First impressions of Middlebury from an international graduate student

Ramune Pansa is  from Kassel, Germany

Answer me one question: What are the first six things that come to your mind when you think about Middlebury?

The first things that I see of Vermont are a lake, lights of a town and clouds. That is all I can see at 6 p.m. out of a small plane, while Canadians, who are returning from a golf weekend close to Phoenix, surround me. They are trying to show me their best German and because I am sometimes polite, I give them a big smile, even though I don’t understand any of their “German”…

This is my first time in Vermont, where I am going to visit someone and to talk to a few professors. I am coming directly from Germany with a connecting flight at Washington Dulles, about which I could write pages — never change flights there.

It is Sunday morning at 5:30 a.m. I am waking up in a dorm, which is not normal for German universities. I need a bathroom, and half asleep I am trying to be quiet, to not wake anybody up, searching for my shoes. I am thinking, “God, why I am awake so early?” I know why — Middlebury kind of called me up. I am watching mountains, the hoarfrost, a few clouds and the sunrise through the bathroom window — that is why I came here, to see this great landscape. It was a moment of silence, peace and a German girl in a tiny Middlebury bathroom.

I don’t need to ask why people go to Middlebury — I also studied at a place like Middlebury but the systems are totally different. During my stay I got so many impressions of what it is to be a student in Middlebury, how the professors are teaching, what is challenging, how the cafeterias are, what it is to party and to join cultural events. Here so much stuff is going on that I asked myself, when do people have time to reflect, to think about what matters in life? Do they actually think about that or do they not think about that at all? I have talked to some Middlebury students about that.

They are freaking out, because of exams. Everybody is complaining that they have to prepare so much stuff. Of course a student’s life is full of new academic tasks, but what else? Are you prepared for what is coming after? This whole community thing is kind of great and fantastic, because you eat together, you have classes, study in the library, but when do you actually have time to be yourself, alone, feeling the silence? When do you get the moment of just being yourself, to reflect and to think the most important thing is not just to want that everything is “superfantasticamazingunbeliveablegreat”? I talked with some Middlebury students and I want to say take your time. You don’t always have to have the most brilliant parties every weekend — take a timeout for five minutes from your studies just to look at a mountain out of a bathroom window.

The first six things that come in my mind when I think of Middlebury are: an inspiring community, full of activities, great study conditions, beautiful landscape, in the middle of nowhere and stress.
But what would a student’s life be without any stress? It’s just that too much shouldn’t be the normal condition. And that is what I think you can learn, at least try to learn, from your life from Middlebury. Middlebury students can find a balance between work and these little moments of silence. Take this challenge!