Found my Strength and Motivation

I have been very unmotivated and unhappy the first 2 years of my Bachelor and at some point I realized I needed a change in my life. Going abroad was exactly what I needed to focus on bettering myself and gaining back my strength and motivation.

I decided to study at RheinAhrCampus for three main reasons. The first one is the list of courses offered, that match precisely what I love to study and learn more about. Secondly, the opportunity to do an Internship in the Department of Languages / International Affairs, which meant that I would have the experience of working in a multicultural environment and understanding better the dynamics of working In Germany. This internship of course also made me able to fully support myself during the semester. Finally and most importantly, the people I first got in contact with from the Department of Languages / International Affairs that gave me the feeling that I already had the right support in Germany. Unlike most of my friends that also went abroad, I got so much help from the Incomings coordinator (Dr. Rashimah Rajah) that I instantly felt like I belong in RAC and that´s where I am supposed to go.

I first arrived in Germany in mid-September when the sun was still out and the weather was warm. I immediately got in contact with all the international students, got to meet my neighbors, and enjoyed the end of summer in good company. To be honest I think all the students clicked right on the first week and we all got along very well.

As the semester started I got more and more into the German culture. I had to work with German students in most of my courses and I have made a lot of amazing local friends, for this reason I never actually felt like a foreigner here In Germany, at least not in a bad way. People were always very respectful and even if sometimes I got stereotyped I made sure to show who I really am.

Regarding the courses I have never enjoyed studying as much as I did this past semester. I dedicated myself to my studies fully. The courses offered here are not the ones where you just sit in a room for two hours while information is pumped into your brain. No no no. Here, they make sure we international students have courses where we are able to have an opinion, speak, give suggestions, and share.

I must say that Intercultural Communication was definitely my favorite course. It gave us a safe place to share our intercultural challenges, to discuss current topics without judgement and most importantly to learn to understand each other’s background and that multiculturalism is nothing but fascinating.

Regarding my Internship at Sprachen/Internationales, I can just say that I could not be happier and more proud of all that I accomplished and how much I actually changed and learned. I am now a more responsible, calm and confident person and I would not trade this experience for anything. From this Internship I got to really understand what I want to do further in my life.

As the months flew by Remagen became my home. I love this little city that just makes me feel so relaxed 7 days a week and has this peaceful energy. My life changed drastically during this experience, I have learned so much and I have grown so much. I could not be happier with the choices I made this semester, and even though I did not get much chance to travel for personal reasons, I fulfilled all my professional goals that I had set to myself in the beginning.

I will miss all my friends, the Sprachen/Internationales team and Remagen very much and I don´t feel ready at all to go home, but I understand that being here was the incubator to my dreams and now I need to go back and fight to accomplish them.