Santiago spent a year abroad in Germany

Santiago from Mexico spent a school year in Germany.

Last school year I spent a whole exchange year in Germany with STS. I chose to go abroad because I wanted to experience a new culture, improve my language skills, and challenge myself by stepping out of my comfort zone. Germany seemed to be my perfect home for the year, and for sure it was. I wanted to learn the language, learn more about the culture and explore all it had to offer, and I was able to do all of that and more. At first, adapting to a new school and lifestyle was a bit overwhelming, mostly because of all the cultural shocks that I encountered, but over time, I found my rhythm and was able to get used to it. This is my quick story from the year in which I lived in Fulda, Germany.

My BIG host family

Since the moment I arrived at the airport and was welcomed by my host parents, I noticed such a warm feeling in them. They arrived with a balloon and with the family dog and with the most welcoming smile that I really appreciated from the beginning. Living with a host family was a unique experience. Oh, my surprise when I was received by a family of 6! I’m used to just having one younger brother around which without a doubt made this year a unique opportunity. I ended up getting used to their life, of course there was a couple of bumps in the way, but it was just part of the journey.

They taught me a lot about German culture and daily life. I got used to eating dinner at an unusual time for me or having coffee and cake with Oma und Opa almost every Sunday. My host family was the best I could’ve asked for. I really bonded with every one of them including family friends and close family. We travelled together to Greece during the autumn vacations and in the Austrian Alpes for a whole week in winter. That was my first-time skiing, so it was definitely a highlight to remember. I also got to enjoy football matches at some of the best stadiums in Germany and got to experience memorable days while hanging out with all of them.

My German school

My school in Fulda was quite different from what I was used to back home in Mexico. It was a surprise for me when I arrived in the Gymnasium and found out that all the way from 5th grade to 13th grade everyone was bunched up in the same building. I also noticed a much more serious vibe to it, in which the students are way more formal with the teachers. There was not much homework or group projects to do and that was all replaced by exams. Nevertheless, after a couple of weeks, I got the hang of it and used it as an opportunity to improve my German and learn new things in the different classes.

Surprisingly for me, I found DSP (which is theater class) the most interesting of all. I found it a great challenge but also a fun one to act using a completely different language (even though I am not good at all at it) and have fun memories with my classmates. At school is where I managed to find my first best friends, with whom I hung out during the entire school year. I really appreciate that they were brave and nice enough to speak with me during the first couple of days, and even though at the beginning they had to often speak in English, they had no problem with it. After my first weeks after I caught on the rhythm of the language, we got to talk about the same things completely in German!

Friends & life in Germany

Through my first friends in school, I was able to find all my other friends with whom I spent almost every weekend. (Shoutout to Luca, Bene, Nele and Aurora, which of course I still keep contact with and see them every opportunity I have). We went out to the city often after school or just hung out like Dorfkinder or at home. We would travel to Frankfurt or go out partying on the weekend. Life in Germany as a teenager is amazing. The amount of public transport there made it extremely easy to move around and really impacted me because I’m used to needing a car for everything in my home city. I got to experience sights that I hadn’t seen in my life, such as snow in the Christmas Markets or enjoying Fasching in the huge carnival which took place on the city. I also discovered new hobbies such as Bouldering which ended up being my favorite thing to do 3-4 afternoons a week.

STS trips and international friends

The two trips organized by STS to Hamburg and Berlin were a highlight itself. I met a bunch of students in the same situation as me and we had the chance to spend two weekends together, tell stories about our experiences, get to know each other and make wonderful memories. I’ve met great friends from Italy or Slovakia and some others from Mexico as well. I would love to take part in that again.

Looking back – and forward

Looking back, my exchange year was an unforgettable experience that helped me grow and mature so much. I became more independent and improved my German by a ton, which opened me doors to many opportunities. I am currently still living and studying in Germany, and I love it, and it’s all thanks to this exchange year in which I really had the chance to think about my future and to make sure that I took the best choice for myself. I’ve also visited my host family twice already since then and had once again one of the nicest Christmases that I can remember.

My recommendation

If anyone is considering to try it out, I would highly recommend it—it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to explore new opportunities, meet amazing people, and learn more about yourself and about your passions and dreams.

Find out more

• Read more student stories from Germany
• Read more about a high school exchange in Germany
• See all our high school exchange destinations