Week 6 was probably the best week I have had here, both research wise and tourist wise.
I have officially booked every timeslot I have for my office/lab space here in Braunschweig. I have a fully packed schedule until the Friday before I leave. I had to start telling people I would put them on a list and contact them if anyone has cancelled their appointment. I am beyond shocked and humbled by the way people have come together and helped me, a complete stranger, simply because they had free time. I love keeping busy and having a complete schedule, so I am going to be in my element for the next week. I also have presented my research to the Language department here at Braunschweig. I am usually nervous to speak in front of people, but this time I felt confident and I even got amazing feedback from the audience that I am going to bring home with me when I analyze my research data. I say this every single time but I came here expecting to struggle to find participants, now I am struggling to find the nice way to turn away people who were eager to help me. I am blown away and happy with the results of this trip.
My life here has not been ALL about my research, despite the jam packed schedule I have also been leaving time for me to explore and hangout with the few friends I have made here along the way. This week my little group and I went to a farmer’s market together. The farmer’s market here is not the same as the ones in America, as I felt like I was at an auction with how people called out their products. I got fresh fruit and some bread and some German French fry on a stick. I also discovered the Schloss Arkaden- the mall! The malls here are very similar to the ones in America except to use the public restroom you have to pay! To end my week with my friends I was invited to a “Typical German Sunday Dinner”. I walked into my friends house having no idea what that meant, but was ready to try new things. We cooked dinner together, something called Schnitzel, and it ended up being very good! I later found out that schnitzel is actually veal, and I am NOT a fan of eating veal- but it was an experience nonetheless! A typical Sunday dinner here consists of food and then going to the streets and interacting with your neighbors or friends. Imagine a downtown Penn State when there’s a home game- that was what I felt like!