The Daily Bulletin Archive

Lynn Engle, lecturer of German in the Modern and Classical Languages Department, joined five other Fulbrighters on the Year of German-American Friendship tour May 11–19. The program gave three groups of Fulbrighters the opportunity to engage with heartland Americans about all things German (Blue-white Bavarian villages in Georgia? German accents in Texas? Lower Saxon car industry in Tennessee?) and to gain insight into contemporary German culture and discuss transatlantic relations.

Ms. Engle traveled the yellow route, which took participants from Indianapolis, Indiana, to a traditional biergarten in Cincinnati, Ohio, and then on to Lexington and Shelbyville, Kentucky; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Helen and Atlanta, Georgia; Birmingham, Alabama; and Memphis, Tennessee. The trip concluded with a two-day international conference, "Building Bridges: The Fulbright Legacy and the Future of International Exchange," at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

Along their journey in VW camper vans, the group engaged with local communities in a variety of informal get-togethers. Stops included town halls, film screenings, music sessions, site visits, and happy hours. Events also included a visit with Interwood Forest Products, a subsidiary of the Fritz Kohl Veneer Mill in Karlstadt, Germany, to discuss the influence of Germans on the American lumber and timber industry in the Midwest, and numerous meet-and-greets with mayors and leaders in industry. Participants also took part in a German baking demonstration and a Bingo night with locals in Helen, Georgia. They visited the German American Cultural Foundation and enjoyed a Braves-Cardinals game in Atlanta. In Birmingham, they toured the 16th Street Baptist Church and participated in a roundtable discussion with executives from Greater Birmingham Ministries.