My First Time in Germany

Hello! My name is Taffy Su and I am from Taiwan. I will be a junior music therapy major this upcoming fall at the University of Georgia.

Before this trip, I was worry and nervous about everything. I've never been to different country with a group of people I don't really know very well and I don't know how to speak German. I contacted my aunt in Frankfurt and she told me about many things in Germany, weather, people, culture,etc. But I still don't really know anything about this country. What I think about Germany before this trip are beers, sausage, sauerkraut, lederhosen.However, after my first week in Heidelberg, every thing opens my eyes.

People in Germany are environmentally friendly and they have a lifestyle that are better for the environment. Most people ride bicycle, walk or take public transportation instead of driving cars.They recycle just about everything that you can see there are many different trash cans on the streets. I also found that it's hard to get plastic bags in the store and people usually bring their own bags when they are shopping. I remember when I first went to McDonalds here I was surprised to learn that I had to pay for Ketchup packets. I think they do this so that people only pay for what they will need instead of taking a million free packets and then throwing them away to create more waste. It is a very different experience to see how important the environment is to the people in Germany.

After my first week in Heidelberg, I am very impressed about how people take care of their environment and how environmentally friendly this country is.