Life Experience

Hello! My name is Komninos Apergis. I am 22 years old and I am from Greece. In this story, I would like to share with you my experience from the Erasmus Program in Summer Semester 2020/2021 at RheinAhrCampus in Germany.

I came to Germany in my 8th semester and it would be my last one if I stayed in Greece. It was a really hard decision to make because I knew that if I came to Germany, I would have to study for 6 more months in Greece. Eventually, I took the right decision and I went to Remagen, Germany, for my semester abroad.

I was the first student that arrived in Remagen and to tell you the truth I had no idea what to expect. When you are leaving your country, your city, and your comfort zone, especially in these hard times that we are living in for the last 2 years with Covid-19, it’s difficult to believe that a place, in which you have never been, could make you feel that way. From day one, I was already impressed. The way that they welcomed me was something that I couldn’t predict even in my best dreams.

One of the main reasons I decided to participate in the Erasmus Program was that I wanted to evolve my knowledges about my studies. I believe Germany and especially RheinAhrCampus is a perfect opportunity to do it. More specifically, I had the opportunity to speak and do presentations in front of people in German and English. I am not the shyest person but I didn’t expect that I could do something like this in any of these languages. All this experience helped me not only with my studies but also with my personal development and skills, which for me might be even more important than studying.

On the other hand, I will never forget the people that I met in these 6 months. People from different countries, such as Albania, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Germany, India, and Jordan. We all came from different cultures but had the same purpose to learn more about ourselves and each other. After a few weeks in Germany, I realized that I didn’t know a lot about many other cultures. That made it even more interesting. Every day, when you talk with each other, you realize how many differences and similarities at the same time you can find between different cultures. Also, don’t forget all these cities and countries you can visit. Remagen couldn’t be in a better spot. You have the opportunity to travel not only in Germany but also in to different European cities like Amsterdam, Paris, Luxemburg and even more.

Last but not least, I would like to thank Sprachen/Internationales and everyone that helped us and gave us the chance to be here these 6 months, especially in these circumstances that we are living in. For me, it was a chance to see something totally different, to realize and appreciate things that until now I thought were standard. After you experience this “journey”, you will not want it to end.
For me personally, if you have an opportunity to live an experience like this, take the chance! I guarantee that you won’t regret it.