Jaiden Heard
Study Abroad in Lüneburg, Germany
I studied abroad for 4 months in Lüneburg, Germany, in Spring 2025 with the study abroad program USAC. On this page, you can learn more about my experience while abroad and how I have kept these experiences with me.
My biggest goal before studying abroad was to immerse myself in German culture and language. I went in with an open mindset, especially since I was the only Clemson student in my study abroad program. I knew I had to make new friendships and lean on a new community to thrive while abroad. I wanted to improve my German language skills and travel to new places, both in Germany and other countries. In addition to traveling to other German cities, I got to visit Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Salzburg, Austria; and Gdańsk, Poland.
My language skills greatly improved, even within the first 3 weeks of being in Germany. I lived with a host family, and my host mom and I mostly spoke in German together. I also visited a church close to my house. I met a woman in the congregation who helped translate the service, and after I told her I actually understood a lot more German than I expected to, she wouldn’t let me speak in English for the next hour! After that Sunday service, I joined their Kaffeestunde, where I got to fellowship with her, along with other members of the church, all while practicing my German. They took the time to get to know me as a person and made me feel welcome not only in the church, but in Lüneburg. Being forced to speak German at home, in church, in public, and in class really challenged me, but also grew me exponentially. I even started dreaming in German! When I got back to the US, I quickly realized how much harder it was to speak and think in German when I started hearing more English around me instead of German. Being immersed in the language and culture was the best thing for me to expand my German language skills. Even though being immersed in another language was much more mentally exhausting than I expected it to be, living in Germany was life-changing for the best.
There are multiple aspects of culture that I saw that were very different from life in the United States, such as the food, transportation, and social life. There are two aspects I was most surprised about, one being the food in not only Germany, but in Europe. Beyond the food tasting more fresh, I noticed I even felt different within three weeks. I didn’t feel sick or nauseous as often, my skin was clearer, and my hair grew rapidly! I even lost a little bit of weight due to how different my diet was, even though I still ate many of the things I would normally eat at home. I was also surprised that the cost of groceries and food there was so much more affordable. It was so much easier to eat healthier and stay healthier when in Germany, including traveling to other European countries.
The other cultural aspect that I couldn’t get used to was how safe it was for children to walk around on their own. When walking around university campus, walking home, or taking the bus, I often saw very young kids walking/ riding a bike by themselves or walking with other students around the same age. I saw kids as young as maybe six years old walking home from school!
I went into study abroad expecting that I would get homesick being away from family, home, and my Clemson life. But surprisingly, for the first solid two months of being in Lüneburg, I never got homesick. Flash forward to mid-March, homesickness hit me out of nowhere extremely hard, however, not in the way I expected it to (missing home and wanting to be at home with my family and friends in the US), rather I deeply missed my family and friends and just wanted them to be with me in Germany. I didn’t want to leave Germany yet! I loved living life in Germany! Because of this, I made sure to not only reach out and stay closely connected to my people at home, but also leaned into the friendships I was building within Lüneburg. I became more intentional with the people around me such as going on weekend trips with new friends, hanging out with a group of friends more often, visiting a church, and talking with and doing homework with my host-mom. This has helped me to not only be more intentional with the people around me no matter where I am at, but also taught me the importance of staying content and present within the moment of where you are. I have gained friendships with other students in my study abroad program, as well as made a life-long connection with my host-mom, who I still communicate with.
I went into study abroad expecting that I would get homesick being away from family, home, and my Clemson life. But surprisingly, for the first solid two months of being in Lüneburg, I never got homesick. Flash forward to mid-March, homesickness hit me out of nowhere extremely hard, however, not in the way I expected it to (missing home and wanting to be at home with my family and friends in the US), rather I deeply missed my family and friends and just wanted them to be with me in Germany. I didn’t want to leave Germany yet! I loved living life in Germany! Because of this, I made sure to not only reach out and stay closely connected to my people at home, but also leaned into the friendships I was building within Lüneburg. I became more intentional with the people around me such as going on weekend trips with new friends, hanging out with a group of friends more often, visiting a church, and talking with and doing homework with my host-mom. This has helped me to not only be more intentional with the people around me no matter where I am at, but also taught me the importance of staying content and present within the moment of where you are. I have gained friendships with other students in my study abroad program, as well as made a life-long connection with my host-mom, who I still communicate with.
Before studying abroad, I knew some general knowledge about what Christianity and church look like in Germany. I wasn’t sure what to expect, or if I would find a church to visit during my time in Lüneburg. When I arrived in Germany and got mostly settled in, I began looking into churches that I could visit around me. I quickly noticed I was an outlier with my faith and didn’t have many of the same beliefs or habits as my peers around me. I was wary of the number of Catholic and Lutheran churches in my area, but during a meeting with my study abroad program, our program director briefly mentioned the few Protestant churches in Lüneburg. Surprisingly enough, one was a 5-minute walk away from my house and university campus! I felt the ache of missing the support I had from my church family and Christian community in the US, less than a month into study abroad. I researched more online about the church, the pastors, and their beliefs, and decided to email the pastor to meet and visit Freidenskirche Lüneburg. I got to meet with him for coffee on a Friday afternoon, and he connected me with a lady to help me translate Sunday’s service, as well as the youth pastor.
A couple of days later, I got a message from a girl who was an exchange student in Georgia (in a city where I have family close to!) who learned from their youth pastor that I was a student from Georgia. She invited me to their youth group that night, where I got to eat, observe, and join in their night of fellowship. Even though I had gained a small Christian community around me, it was more important than ever to stay firm in my Christian faith and belief since I interacted much more with those who did not have the same faith as me. This was hard because I had never been around so many people who were so outspoken against Christianity when in classes with other students in my program. This required me to stay true to who I am as a Christian, but also to take my faith more personally and intentionally when I didn’t have the same community to support me. Over time, my peers noticed this difference about me, which led to encouraging conversations where I got to share about my faith and why I believe it. Most of these conversations started from other people bringing up Christianity my actions allowed
