"The most important thing to remember is this: To be ready at any moment to give up what you are, for what you might become."
- W.E.B Du Bois
My name is Tim Wright. I am from Auckland, New Zealand, I have finished my secondary schooling and since the 27 of February 2010 I've been living in Köln (Cologne), Germany, where I will be spending roughly the next year. I arrived in Frankfurt International Airport a month ago, and since then I have become relatively settled.
NEW ZEALAND TO GERMANY
Leaving everyone in NZ was not as hard as I imagined it would be. I don't think the idea that I wouldn't see these people for a year had, or even has, hit me. When I drove to the airport on the morning of the 26th, nothing had registered. Once I said goodbye to my family, it was me, my life in 20kg's, and the ticket for the plane I was about to board.
I already knew another AFS student from NZ - Angus, who was heading to Kiel, in the north of Germany, and at the airport met a girl from Wellington, Rose.
Angus and Rose - Auckland to Singapore
Overtired in Singapore - 5am NZ time
The flights were a lot of fun - the beginning of the exchange experience didn't feel like it does now. It felt like a holiday with friends, it was exciting, we hardly slept for 2 days, we drank a bit, or a lot, and somehow I managed to throw up on myself in my seat on the 13 hour flight from Singapore to Frankfurt. Luckily, I kept the AFS shirt I didn't want to wear in my hand luggage, so I crawled over Rose sleeping next to me, out of my seat and to the toilet to change. I woke up hungover with another 6 hours of flying and the meals not arriving for 3.
I came to the country with little expectations - which I think was a good thing. I had no idea what my house would look like, what the people would be like, what the school would be like, even what side of the road the people here drove on. Apart from the information Wikipedia and Google Image searches provided me, all i knew were the names of my new family, the name of the city I would be living in and the temperature on that particular day in "Cologne" -15 degrees.
We flew into Frankfurt at 550am (550pm NZ time) and had to wait first for the other exchange students to arrive from their home countries, and then for our respective trains to our new cities throughout Germany. I had till 2pm before I caught the train to Cologne. That morning we were the first to arrive after a couple of Australians, then it was more Aussies, then kids from Paraguay, Costa Rica, Japan, Thailand, Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, everywhere.
Rose left the airport after only an hour or two, so it was just Angus and I, plus a couple of other kiwi's amongst the hundreds of exchange students in our "exclusive" area in the airport. In the time we had to kill we went to explore this massive airport. There was a huge rotating globe with all the countries of the world on it. I was excited for it to slowly turn my way so I could show somebody where I was from. I was disappointed when it turned to show that where NZ was supposed to be was just water.
Coming to Deutschland I had very little ability to speak German. The day I arrived I didn't know much more than how to say "Hello""How are you" "I am good thank you" "goodbye" "I'm sorry" and "sheiße" which I thought was spelled "shiza".
I relied on the fact that people here know English - which is, partly, true. You can get by. But you can't fully immerse yourself in day-to-day life with only basic skills. I've found that German is not an easy language to learn, but I am learning, and relatively fast. They say that after three months you know enough to "get by" and after six you can understand and communicate in almost every situation. If that is true then I cannot wait for this day.
When you don't understand what the people around you are saying, you feel like a mute. It is hard to communicate. I like to talk, and I hate feeling like I can't express myself because of the asshole they call the "language barrier" always standing in my way.
But from this I have already learnt to be more patient and tolerant (than I was) toward others who don't speak "my" language in "my" country, because now I know how it feels.
ARRIVAL IN KÖLN
27 Feb 3:50pm
I caught the train to Köln with a girl Holly from Australia and a guy called Yoshi from Japan. After almost one and a half years of preparation I had finally arrived!
It was unreal - the City I had never heard of until 2months previous, the photos of the famous old Cathedral in its heart, had all come to life. Stepping off a train in Köln Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) for the first time was something I could never forget - there was a huge football game on that evening and all the fans were a few platforms over catching trains to the stadium. You could hardly see them, but the chanting echoed so unbelievably loud throughout the Hauptbahnhof, the atmosphere was incredible.
Cathedral steps - Outside the entrance to the Hauptbahnhof
I remember asking myself if I was ready - ready to meet my new family for the first time.
We were greeted by AFS Köln, our contact person, the "older" exchange students and our new families. Mine was running a couple of minutes late, and as I stood there staring at the stairs from which they would soon appear, I remember anxiously thinking about how the people that are about to walk up those steps will play a major role in my life. A brother I've never had, a third sister and another Dad.
It took me a few moments to take everything in.
MY NEW HOME
Two straight days of traveling had finally come to an end when I arrived at my new home with my new family for the first time. I put my bags down on my new bed and that moment was the moment I felt it had finally begun.
Though, I didn't know what had. I didn't how I should feel, or did feel - I wasn't upset, I didn't think a lot, at all. There was too much to think about... the time difference was fucking with my mind, so I put off thinking, about everything, this place, these people...
Home, and those people.
"Welcome to Germany"
SCHOOL
I was (naturally) very nervous for my first day of school, but I survived. The people were friendly, and I think it's because I'm different to what they are used to. A co-ed school with no uniform, weird hours and only 800 people is not what I'm used to coming from a uniformed school of 2600 boys with a 9.00 - 3.15 routine, including an assembly, each day. Here there is no school assembly, or school sports teams, and the subject choices are very standard.
My timetable goes as follows:
Montag (11.30-5.00):
X
X
-
X
X
-
Physik
Englisch
-
Informatik
Informatik
-
Sport
Dienstag (8.00-2.00):
Englisch
Englisch
-
X
X
-
Deutsch
Deutsch
-
X
X
-
X
Mittwoch (8.00-11.30):
Mathe
Religion
-
X
Informatik
-
X
X
-
X
X
-
X
Donnerstag (8.00-5.30):
Physik
Physik
-
X
X
-
Englisch
Englisch
-
Mathe
Mathe
-
Sport
Freitag (8.00-3.00):
Kunst (Art)
Kunst
-
X
X
-
Religion
Religion
-
Deutsch
X
-
X
X
-
X
Every "-" represents a 20minute break and every "X" is a free period. Three of five days a week I have to kill 2 hours between classes. Most kids either have class or will sit down and do their homework, but considering I don't understand the classes, I am exempt, and so I sometimes find it very boring.
Art Class
FRIENDSHIPS
A few thoughts - In the beginning, when your world as you know it has been completely transformed and you are faced with building a new life from scratch, the people you do meet become good friends of yours very quickly - especially those in the same situation as yourself. You spend time with someone and you feel close as though you've known each other all your life. After a day they are "a best friend", and for a while, they are all you have.
You are in transition.
You no longer have the social circles, the parties, the two minute drive to your best friend's house, or the 90% chance that if you are at Greenlane Mcdonalds on the weekend you will see someone you know. You don't have a lot here yet either. You left your life as you knew it the moment you took that step on to that plane, gave your ticket to the man in the suit and thought to yourself:
"there's no turning back now."
And then it's all up to you.
You have to rebuild everything. It's so crucial to continuously make an effort, especially at school, to not hold back. I find myself meeting so many people I will accidentally introduce myself to the same person twice having forgotten already who they are. It happens, and it's awkward when you try to explain yourself in a language you barely know, or one they barely understand. But irregardless of the fact you are now in a German-speaking country you must do what you can to create new friendships and not be shy. These people won't always come to you.
You will make a friend, then another, then meet their friends, then one of those friends' friends and your network will begin to grow. You won't at first, but will start to be invited out after school, or on the weekend, then meet more friends of friends and will slowly see your new life start to take shape.
