In Chicago, I thought that minus 10 Celsius in November was cold. Now I know better. Having arrived in Québec city, in the French-speaking part of Canada, I’ve experienced what real cold feels like when getting off the airplane. This land of frost is my home for roughly two weeks, until my flight back to…
This is a warning message. Going abroad can have fundamental impacts on you as a person. It can change your perception of yourself and the world. Your personality and your opinions might never be the same as before. Keep this in mind when applying for a university exchange program or a job in another country….
One thing I never understood when I was a child: Adults. More specifically, what they think is a nice way to spend their free time. Usually, they just sit around, talk and drink wine! Doesn’t that get boring soon? Also, these people had known each other for twice as long as I was alive back…
During Thanksgiving dinner, I was asked a hard question: “Would you say your family is conservative or liberal?” For most Americans, this is an easy one. Being one or the other is part of their identity. The question translates directly to “Republican or Democrat”, “Trump or not”, “social security or free market”. This country seems…
Last week, I have finally arrived in the US. It has taken two and a half months after the landing of my airplane. Considering that university here will be over in three weeks, that’s a long time. Not that I haven’t been warned: The German Academic Scholarship Foundation writes on their website that “the first…
Imagine living in a paper box. It’s one story high and some paper walls separating your kitchen from your living room. The design is original, a plastic floor that every visitor mistakes for real wood, clean white walls with the favorite pictures of your German ancestors and a simple roof that protects you from the…
The word “safety”, I used to think, has a rather universal meaning. When politicians talk about it, they often call for more investments in the police (at least in Bavaria) or the army (at least in the US). On an individual level, financial security and protection from violence are mainstream safety issues that the world…
This is my friend Cosima’s advice from last Sunday when we were having a phone call full of good laughs. Cosima and I are both studying abroad but she is doing her whole degree in the UK. We were talking about a currently relevant topic: My future. What to do next autumn, after my Bachelor’s?…
It’s a rare opportunity to be a blank page. Some will almost never experience it; others are addicted to it. There are the thrill and fear of new beginnings attached to being a blank page. For some it has the taste of freedom, for others, it’s spiced with stress and pressure. What I’m describing usually…
T’es qui, toi? Who are you? Quién eres? Try to answer this question in different languages. Did you always say the same thing? Apparently you didn’t, but even translating your words might not yield the same results. Different languages have different vocabulary, different ways of expressing the most basic statements. There are things you can…
How much do you assume? When in a conversation, when coming to a new place? And then, will you still talk about subjects that you assumed to be common knowledge? As a self-declared open-minded person, you might answer “I try to assume the least possible”. That was the case for me. The United States has…
Today, I want to add a personal text to this blog that has so far been rather analytical. It’s about the fresh taste of new circumstances and the smell of the unknown. There are situations in life that feel like a new beginning. In tough or depressing phases, we might crave these situations very strongly….
