DANIEL HOUGEY
Heidelberg Columnist
While many of my fellow international students decided to go home for the winter break, I opted to brave the dangers of the wild — trains, dirty hostels and sketchy, old European men — for a month.
I was beginning to feel a bit cramped after a semester of close-quarter living with only 45 others and was ready to spend some time alone. Plus, I wanted to check more countries off of my to-do list.
Shortly before I ventured out on my own, one of my fellow Heidelbergers confidently predicted that I would end up missing the cramped quarters and boisterous residents of Moore Haus.
Of course, I objected. I assured myself that I was far too strong and independent to become lonely in only a month without company.
It took about a week.
Last semester, a major point of contention within our group was the noise level. The voices of a few specific students were consistently heard echoing through the house, classrooms and restaurant where we eat dinner.
Needless to say, not everyone appreciated it. As sophomore Ariana Long wryly said, “I think they decided the louder they are, the more fun they’re automatically having.”
As aggravating as those voices can be in light of my needs for sleep and study, they sounded amazing for at least one day — the first day of the new semester. As the house quickly filled and the scent of freshly delivered pizza drew everyone to the downstairs student lounge to excitedly greet old friends and meet new ones, the prodigious level of noise felt just right.
Several students have commented in the past two weeks that Moore Haus feels like a real home to them and how strange that sensation is. Although family visits were good experiences for those who flew back to the States, the students recognized the ironic truth that they were just visiting.
“I was ready to be back and see everybody,” said sophomore Ryan McCay, who was the first to arrive back at Moore Haus. He was so eager to return that he accidentally came a day early.
An interesting element this semester is the addition of nine students to our house, raising our student population to an even 50.
Russell Gaskamp is one of these fresh arrivals as well as the only senior, and the only non-sophomore for that matter, in the program.
While was caught off guard by the winter weather here, he said he did not find the returning students equally cold. He said he feels “like the group has embraced [the new students]” and that he has “never felt more at home in a house with 50 other people.”
This welcoming spirit was encouraged by program director Daniel Daugherty, who said we should replace the somewhat condescending term “new students” with “second-semester students” to refer to them as a group.
It has taken almost no time for us to grow accustomed to one another and to integrate them into our “family.” Returning and second-semester students are arguing about football, traveling, and playing at the castle together without a hint of awkwardness or inhibition.
During my winter break travels, while sleeping on trains and in train stations, eating on just a few dollars a day and showering less than weekly, I was primarily looking forward to the free household amenities. The happiness I felt upon seeing everyone back at Moore Haus surprised me.
Although only two weeks of this semester have passed, it seems as if we have made as much progress in growing closer together as we did in the first three months here. That is definitely encouraging for the rest of the year.
01-26-2006
