Odyssean Scholar: Christmas Time Is Here
Each year, UNC Charlotte awards one student the Odyssean Scholarship. Through generous donors, this scholarship is awarded to a student who has a demonstrably high financial need as determined by the Financial Aid office and who could not otherwise study abroad without the support offered by the scholarship. Each Odyssean Scholar blogs during their experience abroad to share their experience with the UNC Charlotte community. This year’s recipient, Shamim Chowdhury Sajid, who is studying abroad on the UNC Charlotte Exchange with the University of Mannheim in Mannheim, Germany, is nearing the end of his program abroad!
As my exchange is at its end, I would like to thank everyone that joined me virtually this semester for my study abroad experience in Mannheim. Studying abroad in Mannheim has been delightful. Every day was a new experience from meeting new people, trying new food to studying long hours in the Ehrenhof library before exams, I will miss it all. I appreciate all the amazing people I met during my exchange for making my Mannheim semester an absolute blast.
I think that there is no better time to be in Germany than in December. The beautiful Christmas market, cold weather, seasonal food all over Germany are what make it the best time to be here. Mannheim turned out to be extra gorgeous during this Christmas season.
Mannheim is very international and so are the restaurants. One of my favorite restaurants in Mannheim is the Black Angus Burger. I have been to it countless times to the point that me and the owner of the restaurant became good friends. The owner ended up inviting me to his home for lunch with his family.
This burger is different from any other burger in the world. But, the customer service was wonderful as well. If I ever come back to Europe, I am definitely coming back to Mannheim for this burger.
This was my student housing in Mannheim, Ulmenweg. When I first arrived here back in August, I was lost but excited to start a journey here. Now that I am going to be leaving, this place will just remain as a memory. Even though Ulmenweg was a million miles away from the university, taking tram 4, bus 60, or riding Next Bike to the university was a fun adventure. I am already missing Mannheim!
The best part of living in Ulmenweg was connecting with other exchange students and watching he world cup together at Gezet in Ulmenweg. I love watching world cup with everyone because it brings the human race together.
Recently, I also visited Bonn, Germany with my friends Achim, Casper, and Maxim. Bonn is the old capital of Germany before Berlin. While it was only a day trip, spending time with friends and going up in the mountains made my whole day in Bonn. I would like to thank my friend Maxim’s parents for amazing hospitality. Maxim’s mom prepared breakfast for us, and Maxim’s dad bought us pizza and let us stay in their home for the day. That was the first time I tried a salmon pizza, and surprisingly it turned out to be good. We ate dinner while watching the World Cup game of The Netherlands versus the United States. A day to remember with the boys.