Wednesday, June 27, 2007
For 14 University students studying in Eutin, Germany, there’s no cuisine like Kansas barbecue. The students didn’t have to click ruby red slippers, however, to get a taste of home while overseas. In celebration of the city’s 750th anniversary, home-town cooking came to Eutin.
The students, who have been living in Germany since May 25 along with 20 delegates visiting from Lawrence, co-hosted a “Kansas night” to celebrate their sister city’s anniversary. The cooking for the event was led by Bob Schumm, owner of Buffalo Bob’s Smokehouse.
“We had cornbread, coleslaw and barbecue,” Scott Seeger, director of the Summer Language Institute for 2007, said. “It was quite the event.”
The Lawrence-Eutin relationship began in 1966 when the University began sending students to study in the northern German city. The two towns became sister cities in 1989. According to Seeger, events like Eutin’s anniversary and “Kansas night” rejuvenate the feelings of connection between Lawrence and Eutin and makes the links stronger.
“It helps you see how intensely Lawrence and Eutin really are connected with one another. ‘Kansas night’ felt like a bunch of good friends meeting again and spending time together,” Seeger said. “It always impresses me the amount of friendship and exchange that is put into the program.”
The rib nibbling and beer-stein-clicking camaraderie of the evening began with a rendition of Kansas’ state song “Home on the Range.” It was sung by KU students and Lawrence guests. According to Seeger, the performance set a good tone for the night.
“Since the chorus is the same, more and more of the crowd began to sing along as we sang,” Seeger said. “The feelings, especially among KU students, was real excitement.”
For the event, Kansas flags hung on the walls and students and Lawrence visitors wore blue bandannas. Regina Kroh, graduate student and assistant director of the program, confessed to having taken a large portion of coleslaw and thought “there are no antelopes in Kansas” while singing the state song.
For Kroh, who grew up in Mecklenburger, Germany, this was her first return home since January. She said while living in Lawrence she craved dark German breads. But now after returning to Germany, she missed American food. Kroh first moved to the U.S. in 2000 for a school exchange program.
“I lived the most part of my life in Germany and I will always be German. But I do very well in both countries and I miss one when I am in the other.” Kroh said,
Audrey Deeken, sophomore, said she enjoyed eating American food while drinking German beer, especially since it was not legal for her to drink in the U.S. Deeken said she was excited to have her host family try the Kansas cuisine and the event made her feel at home in Eutin.
“The Lawrence-Eutin connection is nice because we get to participate in things like ‘Kansas night’ and we are treated like very special guests the entire time,” Deeken said.
Lawrence further helped commemorate Eutin’s anniversary this summer by dedicating an art sculpture, “Eternal Spring,” to the town. It was created by a Lawrence resident and sits on the bank of the Great Eutin Lake.
The students will continue studying in Eutin until they leave on July 18. In September, Lawrence representatives will travel to Eutin to continue the celebration at a ceremony in which an opera singer from Lawrence and a KU graduate who plays the piano will perform.
— Edited by Joe Caponio
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