The German Experience 3 NEW!

Tübingen South Africa Program of 2012

Francois Weich went on the Tübingen Cultural Exchange Program hosted by the University of Tübingen in Tübingen, Germany           from 4 - 28 January 2012.

The Tübingen South Africa Program of 2012, which I participated in, was a truly enriching experience. The ancient town of Tübingen was the perfect city for my first overseas trip, with a history that dates back to the first century AD. The old town centre with its outward slanting buildings and even some cobbled paths really gave the city a historic feeling. The trip to the Schloss Hohentübingen History Museum, which is situated on a hill, commanding a perfect view of the surrounding town (both the old centre and the new developments) was very interesting. The museum boasts diverse exhibits – from bone, wood and even mammoth tusk carvings that date back far into pre-Christian Europe, to an Egyptian mummy and tomb.

Our schedule also included an excursion to Stuttgart to visit the famous Stuttgart Staatsgalerie after receiving a lecture about German art. Thereafter we were also given the opportunity to visit the Haus der Geschichte, a museum dedicated to the history of the state of Baden-Württemberg. The entire South African group seized this opportunity and we all ended up spending most of the afternoon wandering through the many exhibits. Another excursion took us to the city of Ulm where our entire group climbed to the second level (80m high, halfway up this 160m high church) of the Ulm Münster, the world's tallest church. Both to and from Ulm our bus driver, Franz, patiently waited for us next to the road while we were given time to play in the snow. My favourite location excursion, however, must have been the trip to the Castle of Hohenzollern, where we first had to walk halfway up the quite considerable hill it is built on before receiving a guided tour through the main buildings. Our tour was finished just as the sun was disappearing on the horizon, and we used candle-torches to walk back to our bus. This was also the first time our group had experienced temperatures of negative five.

Unfortunately it could not all be fun and games and we received lectures about German history, economy, philosophy, art, media and politics. Given all these topics everyone in our group was accommodated, regardless of their fields of study, and all of us learnt something new. Of course we also received German language classes, both for the absolute beginners and the intermediates in the group.

Our hosts deserve special mention and thanks — as Barbara Owen, the organiser of the Tübingen South Africa Program, and her team, consisting of Philina Wittke and Monica Furch, went out of their way to accommodate our requests whenever possible — right down to organising a trip to Strasbourg for us and helping us find our way around the rather complicated bus systems of the city and showing us the best places to shop. Our group leader from South Africa, Lidia du Plessis, also deserves mention for helping us settle in comfortably in Tübingen. It is just a shame she had to return to South Africa so early during the Program.

During the trip we all learnt a lot about Germany, Germans and German culture. As we were all placed in various university dormitories or apartments, we all got to meet new people and make new friends. I was fortunate enough to be in a small flat with five German students who I will not soon forget. Alex, Jana, Johanna, Max and Rodi were friendly, warm and helpful and we had many debates and discussions about topics ranging from humour to current affairs in Germany (they told me all about the debate surrounding the former German President Christian Wullf and the events surrounding his activities). I still have contact with both Germans and South Africans I met during the trip, and I hope to foster those relationships into the foreseeable future.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who made this trip possible for me. From Undine Weber, my German lecturer who recommended that I apply for the Program and helped me with some of the paperwork, to the Rhodes International Office who made the flight possible for me. Another thanks for the German organisers and the University of Tübingen for hosting the program. I am absolutely certain that the group I was part of and myself will never forget the experience, and I hope to visit Tübingen, and my German friends, again in the future.