“This experience changed me so much. It made me a better person and it was so much fun,” said senior Mary Beth Neiman on spending 11 months of her junior year studying abroad in Salzgitter, Germany.

When she first arrived in Salzgitter, Neiman admitted it was difficult to feel comfortable in a new environment. It was hard to be away from her family and communicate in a different language, but her host family and new friends helped her through those adjustments. Though she didn’t speak German when she arrived, one of the defining moments of her trip was becoming fluent.

“Everyone has their own definition of fluent, and to me, it is being able to hold your own in a conversation.” said Mary Beth, “In December, at the end of a three week internship. I realized I had gone the entire three weeks without speaking a word in English.”

Being fluent in German is one of her biggest accomplishments, and she still finds it hard to believe.

“I never thought I would be able to say I was bilingual, and it’s amazing that I can say i am.” said Neiman.

Though learning German was a highlight of her trip, Mary Beth also loves to talk about the other things she got to do and see all over Germany. Some of her favorite places she was able to visit were Hannover, Hamburg, and München. The Neuschwanstein castle (which inspired Walt Disney’s Cinderella castle), located in Austria, was “the most beautiful thing [Neiman] has ever seen.”  Another highlight was skiing in the Alps for a week over New Years with her host family.

Mary Beth was abroad from August 1st, 2016- June 29th, 2017. She said “it was challenging, but by the end I was so happy with what I had accomplished, and I am so proud of myself for overcoming this challenge.”

She encourages all current sophomores to apply to go abroad for their junior year, no matter what language they take. She would go back in a heartbeat, and wants other people to have an experience as life changing as she did. Her wise words of advice are to “Go abroad, eat good food, and learn another language!”