{"id":6291,"date":"2019-06-17T16:52:59","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T06:52:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/qut-exchange-students\/?p=6291"},"modified":"2020-06-18T14:33:17","modified_gmt":"2020-06-18T04:33:17","slug":"make-the-leap-and-go-on-exchange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/2019\/06\/17\/make-the-leap-and-go-on-exchange\/","title":{"rendered":"Take the leap and go on exchange!"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Alexandra &#8211; Berlin School of Economics and Law, Germany<\/h3>\n<h4>Semester 1, 2018<br \/>\nBachelor of Mechanical Engineering \/ Bachelor of Business<\/h4>\n<p>Imagine thousands of people sitting by a river, beer in hand, basking in the sunlight, or throwing a Frisbee while techno music plays in the background. This is the definition of a Berlin summer.<\/p>\n<p>Sadly, my exchange was for the fall semester, where snow and a Gl\u00fchwein by a fire was more favourable. However, being kept indoors also meant more time to bond with the students who I shared my dormitory with. Students from all backgrounds and languages mingled daily, and there was certainly no shortage of partying.<\/p>\n<p>The little things are what makes an exchange so memorable, such as ice skating at the Christmas markets together or using the car seats from an abandoned van in our living room. Some of the people I lived with have made their way into my heart as life-long friends, who I have already visited in their home countries. I attended HWR for one semester with the goal of deepening my knowledge of international management in an international setting.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/files\/2019\/06\/Alexandra-King-BSEL.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8674\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/files\/2019\/06\/Alexandra-King-BSEL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/files\/2019\/06\/Alexandra-King-BSEL.jpg 640w, https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/files\/2019\/06\/Alexandra-King-BSEL-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The experiences and lessons I gained from the teachers who are sourced from all around the world were invaluable and helped to set me apart from the curve. HWR, like most of Germany, is very old-fashioned and traditional in their approach to learning and bureaucracy. No lectures are recorded and you are expected to build a relationship with your teacher. This approach at first seems a bit intrusive or unnecessary, but my teachers were able to connect with me on a personal and professional level. This approach encourages students to develop their own opinion and solutions to issues presented, as opposed to simply memorising content.<\/p>\n<h4>Culture shock<\/h4>\n<p>Culture shock in Germany was inevitable, but learning the language is the best step towards fitting in and finding your place. Before my exchange, I studied German in Brisbane at the \u201cDerDieDas\u201d school, which was excellent to ensure I was not wasting time on the basics when in Berlin. After my 6 months of exchange, I am currently at a B2 level and am undertaking an internship in Berlin now.<\/p>\n<h4>Advice fur future outbound students<\/h4>\n<p>Advice for your exchange I can offer is being prepared to feel lonely, homesick, or just displaced. Take the time out of your week to call home, be ready for the shopkeepers to be rude to you, and don\u2019t be afraid to go out alone. One of the highlights of my experience was simply going to a local German-owned caf\u00e9 and spending hours preparing for my German exam the next day. This small decision lead to me meeting my now-boyfriend, a Kiwi who lives in Berlin!<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Just make the leap and go on exchange, but don\u2019t stop there, make the leap and squeeze every last drop out of the experience.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4>Find out more about <a href=\"https:\/\/qutvirtual4.qut.edu.au\/group\/student\/student-life\/student-exchange\/choose-your-destination\/berlin-school-of-economics-and-law\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Berlin School of Economics and Law<\/a><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alexandra &#8211; Berlin School of Economics and Law, Germany Semester 1, 2018 Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering \/ Bachelor of Business Imagine thousands of people sitting by a river, beer in hand, basking in the sunlight, or throwing a Frisbee while techno music plays in the background. This is the definition of a Berlin summer. Sadly,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1513,"featured_media":8673,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1242,12018,5246,6155,213,5248,450],"tags":[1242,12018,213,5248,450],"class_list":{"0":"post-6291","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-accommodation","8":"category-berlin","9":"category-europe","10":"category-first-impression","11":"category-friends","12":"category-germany","13":"category-student-life","14":"tag-accommodation","15":"tag-berlin","16":"tag-friends","17":"tag-germany","18":"tag-student-life"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Take the leap and go on exchange! - QUT Gone Global<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/2019\/06\/17\/make-the-leap-and-go-on-exchange\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Take the leap and go on exchange! - QUT Gone Global\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Alexandra &#8211; Berlin School of Economics and Law, Germany Semester 1, 2018 Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering \/ Bachelor of Business Imagine thousands of people sitting by a river, beer in hand, basking in the sunlight, or throwing a Frisbee while techno music plays in the background. 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