A Satisfying Year

So my German year has come to an end and what a satisfying year it has been. I have met many new and wonderful people, made lifelong friendships and learnt so much about different cultures and about myself.

I took on more hours working as an intern for Sprachen / Internationales which was great. One very positive thing I have taken away from this internship over the whole year is my improvement in public speaking. I am now a very comfortable speaker and was often grabbed at the last minute to join Mr Faulstich or Dr. Borgmann giving presentations to visiting university senior management representatives. Also, the International Business Simulations course I took assisted with my public speaking abilities and I even became an assistant teacher and took over lessons for Dr. Borgmann for a week.

I took on the opportunity to teach English to an eleven year old boy. I enjoyed the challenge of coming up with educational and exciting games to play with him each week.

My trip to Austria, although didn’t turn out quite like I had hoped, (ended up in Hospital for knee surgery) still proved to be beneficial. I have learnt how to cope in very difficult situations and it also just showed how great the friends are that I have made as their help was what really got me through the difficult time.

Another high point was that I had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe. As this was my first time in Europe I definitely wanted to take the chance to travel while I was there and now I can happily say that I have travelled to 10 different European countries.

I made a trip to Spain for a holiday and to catch up with previous exchange student Javier and this was fantastic. I was very welcomed into his home and loved getting to know their Spanish way of life.

I also took part in the international studies course excursion to Berlin and I found this trip very interesting and enjoyable. I particularly liked the Stasi museum and checking out the Berlin wall.

What I liked most about the summer semester was how active everyone became. There were endless BBQ’s and parties going on and people were outside all the time. Living next to the pool with free entry was a bonus and meant I often went over for quick dips to cool down in the heat.

What I loved most about my second semester was how comfortable I felt living in Remagen. I love that I could go walking through the streets and feel at home. I believe that no matter how long it takes for me to return (hopefully not too long), Remagen will always feel like home to me.