T
he past six months have been a whirlwind for Christian Kauth.
Since late February, the 23-year-old former Iolan has:
— Successfully completed 12 hours of coursework through Washburn University’s study abroad program in Osnabrueck, Germany, which ended in early July.
— Spent the latter portions of July and early August zig-zagging his way across Europe, visiting 13 different countries, swimming in the North Sea and camping in the Italian Alps.
— Returned stateside late last week, giving him less than seven days to get his affairs in order in Iola before returning today to his Washburn campus in Topeka.
“I’m still trying to catch my breath,” he said with a laugh Wednesday. “Being gone for six months, there’s a lot to do before I get back to school. There’s not much chance to rest. It’s just go, go, go.”
But Kauth doesn’t want it any other way.
“If anything, I wish I could have stayed over there longer,” he said. “It was the best experience of my life.”
KAUTH, son of Iolans Mark and Dianne Kauth, is entering his last year at Washburn, where he’s studying both German and English.
He originally planned to earn a degree in science before changing course a year or so into college.
The altered plans extended his college life from four years to five.
As part of his coursework to earn a degree in a foreign language, he was required to study abroad for a semester.
“I was completely OK with it,” he said.
And the experience more than lived up to his expectations.
Kauth lived in a flat, or small apartment, in Osnabrueck, a town of about 150,000 — about the size of Springfield, Mo. — roughly 100 miles from the North Sea coast.
There, he studied courses on the German and English languages “and a couple of business classes,” he said.
