Carolyne Ulomy - Living German at Middlebury

Where Do I Begin?

On Friday, June 27, 2025, I stepped off my boyfriend's car in Middlebury, Vermont, a quiet small town in New England. It’s so small, there isn’t even a Walmart. I wasn’t here for sightseeing or small-town charm, though. I was here to do something bold: LEARN GERMAN.

Why German? Last October, I told my professor I wanted to do research in Germany. She didn’t hesitate: “You should study German here at UM and you should also consider the German School in Middlebury College” It made perfect sense. Afterall, my doctoral program requires three working languages. I already had Swahili and English, so German became my third.

The Language Pledge: Silence Before the Storm

Middlebury’s program is famous for one thing: the Language Pledge. Once you sign it, you commit to speaking only your target language. No English. No “just for a second.” Exceptions? Only in emergencies, think of a heart attack, not “Where’s the bathroom?”

On Sunday night of June 29th, all of us in the German School and other language schools signed the pledge. That night was… very quiet

Gladly signing off my rights to speak English 😄

A Day in the Deutsche Schule

My schedule was as intense as it was immersive:

7:30 AM: Wake up and get ready.

8:00 AM: Breakfast in the cafeteria (we sat by language groups) and spoke in German with students, staff, and professors.

9:00 AM – 1:00 PM: Classes: 2 sessions of Grammar/Regional Studies, followed by Literature.

1:15 PM: Lunch in the cafeteria, more German conversation.

2:15 PM: Homework, then clubs or extracurricular activities.

7:00 PM: Dinner, still in German.

8:15 – 9:30 PM: Homework if it was not finished earlier or maybe watch Too Hot to Handle, Germany or maybe listen to the news on Deutsche Welle.

Weekends: We had dance parties, karaoke, talent show or relaxing getaways to the lake.

Working on my homework aka Hausaufgaben while listening to DW news.

Exhibit A: My literature class homework.

Clubs That Made the Language Come Alive (yes, everything was in German):

Rap Club: We wrote our own lyrics, recorded them in the studio, and made a music video. Yes, I rapped in German! Our rap video coming soon! Rapping in German turned out to be one of my best memories at Middlebury German School.
Creative Writing: We met to write poems and stories. One day, we went to a waterfall for writing inspiration. Please follow the this link Meine deutschen Gedichte to see the German poems I wrote during my time at Middlebury.
Interreligion Club: We discussed personal faith and religion in Germany.
Fairy Tales Club: The professor told us German fairy tales. I joined later in the program, but I really enjoyed it, maybe because German fairy tales are a bit brutal.
Diversity Club
Yoga: I went once. I loved it, but I felt that my brain was already being stretched enough, so my body did not need to be stretched too.

German School offered endless clubs to explore, the only problem was finding enough hours in the day.

IMG_0831.mov

At one of our dance parties, my friend Kesi was just being her lively self.

Fairy Tale Club: Our professor telling Ashputtel, the German version of Cinderella.

Recording my four lines of German rap, I realized the rhythm was in the east while I was stuck in the west.

Seven Weeks, A Different Me (It sounds cliché… but hear me out)

The program was intensive but deeply rewarding. After seven weeks, I am proud of the progress I have made. I still make many mistakes, but I can now hold conversations on personal topics, politics, research, and even some abstract ideas. This experience has shaped my character and tested my patience and resilience.

I also had the privilege of living alongside many amazing and intelligent German learners from all walks of life, representing many U.S. states as well as other countries around the world. They ranged from students to retirees, from 18-year-olds to those in their 60s. One student lived in Berlin, Germany itself, yet chose to come to a small town in the U.S. to learn German. I learned about their reasons for studying German, whether professional, personal, or somewhere in between. Most importantly, I formed a few meaningful friendships and connected with many colleagues.

I greatly appreciated the compassion, attentiveness, and patience of the professors as I communicated with sentences that often had absurd structures. As a language instructor myself, this program has given me a new perspective on language learning, and I hope to bring fresh ideas back to my home university.

A photo of all Summer 2025 German school students, staff and faculty

My friend Tunisia and I after farewell party

Seven Weeks, Zero English

From June 29 until the afternoon of August 14, it was all German, all the time. That evening, we counted down to the moment the Language Pledge would be lifted. Suddenly, everyone around me was speaking English. After seven weeks, it felt oddly foreign.

Did I tell you …….

In my second week, I had my first dream in German, a vivid, full-dialogue dream. Strangely, I only had my first dream in English last year, despite speaking it for more than two decades.

das Ende!

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