Being a Foreign Exchange Student (Emphasis on "Student")

So you’re finally settled in as a resident of your country. You’ve hopefully finished all your paperwork (I’m so sorry you had to go through that), and now you can get down to the main reason you came abroad: to study! No, but seriously, while you might want to spend every weekend flying around Europe and getting into trouble, you are technically here as a student, and if you don’t keep up with your academics, they’ll probably throw you out. Or something. I don’t know, but I’m not about to check.

So what’s it like to study in a foreign country, specifically Germany? In my time here, I’ve noticed these few points that you might want to keep in mind:

- More relaxed schedule:

            As a student from the US, I am used to going to a lecture three or four times a week, and doing at least an hour of homework every night (when I’m being a good student, of course). In Germany, and in most parts of Europe, this is not at all the case. In general, your class is a single hour and a half lecture or seminar once a week, with maybe a reading to take care of beforehand. Your entire grade is based on an exam, paper, or oral presentation at the end of the semester. I saw this as a huge relief, and others were concerned by the lack of feedback. Whatever your feeling on this, get used to it. It’s not the only part of German school culture you’ll have to get used to.

- Punctuality:

This might come as a shock, especially to those who’ve read my earlier posts, but the Germans really care about being on time. They expect that you show up to class on time, and they will not be happy if you roll in twenty minutes late with a coffee in hand. Frankly, none of this sounds radically different from how it is back home in the States. The difference, at least in my mind, is that here in your German university, you are a guest. While in Rome, you do as the Romans do, if only to show that you understand the pecking order. You’re new here, which means you’ll have to put in some effort to try to fit in. It isn’t always so bad, however. There are some surprising benefits to being an outsider.
- Being the Foreign Kid:

Growing up through the American school system, I was never the foreign kid. I was standard white bread and entirely unremarkable. That all becomes very different in a foreign country. Your very existence is a novelty that brings untold joy to the teachers and students of your new home. Become used to being pointed out as an example by your professors. As a linguistics student, my being a native speaker of English and not of German was often used to illustrate points. Try not to be offended by this – people are really interested in your home and your feelings about issues that relate to it. They value your opinions, and want to get to know you better. This is almost an exclusively good thing. Sometimes it means the pretty Czech girl who sits next to you in class will have endless questions you really won’t mind answering. And sometimes, it means you exist in a different relation to your professors.

- Professors and Foreign Exchange:

            Professors are people too. They were once students like yourself. And they understand that when someone leaves their country to study in a different nation for six months, they might not be seeing academics as their first priority. Depending on the professor, you’ll either be seen as Student A or Student B. Professors dread when Student As come into their class because they know that they’ll be lazy and disruptive. On the other hand, professors love Student Bs, because they look forward to the “outside perspective” they bring and enjoy learning how professors from other countries teach the same subject. This is why my second bullet point is so important. If you show your professors that you are willing to show up on time and take their class seriously, they will group you in with Student Bs, and then you’re on their good side. Expect easy questions, interested answers, and maybe even some understanding when you come into class half-comatose from that red-eye from London that got delayed on a Monday morning.

- Student Life in Germany:

            Think about how many emails you get per week from your college. Someone had to write each one of those emails. Think about how many people that must have been and how entirely unrelated all of those are from your life taking classes. In the US, universities are enormous organizations of serious administrative complexity. They take in millions of dollars a year from tuition or donations, and they use it create an entirely absorbing college experience. In Germany, college is practically free, and as a result, the administration just isn’t there. Add on the lack of a real campus and the light class load, and German student life begins to look like a ghost town. No clubs, no student associations, no acapella groups and no comedy troupes. Maybe some intramural sports or groups for people with the same major, but nothing like you see in the US. On the flipside, your residential area can be a thriving center of student activity, with parties, barbeques, and poker nights. As always, you get out what you put in.

- Free Time:

            Just like back home, no matter how much work you might give yourself, you’ll probably still find that you can’t fill all 24 hours every day. There’ll be long stretches with nothing to do. It’s the middle of the week, and you have class tomorrow, so you can hardly fly to Paris, and you’ve been combing through YouTube for so long you think you should get paid for it. So what’s an international student to do? EXPLORE! You’re in Germany for a reason, right? Check out your city, go to a park, talk to your interesting foreign flatmates, call up that friend from class who you never really see. If you try to look for the hidden treasures in the place you’re staying in, you might just find them. And you’ll certainly never be bored.