‘Murica, the Beautiful ... and Sugary

Cutler Hall

“So enter that daily thou mayest grow in knowledge wisdom and love.” This is written on the upper top of the Ohio University Gateway to College Green. OU offers a beautiful Campus, consisting of various buildings from many different decades. The town of Athens is bedded into the soft foothills of the Appalachian mountains, and bordered by the Hocking River. Certainly a nice place to be. Ohio University was founded in 1804, and the campus technically is the city. Since this is my first time in the USA, I am still experiencing and exploring every single day. Understanding English in class is fairly easy, but I have to deal with a few difficulties outside of the classroom at times:

“Do yawannafroughfrossy?”

I stared at the waiter, with question marks in my eyes.

He tried another two times.

I felt a little helpless, and asked him to speak more clearly.

“DO YOU WANNA A FREE FROSTY?!”

This was my first visit to Wendy’s.

My classes in Athens promise to be very interesting, and I am looking forward to dive deeper into American history. Also, the Global Leadership Program seems to be very challenging, but it is certainly a tremendous opportunity. One of my classes’ topic is History through Film. From World War 2 on until the Reagan era, we watch diverse hallmarks of American movie making. The other classes I am enrolled in, are The History of American Journalism, and The United States in World War 2.

Shortly after I arrived at Athens, the town transformed into an incredibly beautiful winter-wonderland. Unfortunately, though, it is only beautiful when watching it through the window from inside, with a mug of hot chocolate. As soon as you step out of the door, your toes feel crispy immediately.

Athens Civil War Monument

My adopted American big brother Chris (who studied in Leipzig briefly last fall) showed me around. At my very first day in Athens, we went to a 50s American Diner on Court Street. Last week we experienced Walmart, which is exactly as wonderful and excessive as you think it is. Chris insists that going to a gun range must be one of my truly American experiences. He assured me that I will quickly become a German Annie Oakley.

One of the things I miss is going to the Mensa. There is no mensa cafe equivalent at Ohio University. There are cafeterias but they are not economical for people who live off campus. I also kind of miss German beverages and their reasonable levels of sugar saturation, but I will admit that I have developed a taste for Dr. Pepper. I arrived without any expectations, but there really is decent American food. I especially approve of American candy. Nothing can beat Milka, though, but I am certainly going to miss all the peanut­buttery snacks when I leave.