Everything has an End, only the Sausage has Two

Hello everyone! I am Giorgi from Georgia and I am going to tell you more about my experience during an exchange semester at RheinAhrCampus. I am 20 years old and I study business and economics at Tbilisi State University. My home university has a lot of partner universities and exchange programs all over the world. Hence, in my first year at university, I set a goal to do an exchange semester in Germany. I applied three times and finally, I have got an Erasmus + scholarship. My first choice was always RheinAhrCampus and it was really worth it to come to Remagen.

Remagen is a quite small town but it has beautiful landscapes and a perfect location. With my semester ticket, I could travel to one of the most beautiful cities in Germany and not only, Koblenz, Bonn and Cologne. Since Remagen is located in the middle of West Germany and western Europe, it’s quite easy and affordable to travel to the rest of Europe. Although if you prefer hanging out with friends like me, there is always something special going on in Remagen and in nearby cities, like festivals, concerts, excursions, barbecues, parties and sports activities. I have done lots of outdoor activities like jogging along the Rhine, cycling to Bonn and Ahrweiler, hiking to Drachenfels and Laacher See.

At the beginning of the semester, I set a goal to make one German friend every month, in order to integrate faster as well as to improve my German. Finally, I ended up with dozens of German friends, who made my stay in Germany joyful, enjoyable and more interesting and exciting. In this semester, from my friends, I have learned how to cook Rouladen (German traditional dish) and make a barbecue. I have learned more about German culture and traditions (“Maibaum” _ symbol of love) and cultural differences between different parts of Germany. In the end, of course, my German got better. I would like to thank all my friend for making this semester so special.

This semester I grew up not only in a personal but also professional side. An internship at Sprachen/Internationales was the best preparation for my future professional career. In the beginning it was quite challenging and I was struggling, like climbing on a very steep mountain, but in the end I realized how much I had learned and changed, and I feel very proud of myself like a man standing on the top of a mountain, who sets a new goal to conquer other higher and steeper mountains.

In general, courses are more practical and specific than at my home university. I picked out one of the most inspiring courses that changed my view on refugees. During the course “International Business Simulations”, we organized a lot of events with refugees in order to help them integrate into the local community faster and easier. I have made some friends there and I have learned a lot of differences between our cultures, traditions, languages and behaviors while hanging out with them.

This semester was so inspiring that once I get home, I am going to apply for DAAD’s Master program scholarship in order to come back to RAC for 2 years and do my Master degree here. I strongly believe that my first semester at RAC was a very good preparation for my future bigger goals.

In the end, I would like to thank Erasmus + for the scholarship, my home university as well as Sprachen/Internationales.Special thanks to my friends, my Buddy and international students, everyone who made even a little contribution to making my exchange semester at RheinAhrCampus unforgettable and a fabulous experience in my life.