Ella Calder and Allison LeBuffe share their German Exchange experiences.

Over the summer holidays, I travelled to Germany for a seven week exchange with my host sister Chiara. I was very nervous, knowing that none of the other New Zealand students were in the same town as me, but it didn’t take long for me to feel comfortable. My biggest worry was obviously the language barrier, but it didn’t take long to settle in. I spent Christmas in Bavaria with my host sister’s extended family, which was an interesting experience because most of the time I had no idea what was happening. I also went to school for four weeks. School life in Germany was very different to life at Columba, but the biggest difference was having boys in the class who liked to throw chairs across the room. I visited Hamburg and Amsterdam with my host family, and a highlight was when all of the New Zealand students met in Berlin for four days where we went on guided tours (in English of course) around the city, learning about the city’s history.

A month ago, Chiara came to New Zealand, and I was hoping to give her the same wonderful experience that I had had while I was in Germany. We went to the Six60 concert together and travelled to the Catlins for a daytrip, where we were lucky enough to swim with Hector’s Dolphins. We also went to Wanaka for a few days where the weather was amazing and we got to go water skiing and swimming in the lake. Unfortunately, the New Zealand leg of the exchange was cut short by increasing concern around Covid-19, and the German students were forced to return home after just three weeks of the seven that they were supposed to have.

Despite a disappointing end, the exchange was an incredible experience, and one I would absolutely recommend to anyone who takes a language. You do not need to be the best at speaking another language, I spoke almost entirely English, you just need to be willing to give new things a try. I made a life-long friend in my exchange partner, and we are both already planning when we will see each other again.  Ella Calder

Last Summer, I went on a seven-week exchange to Germany. The prospect of being apart from my family and friends for so long in a foreign country made me very nervous at first, but my exchange partner, Jara, and her host family were incredibly kind and welcoming. Luckily, I wasn’t expected to be an expert in the language and everyone was very patient with me even as I absolutely butchered it. I went to German school for four weeks and spent my Christmas holidays over there. Christmas in Germany was so beautiful! There were the Christmas markets full of lights and great food, many new Christmas carols I had to learn, and lots of traditions I had never experienced before. We travelled around in the holidays and weekends, visiting cities like Aachen and Hamburg, and an Island in the North Sea called Langeoog. We even visited Jara’s extended family in the Netherlands, and went to a production of The Lion King, which was confusing at times in the foreign language but so much fun anyway.

Jara, and Ella’s exchange partner Chiara, came to Columba a month ago and stayed for about 3 weeks. It’s a shame that the exchange was cut short, but Jara still spent some time at school, and we went on many day trips to some beautiful areas around Otago. We spent Otago Anniversary weekend in Wanaka, squeezing as much fun as we could into the last 3 days we could travel. I wish Jara didn’t have to leave so early, but back in Germany she’s told me that she’s already making plans to come here again when this is all over. Overall, the exchange was absolutely amazing and an experience I’ll always remember.  Allison LeBuffe