unexpectedly beautiful! When I lived in Rheinland-Pfalz, we saw the sun maybe 100 days a year—it was always so gloomy and rainy. But since arriving in Baden-Württemberg, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to see sunshine almost every day. Another surprise is the diverse immigrant population here. Mannheim has a much different feel than the rural village I used to live in, as it’s a mix of people from all over the world.
My Living Situation
Our apartment is located between the Rhine and Neckar rivers, right on the border of Rheinland-Pfalz and Baden-Württemberg! The apartments are shared flats with other international students. Some have shared kitchens, while others have personal stoves, fridges, and sinks inside each room. I (fortunately? unfortunately? still deciding…) got placed in a six-person shared flat with my own kitchen.
I can’t decide whether I prefer this setup or a shared kitchen. I love the freedom of cooking whenever I want and keeping my space clean, but I also wish I interacted with my roommates more. Since there’s no common space—just bedrooms, two toilets, and a shower—the only way my roommate Allie (who is also in my cohort) and I can hang out is by going into each other’s rooms. Other than Allie, I’ve only met one of my other roommates so far. Our paths just never seem to cross, which is so strange to me!
International Winter Academy
All of the Americans in our cohort, along with two others—one from Brazil and one from France—signed up for the International Winter Academy (IWA) alongside about 50 other international students studying abroad here! IWA is a four-week intensive German language course that gives us time to adjust before our semester classes start.
Our schedule is 9 a.m.–1:15 p.m., Monday through Friday, and we were placed into classes based on our German proficiency. Four of us are minoring in German and were placed in advanced levels, while those with no prior experience are in the beginner class. It’s been great getting so many hours of German practice each day while still having afternoons and evenings free for other activities—eating at the Mensa (the university cafeteria), attending seminars, grocery shopping, running, cooking, doing laundry, blogging, talking with friends back home, and getting to know my cohort!
The IWA also organizes informative seminars after class on topics like city life, German history, and the economy. I’ve attended a few, and I’ve really enjoyed them, especially the ones about the economy. Personally, I learn better through conversations and travel rather than structured classes, so being here in Germany has made history and current events come to life—especially with the ongoing German election and economic recession.
Exploring My New Home
January 12–25 was filled with welcome events, seminars, winter academy classes, getting our Mensa and laundry cards, grocery shopping, unpacking, figuring out transportation, learning the city layout, and catching up on sleep!
Some fun activities I’ve done so far include:
Dinners with the Germans in our cohort
A tour of the Schloss (our baroque palace-turned-university—fun fact: it has one more window than Versailles!)
A day trip to Heidelberg
Ice skating
Winter Lights at Luisenpark
A trip to Strasbourg, France
Quick Highlights
University of Mannheim & the Schloss
The baroque palace, or Schloss, is the heart of the University of Mannheim’s campus. Covering six hectares with a facade stretching 440 meters, it was originally built between 1720 and 1760 as the winter residence of the Prince Elector of the Palatinate. Over the years, it has been rebuilt several times due to war damage.
Heidelberg
Heidelberg is a gorgeous historic city and home to Germany’s oldest university. Our group took a quick 16-minute train ride there for a day trip. Despite being a small city, we kept busy walking through charming streets, admiring the architecture, hiking up to the castle for stunning city views, and watching the sunset from the Alte Brücke (the Old Bridge) over the Neckar River. While there, I had a chai latte and a delicious tomato soup—perfect for warming up in the cold 30-degree weather! Strasbourg, France
Located near the German-French border, Strasbourg has a fascinating mix of cultures. Surprisingly, I didn’t hear as much German as I expected. Thankfully, my friends Neeha and Delaney know a little French and helped me order food! We spent the day strolling through the city, eating an amazing chicken toast (see pic!), visiting the Strasbourg Cathedral (the second-largest in France), and exploring a modern art museum. It was so fun to take our time and enjoy all the artwork and scenic routes through the city!
That’s a wrap on my first two weeks! It’s been a whirlwind, but I’m so excited for what’s ahead.
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