In my last post I talked about 'shared experiences' but I didn't really get into detail on them. In this short post (which is being written on the train to Munich airport) I want to look at them in a little more detail, sharing what I believe they are and how powerful they can be.
First of all, how do I define a 'shared experience'. I'm going to use the summer school I just took part in to explain. If you have been reading ROATSomething recently then you'll know that I just spent two weeks in Salzburg with about 150 other law students from different countries. We attended lectures, took part in workshops, heard from various important legal figures and (some would say most importantly) socialised with each other on a daily basis. All of this was done together in what can only be described as a micro-community within the city of Salzburg.
It is defined as a 'intensive learning program' so if two weeks doesn't sound like much then I can tell you, as I take the second last leg of my trip home, that it was a very long time. It therefore boils down to this: lots of law students learning in a neutral university attending (more or less) the same classes - this is a paradigmatic 'shared experience' for me.
The point I'm making is that there something substantial before something will be a shared experience. The people I'm sharing this train with are not really experiencing anything along with me except the stale air and the unfortunate stench of body odour - thankfully the perpetrator appears to be getting off!
So what is the power of these substantive shared experiences? Well I'm going to let you decide after I tell you my thoughts on the summer school. There are now over 150 students from over 30 countries going back to their respective law faculties having spent two weeks together learning about each others legal systems and cultures. In this way, their experiences should permeate throughout their friends and fellow law students. Sounds potentially powerful indeed.
But that might just be me. Maybe everyone went home with haste and just wanted to get back to normality with the 'how was Salzburg?' conversation with friends and family only lasting a few minutes. I hope not though. I hope that people to back with enthusiasm and stories to tell about law, language and people. I'm going to try and keep up my end of this anyway.
I know I'm going on about the summer school but I've had very little to write about in the last six months, or at least not anything that interesting. I would encourage everyone to seek out opportunities like this one - even though this one landed in my lap - so that you can have a shared experience with like-minded people who you might not (unfortunately) have otherwise met.
Thanks for reading.
Martin.
