I participated in the Erasmus+ programme in Cham, Germany, from 1 June to 26 July 2024. As soon as my family picked me up at the train station, I was sure I would have a great time. The family had two younger boys, a daughter Elisabeth who was my age but went to a different school and then the eldest daughter Katharina. We had a lot in common with the family and it was my visiting sister Elisabeth that I became closest to.
At school I was confused at first because the school was really big and I often had trouble understanding. Luckily, I found great people at school who helped me with everything. The lessons were not easy to understand, but after a while I understood the way they teach and I started to understand more.
I looked forward to seeing Elisabeth every day after school. We would go for walks, shopping or to the cinema. But our favourite thing was to go to the theatre. We also went on trips to Pilsen with my family, for example, because my father's family loved the honorifics he used to learn. I attended two proms and various school events. Halfway through my stay, I celebrated my birthday with my family and friends, and it was then that I realized how wonderfully I was received and how good I felt among everyone.
Since I was in school until the end of the school year, unfortunately there were hardly any classes after that and I didn't learn much at school after that. Therefore, I would rather not recommend going at the very end of the school year. However, after two months I felt that my German had really improved. I often told myself during the course that I still didn't understand enough and that I might never get used to their dialect. But then I realised that we talk to each other normally in the family and suddenly I didn't have to think about how to speak.
Towards the end of our stay, we really spent as much time as possible with my visiting sister and couldn't imagine that I would be leaving soon. Saying goodbye was very hard for us, but we immediately promised to see each other soon. I had to overcome a lot of challenges and difficult moments at Erasmus as well, but I am very grateful that I was able to go and learn so much.
We asked...
01
What were the biggest challenges you overcame during your stay?
At the beginning I got sick and it was not easy to overcome the hospital stay in a foreign country alone. I often couldn't understand because I couldn't concentrate on the foreign language because of my illness. Luckily, my family helped me with everything, but it was really a challenge to cope. Furthermore, I often had to overcome some of my fears. For example, I was scared and embarrassed to speak, but eventually I was able to overcome my fear of making a mistake and I was able to communicate without fear after that.
02
What experiences and highlights from your stay are worth mentioning?
One weekend, a friend and I and my visiting sister took a trip to Munich to visit an older sister in the family who no longer lived at home. I really liked Munich as a city, and since my older sister was going to acting school there, she took us to the theater, which was unforgettable for me. This trip is my favorite memory of the whole stay. I would recommend everyone on Erasmus to take some sort of trip and experience places other than where the host family lives.
03
How did this experience affect you in terms of personal development?
I realized that I wanted to study German more and more. I tried what it's like to be really alone somewhere where I don't know anyone. I also met people from whom I learned a lot. I liked how they were and that was inspiring for me. I would recommend everyone to go on Erasmus because you can get a lot of great experiences.
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