Raul aus den USA: 

„My name is Raul Alexis, I am 17 years old. I normally live in South Carolina and I would love to play professional basketball later.

My exchange journey so far has been really fun! In my experience I have encountered many things I am not used to, including bottle caps. In the U.S. I am used to take the caps on and off of the bottle but here it’s weird that they stay on.

Additionally, I have not seen RANCH that is my favorite dip sauce for food but I have been told it doesn’t exist in Berlin, sadly. Lastly I am not used to taking the bus, bike, and also the train everywhere. In the U.S I would always drive everywhere in car, as it is very easy to get your license there, and not having to pay 3,000 euros for classes as I’ve been told that’s what they do here. In America we only take a 30 question test for a permit which only costs $2 for the card, and for the license it’s probably $100 or less.

How I’ve been feeling at school, is really amazing. Mainly because I’ve met really nice people that are very open to help you in the language or in class. I’ve been taught so many funny words in German, for some people is really fun to make the new exchange student say funny things.

The school is amazing mostly because of the 15 minute breaks in between classes, and free lessons. In America we only get like a 5 minute break to get to class, and each class is around 1hr and 30 minutes but we have a lunch break. Also the school in Germany is very calm and I haven’t seen a fight or an altercation, as in the U.S there’s a fight every 2 weeks.

A little about my family in America: My dad is from Mexico, Veracruz, and my mom is from El Salvador so the household only speaks Spanish, so I had to be fluent in Spanish forcefully, my brother is also full Salvadoran. I only have one sibling which is an older brother that is 23 years old.

My host family is really relaxed which I love. I am learning be more responsible about getting home on time or how to manage my time in the day.

Overall, my exchange has been going good, I’m learning many more skills, and explore more of Berlin little by little. I am also trying to vlog my exchange experience mixed with a little praying and reading the bible in the videos so that takes time out of my day. That is all from me!“

Josephine aus Frankreich:

„I am Josephine, a French exchange student. I have been here at GvB for three months. I am in a German host family and I go to school like a normal German student. That helps me to be really immersed in red language and the culture.

In these three months I have discovered a lot of German daily life and I can say that there are some differences. School, for example: German school finishes earlier and we don’t have a long lunch break, it was a little bit difficult for me to adapt to that but now I like it.

There is also a big difference between the daily routines of French and Germans, at least in my family. We don’t eat at the same time during the day.

The food is also quite different. I miss the French food but I really like the German food here, for example Döner, Currywurst, Brötchen, Franzbrötchen etc.

I have known for years that I was going to do an exchange year, and in my French school I learned German and I was really bad. So it felt like evidence to come to Germany.

My mom loves Berlin so I was very happy when a discovered that I was going to Berlin. Now, like my mom, I love Berlin as well. It’s really big compared to my city – I still have so many things to discover!

I feel that the people, including teachers and students are really friendly. This school is very welcoming, and I met a lot of nice people here.“

Geórgia aus Brasilien: 

„First of all, I would like to say that I am Geórgia, from Brazil. And actually, since I was a little girl my dream was to do an exchange year, leading me to be here.

In my first days in Berlin, I felt such a big difference in the routine, in the food and also in the way that people act. I was getting used to a new family, my German host family, and I am trying to adapt to their customs. So I am really building a new life in a foreign country.

The thing that I miss the most is the Brazilian food (feijoada, churrasco, coxinha, guaraná…), but I also like Schnitzel, Döner and Currywurst among other things.

It is a difficult process to be on the other side of the world at sixteen years old, but what I also know is that this is going to build a new me. I am learning the language (which is not so easy), and I am also trying to get used to the weather here.

In my region in Brazil we cannot see the difference between summer and winter. I feel like I found my place here in Berlin. I met incredible people and I really enjoy being here. Things got much better after this new beginning and I can say that two months have been enough to fall in love with this place. Germany will always be a part of me.“