On 3 December, just a week after my last exam of 2017, I travelled to Germany as part of an exchange program.
For two months, I stayed with an amazing host family and lived life as a German teenager, and it was an unforgettable experience.
One of the most surprising things about my exchange was the small cultural differences between Germany and New Zealand. I expected the two countries to be similar, and for the most part I was right, but there were a few small changes that really threw me off when I was first beginning to adjust. For example, in Germany, sparkling water is the norm – rather than drinking tap water, my host family would buy dozens of bottles of sparkling water. Driving on the other side of the road was also an interesting experience; more than a few times, I had a brief moment of panic, expecting a collision with other cars.
I attended school in Germany, which was very different to school in New Zealand. My school had no school uniforms, and not only was it co-ed, it also had students as young as ten. The subjects I took were also different – I had thirteen subjects in total (and my host sister had even more), which ranged from Philosophy and Sociology, to English, German, and Maths. The school day started before 8AM every morning, and finished anywhere between midday and 5PM. These differences, added to the fact that everyone spoke insanely fast German, meant that I spent a lot of my time at school very confused.
Easily the highlight of my trip, though, was spending a week in Berlin early in January with the other exchange students from New Zealand. Although it was impossible to see everything in such a short time frame, we were lucky enough to tour the city and see some of the historical highlights, as well as having plenty of free time to explore Berlin’s many shopping malls. I was also lucky enough to travel to Italy with my host family for a week over the Christmas holidays, which involved spending a day shopping in Milan, which was beyond amazing.
Coming back to New Zealand was a bit of a shock, especially knowing that I had only a few days to recover from my jetlag before I was right back into the school year. Adjusting to speaking English, rather than German, was particularly difficult, but on the bright side, two months’ immersion in the language led to a noticeable improvement in my ability. Overall, my exchange was nothing short of life-changing, and I know now that whatever happens in my future, I will eventually end up back in Europe. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to travel, and my trip has given me a thousand unforgettable memories. If you ever have a similar opportunity, take it – it’s scary and difficult and amazing, and I promise you won’t regret it.