Germany classes study culture in the Bridgers and the Alps

In May of 2024, German instructor Kate Kithil and German professor Peter Schweppe will embark on a trip to the Alps with their GRMN 202, Intermediate German II and GRMN 450, Seminar: German literature and culture sections.

Over the course of the spring semester, these classes will follow the work of German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who wrote on his own journey through Southern Germany and ended in the Northern Italian province of South Tyrol. All interested students, regardless of their ability to attend the trip, are encouraged to participate in the two sections of class. 

According to the trip’s website the course will be “centered on building linguistic, cultural and logistical skills which will be helpful in Europe.” 

These skills include achieving intermediate language proficiency so that students can navigate speaking abroad and engaging with things like great engineering feats, such as dams and literary texts such as von Goethe. Finally, they will be learning about different transportation methods and studying maps of the areas for their travels. 

The trip across the Alps will span four stops, with three nights in each stop. The four stops are Munich, Garmisch, Innsbruck and Bolzano. 

“The whole idea is to base it around mountains. Because we're like, what is the reason that pulls people to Montana to go to school here? And quite often, not always, but quite often it's mountains,” Kithil said. 

“Doing a mountain trip with students from Bozeman, that is what I'm super excited about,” Kithil said. “Munich is much bigger than Bozeman but a lot like Bozeman in many ways because it's just kind of nestled up against the mountains and a lot of [what people do] is they ride bikes and they swim in the river and they go hiking in the mountains and they go skiing in the winter so there's a lot of cultural similarities.”

Kithil also talked about the various cultural avenues students would be able to explore in their journey through the Alps. She said that in Munich they would experience Bavarian culture but that there is a language shift and a cultural shift as students travel further south into Austria. She also described another cultural shift going into Northern Italy, where citizens speak both German and Italian.

The deadline to apply for this trip is this coming Sunday, Oct. 15 and was planned by Kithil and Schweppe through the Office of International Programs, according to the trip’s website. 

Kithil also noted that students’ financial aid plan can also contribute to their travels if they choose to participate in the trip. 

Kithil said one of the things she finds most important for students traveling abroad is to realize their potential in a foreign language. Things like ordering dinner and having a conversation with a stranger are real life success stories, she said 

“When you’re just there, and you’re eating and sleeping and living in Germany, after 13 days you’re like I know how to ride the train, or I know how to take the subway,” Kithil said. “You learn that things aren’t that different than you might think they are.”

This article is the start of a two-part series on MSU study abroad trips. Pick up a copy next week for Part Two on the trip to Morocco.