Documenting your travels with words and pictures can be a major
part of studying abroad. But one UCLA student is going a step
further.
Matthias Metternich, a third-year political science and
international relations student, is UCLA’s own Internet
reality TV star.
Currently studying in Berlin, Germany, Metternich is documenting
his year abroad for NBC’s “Junior Year Abroad,”
an innovative web-based-program composed of videos and blogs
allowing people to follow the adventures of 10 American students
studying all over the world.
Metternich is no stranger to the international life. The son of
a German diplomat father and a Californian mother, he speaks
English, German, and French and has lived everywhere from Bel Air
to Ulan Bator, Mongolia and St. Petersburg, Russia.
After completing his secondary education at The German School in
Washington, D.C., Metternich was poised to head to a university in
the United Kingdom, but found himself being recruited to sing opera
at UCLA (he has since switched to the social sciences). Yet for
this academic year, he has again changed locales.
“I decided to study abroad because my life until now has
been somewhat nomadic, and I enjoy the thrill of new places and new
things, new people and new cultures,” Metternich said.
“Studying abroad therefore has somewhat of a different
connotation for me, since I regard abroad, as well as my current
residence, as home ““ if that makes sense,” he said.
After choosing Berlin for its student-friendliness and diverse
cultural offerings, Metternich was informed about the “Junior
Year Abroad” program by an Education Abroad Program counselor
at UCLA. He applied, and what began as a whim led to a call from
NBC and a sudden trip across the country for an interview.
“I flew to NYC, hung out with the rest of the cast and
hung out at NBC Universal,” Metternich said. “Conan
(O’Brien) was just down the hall and our photo shoots took
place on the Saturday Night Live stage. Insane.”
When asked to do “Junior Year Abroad,” Metternich
agreed, partly because of the unconventionality the program ““
for example, there is no camera crew hounding the participants as
they go about their everyday activities. Instead, Metternich
documents his own experiences on video, posts photos online and
blogs about his adventures. Another perk about the setup is that
Metternich decides what to cover and when to cover it.
“There’s a certain flexibility to my work,” he
said. “That doesn’t mean I don’t have to work, it
simply means that I’m trusted to do my job my way ““
that’s ultimately also the point of the project. NBC wants us
to document our experiences as they happen.”
When Metternich first became involved with “Junior Year
Abroad,” he was under the impression that it would be
traditionally televised. However, he has come to value the unique
opportunity for participant-viewer interaction that the Internet
affords.
“Part of me felt that because (“Junior Year
Abroad”) would be online, no one would watch it. I
couldn’t have been more mistaken,” Metternich said.
“Do I think the Internet is ideal? No. Surprisingly,
however, the amount of viewers is pretty high. The reason for this,
I believe, is that there exists for one of the first times in
entertainment a steady interaction between both the cast and the
viewer.
“Wherever there’s an immediate connection (between
cast and viewer), one can expect the intentions of the show to be
good ““ and the product to be real and
multi-dimensional,” he said.
In fact, the interaction that Metternich speaks of has benefited
not only viewers seeking to experience Europe vicariously through
Metternich, but also Metternich himself as a student and
traveler.
“I’ve received quite a bit of mail from interested
viewers suggesting I visit certain places within Berlin, Germany
and Europe,” Metternich said. “I can respond either
directly, through my blog, or on camera. (Therefore,) I’m
motivated to get out here and experience things. I, like many
people, have a tendency to kick back and postpone things. With this
show, I’m motivated to find out just what it means to live
and breathe Berlin.”
Metternich hopes that his participation in “Junior Year
Abroad” will do more than show people how interesting life in
Berlin can be. Ideally, he wants to show others that going outside
of one’s comfort zone can pay dividends ““ and the
sooner that happens, the better.
“If there’s one thing I hope viewers will take away
from this show, it’s that we students are in a position now
to take off and explore the world,” he said.
“It’s not later that studying or going abroad will be
more convenient, it’s now.”