Just Like Harvard

Last night was the first Goethe-Institut Stammtisch. Culturally, it used to be common in Germany for men to meet regularly at a specific bar to drink and socialize. They even had a regular table: a stem-table or Stammtisch. I've been told that only old men (and foreign students, apparently) do this nowadays, but I still had a ton of fun getting to know other young students at the Goethe better.



There were about 25 of us. We had two big wooden tables reserved, and we rotated among them as people left or found other conversation partners. The bar (Kneipe) itself looked almost medieval, like everything else in Schwäbisch Hall, and was cavernous and brightly lit. It was definitely a place for informal conversation, not for sketchy encounters.

There were, of course, communication difficulties. Three Australians at our table were only in the first level of German, which kind of forced everyone to speak English. My roommate, though, doesn't speak English, so I had a really long conversation with her. I felt like we learned a lot about each other, and I always feel closer to someone after I've gotten tipsy with them.

I also had a conversation with another one of the Central College Abroad students about racism, collectivism, development, and social justice. I've always thought of studying German as an aberration from my social justice development, but he made a really convincing case as to how Germany fits into everything we care about. We have a lot to learn from Germany about simultaneously owning and moving beyond your national history. Our conversation also made me kind of sad, though, because
he said that he doesn't really have anyone in Iowa to talk about this stuff with. I can't imagine what it would be like to try to do the work without a supportive community like Athena and without friends who are so open to hearing my thoughts on these issues, and to sharing their own, even when they differ from mine.

All in all, it was a really great night. It reminded me of some of my favorite nights at school, when some friends and I would sit down at the end of the night for some deep and empowering drunken conversation. Germany: like Harvard, only with better beer. And a nastier hangover at seven am. Prost!