Reminiscing about a time long ago

A good friend of mine was a Fulbrighter in Germany a few years ago and his colleague is doing some research on foreign exchange programs. I took the time to write ALL this out so I thought I would post it.

Current occupation/location: English Language Fellow, Shenyang Normal University, China
http://exchanges.state.gov/us/program/english-language-fellow-program or http://elprograms.org/

What high school exchange program did you participate in?
I participated in the Congress Bundestag/Parlamentarisches Patenschafts-Programm (CBYX/PPP) through AFS in 2004-2005.
http://www.usagermanyscholarship.org/ or http://www.afsusa.org/study-abroad/scholarships/cbyx/ or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress-Bundestag_Youth_Exchange

How did you hear about it/apply for it?

Long story…My sister’s god-sister’s husband was a Swedish foreign exchange student with AFS. When I attended their wedding I met his host family and real family. Both families had been hosting students for years. As a 14 year old this sounded like the best thing ever, living abroad, learning a new language, and exploring foreign places. I started looking on-line for exchange programs. I started with AFS, but it was so expensive, I never would be able to afford to go. When I applied with AFS, I applied to go Thailand because there was a scholarship (40% off). I was accepted but couldn’t get the other money together fast enough. So one of the people I spoke with on the phone recommended I apply for the CB program. I did and I was accepted and it was free! I had 30 days to get get a passport, pack, and leave. It was a whirlwind!

How old were you? I arrived in Germany on September 4, 2004…my 17th birthday!

Where were you in Germany and for how long? I was in Stendal, in Sachsen-Anhalt from September 2004 until the end of July 2005.

Tell me about your experience…highlights…disappointments…surprises…

Highlights: Visiting Berlin: seeing history come alive as I toured the site of the Berlin Wall and the Holocaust memorials and concentration camps. Meeting new people and having so much in common with people I had never met before. The people who study abroad, especially in high school, are a certain kind of people. Not everyone is able to do it. I met some amazing people from all over the world: Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, the French speaking part of Canada, Thailand, Japan, China, Norway and Finland. Living with a host family: my host family was fantastic, I could go on for days about the characters in this family. Mutti especially is a one of a kind woman. She is so strong and hardworking and dedicated. When I arrived, I spoke no German, nothing. Mutti only knew one English word: appendicitis. Everyday she would drill me on vocabulary. She spent so much time engaging with me and getting me to use her language. I was forbidden to use English from day 1. My English access was limited. (At the time I hated it but not I am so thankful she worked so hard to immerse me in her world. You also have to remember this was a different time. Internet was dial-up and pay per minute. Skype wasn’t really around yet and calling home required a calling card and a land line and you paid per minute.) My second weekend there she took my to a festival. I was to meet her later for tea but should go explore the town and call her to meet up. I spoke no German and was dropped in a small town. My host sister was supposed to hang with me but her friends came and she would rather hang with them. So I was on my own to call Mutti and find her for tea. My language skills got a work out that day. I was so frustrated trying to talk on the phone (no gesture or hand signals) in a language a barely knew. When I did find her she had tea, a warm hug, and a big smile. We watched fireworks over the Elbe from a historical castle on the beach. It was surreal.

Disappointments: I had small minor disappointments, the same any teenage girl has: school, boyfriends, friends. Nothing to write home about. I am sure something happened but it hasn’t stuck with me.

Surprises: Coming home was the biggest surprise. They warn you about homesickness and culture shock when you go abroad, but they don’t tell you about coming back to the States. Coming home was awful. I had more culture shock and homesickness coming back to America than I ever had abroad. You come back a different person. You have had this life changing adventure and you want to talk about it and share it, but no one else gets it. I fought all of the time with my mother and called Mutti crying about how awful America was. The food was wrong, people wore shoes in the house, and left doors open. I wrote the essay on my SATs in German…transitioning home was rough. Senior year of high school sucked. I was catching up on 2 years of high school in 1 year in order to graduate on time and if you think people in high school are immature before you live abroad, they are 1000X worse when you return. I couldn’t wait for college.

Any anecdotes that come up often in conversation about your time in Germany?

1) Gruentee macht Gesund. This is my host Mutti’s life motto. She and I used to drink green tea together every day after school. She got me addicted to the stuff, I drink multiple cups of tea everyday now thanks to her.

2) AFS has/had a motto that they teach you at orientation and every training there after, It’s not right, it’s not wrong, it’s just different. I used to mutter this saying under my breath every time some new/strange/Fremd thing happened. When you are living abroad you are constantly bombarded my things you don’t understand and it becomes frustrating. This saying helped put life into perspective. I still say it today.

3) The quote that sticks with me most is one that my AFS CBYX crew used over and over. When you study abroad as a CBYXer you become very close to the people who go with you. You do an orientation together, language training, a mid-year conference and an end of the year de-briefing. You become close. They are the people who truly understand what it means to be a global citizen and they are the ones whose couches I crash on when I travel, because they too have chosen jobs that allow them to live all over the world. Our motto is actually song lyrics from a song by Die Ärzte: Es ist nicht deine Schuld, dass die Welt ist wie sie ist, es wär nur deine Schuld, wenn sie so bleibt. This has become such a vital component of who I am as a person that I had it tattooed onto my back.

How did the experience impact your life?

The experience changed my life and set me on my current career path. That year abroad made me a world traveler. Once I started living aborad I made it my mission to return. I studied abroad again in university  in Cologne, Germany. After university I received my Masters in TESOL Education and after working in the States for a few years I  moved to Shanghai, China to teach English for English First (EF). Being in China was a whole lot more challenging than being in Germany but my experience as a foreign exchange student at 17 provided me the tools to handle it.  It also made me want to work for the U.S. State Department. I am currently working as a Fellow for the U.S. State Department in China. I have been renewed for a 2nd year here and am studying for the Foreign Service Officers Test.

What advice would you give someone considering a high school exchange in Germany?

DO IT! It was and is one of the best experiences of my life. The friends and family I made there are still with me today. My host family came to my wedding in the States and we try and visit each other every few years. I still speak with my host sisters on Facebook and Skype regularly and my host Mutti always sends my favorite chocolates and tea for my birthday and Christmas. It was the best time of my life and it has shaped the course of my career and my education.

Anything else you think is important to mention to someone considering a high school exchange in Germany?

As an English speaker, German is one of the easiest languages to learn and the culture and food are rather similar to our own which makes culture shock somewhat less jarring. German’s a lot easier than Chinese, that’s for sure!!!