Name: Eva Hall
Location: Germany
Program: Academic Exchange Program through the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies at UGA
Date Published: 12/05/2015
Link: http://bambergstudyabroad.blogspot.de/
Saturday, December 5, 2015
New Friends/New Family
When I imagined my life in Germany back home, I envisioned having a circle of friends consisting of Germans. However, since I am surrounded by Erasmus and foreign exchange students, my friend group consists of people from all over the world. While this is not an ideal situation for getting better at German (since we speak English), I am so grateful for the international family that I get to be a part of. Never in my life will I be able to say that my best friends are Canadian, Hungarian, British, French, Finnish, and Taiwanese. I have learned so much from my friends, but have realized most importantly that relationships are much more important than learning a language. Since I was raised in a very monocultural society in southern Georgia, being placed in an environment where so many mentalities and beliefs come together has been a fundamental factor in my personal growth. This experience is teaching me to relate to people who are completely different from myself and to challenge or confirm the values and beliefs that have been instilled in me throughout my upbringing.
If I could give future "study abroaders" two pieces of advice, it would be;
1) Don't feel like you can't be friends with people who don't speak the language of your host country. Remember, you will learn life lessons that are much more important than the language.
2) Challenge yourself! Don't assume that everything that has been taught to you by your home society is ultimate truth. Use the opinions of others from other countries to confirm your beliefs or challenge them.
