Studying in Germany

Monday, December 10, 2007

Ever since I was about 10 yo I dreamt of studying abroad. I would have normally preferred an English-speaking country, but actually, I would have studied anywhere that wasn't Romania. I was really happy to be given the opportunity to study in Germany and took it without thinking twice.

But I couldn't start studying as soon as I got to Germany, because I had to take various language tests before being able to apply to a university. My whole German-training lasted for about 8 months, given the fact that I had already had German in school for about 6 or 7 years.

Studying German in Germany was great. Language schools are really fun and the great part is that you are given the opportunity to make foreign friends, thing that I consider critical here. You will always need your foreign friends in Germany. I was lucky to have met many people from South America and some of them are still my best friends here.

University started and with it, I started to wake up from that lovely dream I my first year in Germany seemed to be.
Studying here is not easy at all. I'm not only talking about classes. It would be rather easy if I spoke the language properly. The main issue here is that if you're studying in a small university, where more than 90% of the students are Germans, life as a student is going to get a bit difficult.
I've never been extremely sociable, but people here really don't talk to you. It often happened to me and my other(few) foreign friends to be completely ignored. So you're right in front of them, talking to them and looking them in the eyes and they ignore you. They simply act like you're not there and look away.

This is what makes my life here a bit difficult.
Apart from that, Germany is ok. It offered me many opportunities ... to go abroad... and I can't wait to move and finish my studies somewhere else.

I would live in Germany if I were to be mostly surrounded by foreigners, which is definitely possible here. The country is beautiful and they have a great system. There are definitely a lot more +++ than ---, so I guess it depends on each person's priorities and criteria.

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like it was a real challenge that you took head on and conquered. I want to visit Germany at some stage, are there any recommended places to go or to avoid?