Anika Bettinger and Johannes Krieger had an adventurous journey to Hillsdale when they realized the lack of public transportation in America. After landing in Chicago, the two German exchange students caught a train to Jackson, Mich. In route, they inquired about transportation to Hillsdale and realized it doesn’t exist. They eventually found a man who offered to drive them. Once in Hillsdale, they lived at Days Inn hotel for almost a week until they found an apartment.
“We really just winged it,” Krieger explained.
Hillsdale College has become slightly more diversified through the years with its various foreign student exchange programs, including the relationship with Saarland University in Saarbrücken, Germany. Bettinger and Krieger are this year’s representatives.
Bettinger and Krieger were already friends at Saarland and both study comparative sciences of literature, language, and translation with an emphasis in the English and Spanish language. They are in their third year of studies, and the major requires they spend at least three months in an English-speaking country. Bettinger will study at Hillsdale for a full-academic year while Krieger is here for the fall semester only.
They had three American colleges to choose from: University of Missouri, Boise State University, and Hillsdale College. Both listed Boise State and Hillsdale College as their first and second choices.
“I didn’t have any specific image of how it would be,” Bettinger said. “I was excited just to go. There were a lot of people applying. I was just happy that we made it.”
Krieger also expressed appreciation to just be part of the program and said that while Hillsdale is not the “stereotypical college experience,” he is happy to be here.
They were surprised to find Hillsdale’s campus to be quite a picturesque haven amongst the little southwestern Michigan farm towns.
“It’s very clean,” Bettinger said. “Everything looked like it came out of a book. I liked it though.”
Krieger expressed a similar first impression.
“Everything looked new and fresh cut,” he said. “It felt like somebody went around with a toothbrush cleaning.”
Through Fred Yaniga, Hillsdale College assistant professor of German, both students made many friends and become involved with campus activities. They participate in the German honorary events like the recent St. Martin lantern parade and the building of the Sukkah shelter to celebrate Chavarah with the Jewish club earlier this semester. They both attend the weekly Stammtisch in the Knorr family dining hall, where students studying German meet to practice speaking over lunch.
“Both Anika and Johannes speak English with great fluency, but they are generous enough to frequently speak German to students who are practicing also,” Yaniga said. “I think that it is exciting for Hillsdale students to meet students from Germany on our campus. This breaks the stereotype of Hillsdale being a small, relatively closed campus. It demonstrates how we are open to the world, and not just in word only.”
Senior Kyra Moss particularly enjoys having German students on campus after living in Germany as a child for more than five years while her father was stationed there with the U.S. Air Force.
“I love being able to speak German with them and use German slang,” Moss said. “I also like hearing their opinions comparing Germany and America regarding topics like politics and school. Since I lived there, it makes me feel connected to the culture and country I grew up in when I hang out with them.”
Bettinger and Moss have become good friends and spend time together on a regular basis. Bettinger said the best thing about Hillsdale is all of the friends she has made in such a short time.
“Everyone was really welcoming, nice, and helpful,” she said. “People made us feel like home away from home. We have found some great people.”
For Krieger, going to the shooting range for the first time with junior Eric Hodgdon is one of his most memorable American experiences so far.
“I was never in the German army, so I had never held a gun in my life,” Krieger said. “One of the highlights for me was going shooting with Eric. I was quite happy. It was fun.”
Hodgdon said he enjoyed sharing his passion for firearms, what he views as an essential piece of American culture. As a German minor, he also benefits from speaking German with Krieger and Bettinger and exchanging paper editing services.
While they have enjoyed their Hillsdale experience, Krieger and Bettinger said what they miss most from home, apart from their friends and family, is the German beer and bread.
“The American beer tastes watered down,” Bettinger said. “Since we are students and poor, the beer we can afford tastes watered down.”
After Hillsdale, Krieger will return to Germany to finish his degree and would ultimately like to become a translator. Krieger is already a state-certified physical therapist, and said he just ready to be finished with school.
Bettinger would also like to find a job in translation; however, she does not want to stay in Germany.
“I want to find a job with a company that has branches in the U.S. or Latin America,” she said. “My mom is already learning English for the grandchildren, she says. She is convinced I will marry an American.”
Eberhard Geyer, the Hillsdale College German department chair, established the exchange program with Saarland University more than 15 years ago, and there has been a good balance of student exchanges each year between the colleges. This past summer, Wolfgang Heintz, the international relations coordinator from Saarland University, visited Hillsdale’s campus after years of working with Geyer to get a better understanding of the school.
“Mr. Heintz was very glad to visit our campus and get a feel for Hillsdale in general, and he left with a very good feeling that the German students are in good hands here,” Yaniga said.
