Heidelberg—Living after Living: An Inside Look at the Life of a Returning Student
MALIBU,CA - Tim Doocey lies supine—arms sprawled across the black, red, and yellow comforter that is haphazardly strewn across his bed after a late night drive out to that “really good German restaurant” in downtown Los Angeles that his friend had recommended he try out. Tim grimaced and his gag reflex kicked in as he tried to swallow down the mediocre jägerschnitzel that Kevin said was his favorite meal there. They had a lot of catching up to do. To Tim, a man experienced in the German culture’s cuisine, the jägerschnitzel just wasn’t, in his words, “authentic”. Of course, he made a point of letting Kevin know that the food they were eating was heavily Americanized. Tim had a growing feeling, with each bite he took, that the chef was very likely probably potentially only at most 25% German.
Despite his indifference towards the food, Tim still enjoyed the night because of how much he was able to talk about all the enriching experiences he had while abroad in Heidelberg. Tim Andrew Doocey could feel his recently-acquired strong confidence pulsing through his very veins as he led the conversation, doing upwards of 90% of the speaking. Aside from the intermittent "uh-huh", "yeah", and "cool"’s, Kevin didn’t speak much. Nor should he have. Kevin’s time last year could not have possibly been even remotely comparable to the life-changing year Tim had in Heidelberg—a year that is now behind him and nothing more than a few t-shirts, souvenirs, pictures, and conglomerated memories.
So this is where Tim finds himself: on his back, arms spread, and atop a German flag blanket. Kevin seemed to be getting annoyed towards the end of the dinner last night. Could he really blame Tim for, as Kevin put it, “hogging the conversation”, though? After all, no one wants to sit there and listen to someone talk about how great sophomore year at Malibu was and how Kevin “really had a fun time on the three-day trip to Catalina”. Tim knows he is on a completely different level in regards to Kevin now, anyway. Most of Tim’s references just went flying miles-high over Kevin’s head.
He rolls over onto his left side. Right next to the framed picture he has of his lifelong Heidelberg squad (himself included) smiling on the Die Alte Brücke, he sees his clock and realizes the time. He ought to get ready for class.
He gets in his car, reminiscing about Heidelberg after seeing the bumper sticker he got in Heidelberg and recently meticulously applied to his Prius. It says, “I’d rather be in Germany” alongside an outline of the Schloss Heidelberg. He misses traveling on the Eurail.
He gets to Pepperdine and has plenty of conversations with people from freshman year whose names he has no recollection of. Most conversations are along the lines of this:
“Tim! How are you?”
“I was in Heidelberg last year. It was such a life-changing, enriching experience because while I was there I really felt, like, connected to the people, you know? I fell in love with Germany. It’s such a beautiful country, and—”
“Cool! I’ll see you around.”
They hear him speak, but they don’t listen to him speak. They can’t comprehend. Outside of his lifelong Heidelberg squad, nobody understands Tim Doocey. Tim’s soul thirsts to be in Heidelberg.
He walks into Payson library. Sure it’s nice and new and all (it’s a year old but this will be his first year having it), but he would burn it to the ground in the blink of an eye if it meant he would get to be in Heidelberg again.
Then, it happens. Across the library, Tim sees a member of the lifelong Heidelberg squad: Sheila. They make eye-contact. Every noise, image, and smell around Tim fades. He hears the German anthem he had heard in Heidelberg rising from a soft, almost indiscernible volume to a roaring, triumphant song. Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit Für das deutsche Vaterland! All around him are the smells from Heidelberg. His vision tunnels in towards Sheila, a woman who serves as a doorway that opens the floodgates of Heidelberg feelings and emotions. He steps forward, eager to talk with someone who understands what it’s like to be ripped away from Heidelberg like he was. He doesn’t step as much as float forward in Sheila’s direction—the girl he went to Heidelberg with.
Tim’s voice escapes him. “Sheila.” She replies, “Oh, hey, Tim. I gotta (sic) head to class, but I want to introduce you to my friends: Caitlin and Tony.” She looks over towards Caitlin and Tony—freshmen, Tim assumes. “I went to Heidelberg with Tim.” Sheila—Tim’s beacon of hope in a campus nearly void of Heidelberg students—leaves.
Tim politely says, “Hey” to the freshmen and is about to leave until he realizes something. Caitlin and Tony’s eyes light up. They turn towards Tim, who went to Heidelberg. They say, almost completely synchronized, “We really want to go abroad. How was Heidelberg?” Tim feels a fire bellowing deep in his heart, the heart that spent a year in Heidelberg. These are people who want to hear about his enriched cultural experience in Germany. These are people who want him to take up nearly the whole conversation talking about his time in Heidelberg. These are people who won’t get tired of hearing Tim, who went to Heidelberg, when he lists his favorite things about Heidelberg. The fire in Tim’s heart grows with excitement—an excitement that is very great but still not as great as it was when he was abroad in Heidelberg.
Tim looks at Caitlin and Tony and responds, “Heidelberg was the most amazing experience of my entire life while I was in Heidelberg, which is in Germany. It was so incredible in Heidelberg that nothing else in my life before or after has ever or will ever compare to my life in Heidelberg, Germany. I strongly recommend Heidelberg to you two. Heidelberg. I don’t know what to do with my life if I am not in Heidelberg because there is no meaning without Heidelberg when I was in Heidelberg, Germany in Pepperdine’s abroad program, and the jägerschnitzel is so authentic in Heidelberg. Definitely choose to go to Heidelberg because it is the best and the absolute best because my life has gone so entirely dull without the color Heidelberg brought me in Germany at Heidelberg. I need to keep practicing my German from Heidelberg because I know so much and don’t want to forget from Heidelberg when I was in Heidelberg to be in Heidelberg culture so enriched and changed for my life in the Heidelberg is much better to go to than any place unlike Heidelberg the from Germany where I was at Heidelberg abroad and culture of Heidelberg in Heidelberg Heidelberg Germany Heidelberg Heidelberg Germany Germany Germany in Heidelberg abroad cuisine culture Heidelberg experience life Heidelberg is best than Heidelberg nothing else in life Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg Heidelberg...”
