Pacific Index

The German Club books October with fun events open to all

Lost, winding through food trucks, the German Club students follow their noses as their eyes are assailed with bold lettering and signage. Each food truck they pass by attempts to reel them in with preview imagery of their most popular dishes and best deals and prices. A man calls out to the students from his small green truck, offering free samples and an in-depth description of why his “pocket foods” is the best new food around and they just have to try. But the students aren’t there for mini hot pockets. There is a new addition to the slew of international food trucks this evening, Ein Berliner.

With the money raised selling unique t-shirts, the German Club can take students on adventures, like this recent outing to the Zesti Food Carts in Hillsboro. One of the newest additions to the edible artillery is the food truck Ein Berliner: a German food truck run solely by a Berlin-raised mother of two, Verena Wartmann. Offering a wide selection of German classics, Wartmann works from a base taught to her by her mother, infusing her own flavors inspired by various other European countries.

This evening trip to the Zesti Food Carts is just one of many events that Pacific University’s German Club hosted this month. The German Club aims to introduce German culture to new student learners who are taking German as their language requirement and need “culture points” to pass the class. Doubly, the events are for students who aren’t taking, or even planning on taking German during their time at Pacific, but who are interested in German culture.

Regardless of the reason, students very often attend multiple events after experiencing what they have to offer. The Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA), Sylvana Klima shares, “Everyone seems so happy to partake, and the good thing is we have a lot of events. Most students only need three or seven ‘culture points,’ but most of the people keep showing even if they have all of their points, which indicates pretty well that they enjoy it.” 

Taking inspiration and ideas from previous years, along with new suggestions from students, the advisors for the German Club host a considerable number of events throughout the year, ranging from chill movie nights to day trip hikes to festive events like pumpkin carving or Thanksgiving-type home-cooked meals. 

To find out more, check up on the announcement boards around campus or follow the Pacific’s German Club Instagram.