Personal Narrative: Der Fish

“Der Tisch! Der Stuhl! Der Fish!” my German teacher yelled excitedly, as she pointed at the objects in our room. Jumping about, she continued with, “An, auf, hinter, neben, unter!” This was how it all began, four years ago. It began with shifting my view to see that things can have different names; sure, a table is a table, but a table is also a Tisch. Through our class’ weekly songs, everlasting conversations, and crazy film projects, my interest in German grew steadily through the years. Aside from teaching me about the language and culture, this class taught me something else invaluable. From the beginning, when my teacher was jumping about, naming everything that she could point at, she meaningfully overwhelmed us. The first day of class …show more content…
The colors on the signs had a different hue, the streets were cobbled and even the clouds seemed different to me. Approaching a group of women dressed in costume, after kindly being called over, I had absolutely no idea what was about to occur. The women spoke quickly, making it nearly impossible to understand them. Before I knew what was happening, the women were offering me a prize in exchange for a sum of money. Little did I know at the time, I had just participated in a German pre-wedding ritual. Although I did not understand what had been said, nor did I understand the custom, this was situational ambiguity. Had I been afraid to not understand or not be able to communicate with the women, or been unsure of approaching them because I was not familiar with the custom, I would have never had the opportunity to take part in this common cultural practice. After this point in time, I realized fully, that it is was alright to not understand what is being said, and it is even more acceptable to mess up the language, so long as I was trying my best. That is the principle of situational ambiguity. I can credit the experiences of jumping into the chilly Atlantic Ocean, as a common Norwegian summer ritual, or trying reindeer sausage, moose sausage, liver pate, and even fermented fish to the principle of situational ambiguity. Because of this, I have experienced some of the most …show more content…
I am motivated and passionate about advancing my understanding of cultural practices in Germany, as well as improving my conversational abilities, and increasing my understanding of the language. Coupled with my passion of the language, culture, and politics, I also have an interest in American civics and governmental structure. The Congress Bundestag Exchange would allow me the opportunity to share my interest of politics, as well as many other aspects of American life with a host family and school. Additionally, the opportunity to take part in situational ambiguity, and try things that I have never imagined trying, or move out of my comfort level to create new experiences appeals to me