Regensburg 2015/16: Frankie and Sidney

I met Frankie Jeney a few times in the Max Kade House before he took my “Multiethnic Germany” class in block 5, 2015. It only took me a few more months to realize that he was actually not living there (though lived right next door, which is not that far away) but loved it there so much that he could easily pass as a resident. Frankie is on the German Combination Track, which, as it says on a post-it note that is floating around our department, allows you to mysteriously combine two majors—in Frankie’s case Chemistry and German. We are very happy to have him, especially since we know how busy he is as a pre-med student—though he still finds the time to go out of town, get stuck in fancy ski resorts, and even hang out with the German world cup team in Vail. Good for him. Both of Frankie’s grandfathers are of European descent (Hungary and Germany). His German grandfather grew up in Dresden and migrated to the US in the 1950s, and I am sure he had a lot of interesting stories to share. Because of his family history Frankie has traveled a lot to Germany (and many other places in the world) already. He also went to Lüneburg in 2014, but I think the opportunity of spending a whole year in Regensburg will take his experience with the German culture and language to a whole new level. Best of luck!

Unlike Frankie, Sidney Li did actually live in the German House. I didn’t see her there quite as much but, hey, I know that those Kaffeeklatsches can get tough sometimes. Unfortunately I also never had Sidney in a class but was able to get to know her quite well during many conversations in my office and also at an end-of-the-semester aka pre-exchange-program party at my house. In her application letter for the study abroad scholarship, Sidney brought up the German concept of Fernweh, literally the longing to travel and to experience other parts of the world, and I think she really embodies that attitude and feeling more than most people I know. As a Chinese national in the United States, she already knows what it’s like to travel and to get to know a different culture, and I am super excited to hear what she will say about Germany, and how Germany compares to China and the US. Sidney is a Political Science and Physics double major but might come around to accept that German is her real calling. I am glad we were able to work out the visa situation, and I’m wishing Sidney best of luck diving into a new adventure (and hopefully also learning how to ride a bike), yay!