The Reality Of Studying Broad

A blog about study abroad, travel, and experiences

[ryereality]

When you travel your thinking changes. You look at the world differently. Your willingness to take chances, your ability to put yourself out there, it all changes. If I learned one thing during my study abroad, it's who I am becoming.

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My Experience With Culture Shock

Every exchange student goes through this. Experiencing weird things in your host country that are just weird or unnatural. Here are some of my experiences with culture shock in Germany.

1. Bikes. I lived in a large town. Everything was relatively close, I never needed to go farther than 4 miles. Therefore, the main form of transportation for most people was bikes. I was immediately thrown into this upon my arrival. I had a German class I had to attend everyday across town. My host mother showed me the way once and I was expected to make it there and home safely with out cellular service... naturally, I got lost. This happened frequently. I also had to ride in every climate; rain, snow, ice, hail, freezing temperatures...

2.Public Transportation. Living in suburban US I had only taken a subway once or twice and never a train or tram. Where I lived in Germany this was a common form of transportation. I could count on my hands the number of times I rode in a car during my year. I quickly learned how to get around using transportation apps on my phone. But one trouble I often encountered was getting on the train/ subway going in the wrong direction. I often added an extra hour onto my travel by doing this. Also, sometimes the trains and trams would get canceled or delayed and you would be stuck waiting an extra half hour to hour.

3. School. I was perplexed by the idea that you were aloud to leave the school grounds during school hours. My high school in America was very strict about not being able to leave. The school in Germany are very relaxed about it. I got to go to the grocery store, go out to eat, and go shopping during my breaks. I could even go home and cook my meals at home for lunch if I wanted.

4. Living in an apartment. It took some getting used to to move from a house to a fourth floor apartment. First of all I had to deal with walking up four flights of stairs multiple times a day. I never got used to it. I was always out of breath when I got to the top. Also, everything id very tiny; the couches are a little smaller, we had a smaller fridge, and the kitchen was the size of the bathroom. My bed in the apartment was lofted, which I thought was pretty cool. I really enjoyed the balconies we had overlooking the street and our backyard courtyard.

5. Meals. In Germany, the most important meal of the day is breakfast. I never eat breakfast. I am never hungry in the morning. Then they have a normal sized lunch. When the family came home we would sometimes eat a light dinner, or no dinner at all. This was very hard for me coming from America, where dinner is the largest meal of the day. I always had to prepare something extra for me after school.

[ryereality]

Lock Ness, Scotland.

Such a beautiful destination to visit. The lake is surrounded by a road where you can stop wherever and walk along the lake. Sadly, I did not get to see the monster.

Scotland is one of my favorite places that I have visited. The country has a very homey feel to it and is very welcoming. I love Edinburgh, it is full of history and the whole city is so beautiful and old. 

I highly recommend traveling through the country and stopping to see some of the castles. There are also beautiful mountain trails if you love nature! and don’t forget, the Hogwarts Express runs through Scotland. It is very easy to walk a trail from a street and get an incredible view of the train from a mountain!

[utwo]

Castle Neuschwanstein Bavaria Germany

© S.Relax

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you have to hike up a steep road up the mountain to get to the castle. It is well worth the sweat. The view from the castle is beautiful. The inside of the castle is even more incredible than the exterior, believe it or not.

[earthstory]

Berg Eltz Castle, Germany

sassychris1

[ryereality]

Wow, so beautiful!

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You build a life for 16 years and leave it for 10 months. You build a life for 10 months and leave it forever. Which is harder?

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5 Things to Know About Germany Before Traveling There

For every country you encounter there will most likely be things that surprise you about it. When I moved to Germany I encountered quite the shock. Some things about Germany still confuse me.

1. Public restrooms are not free. You will have a hard time finding a public restroom that is free. Many toilets have electronic gates that you have to insert coins into to open. I often found myself without coins and in a dire need of a toilet.

2. Never put your feel on a seat/bench while taking public transportation. I am used to sitting relaxed and not worrying about how I am positioned. A few times in Germany I got yelled at by complete strangers for having my shoe resting on a seat. I was not consciously doing it, however I would try to refrain from doing it as many Germans get upset by it.

3. The drinking age is 16. In Germany alcohol is viewed very differently than in some other countries, like the US. I was very surprised to see my classmates drinking beer ar lunch and sitting in parks drinking. Many German kids are allowed to drink at 14 with their parents supervision. Teens who are 16 are able to legally purchase beer and wine. And once you turn 18 there are no restrictions.

4. Germans love their bread. Germany has some of the best bread in the world in my opinion. You cannot go to Germany without trying their bread. The German bread greatly differs from most American breads. Their bread is a lot heavier and has a more nutrients in it. I found that my host family ate bread for 2-3 meals a day, this took some getting used to.

5. In Germany they have something called a Pfand system. When you purchase a bottled drink it usually comes in either a plastic of glass container. In Germany, when you purchase most drinks you pay an extra 10-20 cents per bottle. This money can be returned to you when you bring back your bottle. There are machines in many grocery stores where you can return bottles. You will often see people, who are on their way to collect their Pfand carrying large bags full of empty bottles. 

[ryereality]

Check Out My New Blog!

Hi Everyone!

I am starting a blog for people who are interested in study abroad, traveling, and the experiences of an exchange student. 

I went on exchange in high school to Germany and stayed just outside of Berlin. It was the most amazing year of my life but it came with many challenges and interesting encounters.

If you have any questions about living in or traveling to Germany or Berlin please feel free to ask. My blog is here to share about my experiences and hopefully entertain and help others in similar situations.

Wish you all well!