Never give up!

Hello or maybe it’s better to say Hallo! Hallo Zusammen!
I am Veriko an Erasmus+ program exchange student from Georgia. I want to tell you my story about the beautiful exchange semester in Germany. It is really hard for me to express my feelings about these 6 months only in one little blog post but I will try my best to shape a vivid picture of my German adventure in your minds.
Everything started in 2019. Yes, it was way earlier than you could imagine. I applied for the Erasmus+ scholarship to come to RheinAhrCampus but I failed. I was not that confident and because of this disappointment did not even want to try to apply one more time. However, it was the last day of the application deadline for winter semester 2020-2021 when I decided to take a second chance. And look! Now I am writing the experience report from my little, lovely apartment at the Bahnhof Straße 4, Remagen! With that, I want to tell you that my semester started already with a huge lesson – to Never Give Up!
Yet, it was not all! The Global pandemic has started. I was confused, I did not know if I could come to the RheinAhrCampus and spend time there, about what I was dreaming so long. I did not give up that time as well! I tried as hard as I could to finally come to Remagen and start my student life. 
The Team of Sprachen/Internationales was more than helpful and supportive at those hard times. They made everything happen - helped me travel during the pandemic and safely land in Germany. I was really happy and sad at the same time because I was expecting face-to-face (or I could even say “normal”) communication and real campus life, which unfortunately could not happen due to the nowadays situation. However, I was mistaken with my sadness! Even with online learning, online group activities, online parties it was amazing! Yes, we “partied” a lot in the digital space. The format was absolutely appropriate and it also contained much fun! When we had an opportunity, we did some outdoor activities – I loved the treasure hunt game, which was the starting point of our friendship with the international students. Our team won the prize for first place! It was real fun!
I even traveled a little. It was fascinating to see German architecture and non-urban landscapes. I could not imagine that Germany was such a colorful country, but when I visited the lovely town Ahrweiler it was all clarified! I felt like I was walking in Van Gogh’s vivid pictures on the red, orange, yellow and green colorings. I have seen the magnificent castle of Brühl, visited Dusseldorf, Saarbrücken and even could go to Luxemburg, which was a different country with its amazing culture and architecture. I do not say anything about Cologne, Bonn and Koblenz because they were the places which I went usually to. I know them like I know my home city – Tbilisi. They are different but I love them and will definitely miss them! How could I not miss the Cologne Cathedral?! I have been there thousand times and still every time it shocks me with its majesty and glory!
I should also mention that I have been an intern at the Languages and International affairs department. It was a huge experience to cooperate with people from different nationalities and on the other hand, be united under the German organized and very punctual working environment. I took a lot from my internship and I think I have grown as a professional. 
But the most memorable from my semester abroad is, of course, people! I am very emotional to write about them. I could not imagine that it was possible to be friends at the same time with so many different people from so many different countries, to love and admire them. Without them, my semester would not be that great because they created an international atmosphere where I felt comfortable and like home. We had so many differences, so many ideas, so many views, so many dreams, goals, and no matter what we managed to create one big international family. I really learned from this semester that nothing matters: neither cultures, nor traditions, or lifestyle, we are united! We had so many in common but most important we had the will to spend an amazing semester together and take from it as much as possible! I already miss them and hope to see them in the nearest future!
It is really hard to stop writing because it is impossible to tell you about everything on only one page, I can only advise you to take any possible chance to have an exchange semester! I wish you to experience the same I did! Thanks to all who made this happen and helped me to have an unforgettable life experience.