Author: Bryce Demaille

It’s almost been two months here in Bremen for my high school abroad program in Germany! The time goes so quick, even though I’m doing normal daily things I would do back in Minnesota. Wake up; go to school; participate in extracurricular activities, etc. I notice though that I go to bed every day very tired, speaking a different language all the time even if you do feel comfortable with it is something that takes a lot of energy. Sitting in a biology class in the States would be stressful and confusing enough, now add in one of the most complicated languages and make me take a test, well you can guess the results aren’t spectacular. But one thing I have had to keep reminding myself about this experience is that I’m here to discover more about myself and not care what my grade is in biology. Taking a year abroad has taught me so much about how I deal with situations that appear in all of our lives.

1. How do you handle a classroom full of kids who already know each other, and don’t need any more friends? How do you become friends with them?
   It’s not easy, but you can’t just sit there and expect them all to come up gushing to be your friend. You have to give your all every day to become a person they want to spend time with. I’m not saying you need to change yourself in anyway, just make sure they can get to know you and how frickin’ awesome it would be to be friends with you. Even if it’s not a classroom full of students, there will always be situations where you’re the newbie and you’re the one that needs friends.
2. How do you make yourself at home in a home that will never be yours?
   Again, it’s not easy and I still don’t feel 100% comfortable in the house. My host family does everything in their power to minimize that, but I think it’s just something that comes with being an exchange student. You feel like you always need to be a little extra polite and maybe do that one extra chore.

There are plenty more lessons I have learned, but these are two that I’ve been learning the most about. Till next time I hope you’re having a good day!

I have been living in Bremen for 4 weeks now, and it’s been a roller coaster of emotions during my study abroad program in Germany. Here is a recap so far:

Family Life 
The family I have is so sweet and really is ready to help me in every aspect at any time. I feel like I am really of the family (even if that means doing chores) 😉 I have a little sister in the family and we’ve done a lot together and had a pretty fun time! The family has shown me much of the city and I can find my way around the city by myself now! Here in Bremen there are lots of ways of getting around including the Straßenbahn and many ride bikes here too. I find it super freeing to be able to find my way around a city without needing an adult.

School Life
I didn’t know this before coming, but the city of Bremen has trouble affording teachers to have enough for all the schools in the city. What this means for the students, especially those older and not needing a guardian, is that we have lots of classes’ cancelled. This means that at least one or twice a week some of my classes are canceled and we have a free period! The school here is very conservative and strict for the most part. No cell phones or computers are used at all on campus and during school hours. All learning is done by the lecture method and you must take notes to stay up to date. I find it really hard to learn this way, so I’m glad I don’t have to worry about my grades this year, just making friends! And with that we come to making connections.

Friend Life 
I find that here in the northern part of Germany, just like the stereotypes say, it’s much harder to build strong or even start to build connections/relationships. One can’t give up easily and you have to be willing to not take it personally when not everyone is super welcoming. Yes, I have an advantage because I have a very solid grasp on the German language, but I think if you can just laugh and smile with people it starts to form a little base for something bigger. Hopefully, later on in the year I can say I have formed great life long friends even if that’s as cliché as it can possibility get. My advice, join in whenever possible! Join an activity or sport it, sounds easy and obvious, but a lot of people don’t so I’ve joined the local swim team and have formed a new group of friends from different schools through this. So Far So Good!

See you all soon!
Olivia

Hi everyone! My name is Olivia and I’m studying abroad for a year in Germany. Studying abroad was not a far-fetched idea for my family because my mom had done the exact same thing in the exact same country. Being born in Germany and living there for a part of my life I was semi used to the culture. I reached my decision to take the jump in April 2014, so it was a little bit late in the year but I was ready to see something new and explore the world a little bit.

I’m a now junior in high school in a small, typical suburban town in Minnesota. Nothing special happens here, high schoolers live the cliché lives that can be seen on today’s television shows including homecoming court, big football or hockey games, high school party’s and cramming for tomorrows tests. Spring Break 2014 was the deciding factor for me to go abroad. I went on a class trip to Spain and it opened my eyes to everything I was missing in the American culture in general. Not that there’s anything bad or wrong with it, it just doesn’t fit for me and it’s not where I want to end up in life.

So I came home, and the first day back at school sitting in my same old English class I felt so small and uncreative. The next day I made an appointment with my counselor, asked him what needed to be done for my plans to be set in action, talked with my parents, and started looking for programs. Greenheart Travel seemed like the best and I’m not saying this as an advertisement but we honestly looked at so many programs and Greenheart Travel fit all our wants and needs.  So here I am in Germany! I’m excited to meet the people who will be going through the same experiences as me.  So thrilled for this year ahead and all the memories that will follow!