Germany

My biggest fear by far about going on exchange was the language barrier. Before I left on my exchange, I had travelled to Germany the year before for about a month, and during that time I was only able to attend a week of German language classes. So it is safe to say I was going in pretty green!

Something to note about Germany is that it is a very culturally diverse country. This is part of why I chose this as my destination country for my exchange semester abroad.

Hello, my name is Brodie Hay, I am a fourth year VIU student studying Computer Science as well as a volunteer exchange agent working with the Education Abroad department at VIU.

This year I was lucky enough to go on exchange for the summer semester to Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule (OTH) Regensburg in Bavaria, Germany. I was able to get a lot of travelling done before my semester started, and I was lucky enough to visit places like Zurich, Budapest, Vienna, and a lot of different German cities!

Mehlkneppscher

I came across this dish while participating in an international, online scavenger hunt. One of the items required five recipes from other participants, each from a different country. Mehlkneppscher was a popular dish in small mining towns across Germany during the industrial revolution. The dish is simple, quick, and easy to cook and provides a lot of energy, making it an excellent choice for hard-working miners on their lunch break.

I am wanderlust. I always wanted to be rich to be able to afford traveling around the world. I thought this was the only way I could, but, man was I wrong!

While on my semester abroad, yes I lived in Germany, but every day through my interactions with other students I was able to feel as if I was in other places. Whether it was going to a Latin bar with the Spanish students, making crepes on Sundays with my French friends, or having a pizza/ board game nights with the Italians, every day I lived in a different culture.

I have heard of the term homesick many times, but as I have come back from my semester abroad I am experiencing something that I am not quite sure if there is a term for, but I would describe it as 'exchange-semester sick.'

Going to Germany was really challenging at first. The language gap was difficult. I definitely experienced cultural shocks;

"Why are people not so nice?"
"Why is my pillow squared?"
"Wait, you only take cash?"
"Entschuldigung, sprichst du Englisch?"
... me: "Enough sausages!!!"