Encounters

Exchange students be warned: a semester abroad brings many exciting and experiences, but also moments in which one would like to sink into the ground for shame. The culprits here are linguistic and cultural misunderstandings that are actually hilariously funny – but also very embarrassing. Todo Alemán has persuaded some courageous people who have been through it to “out” themselves.More ...

Mercado de Mexico – in English “Mexican Market” – evokes fairly concrete ideas about what to expect in a shop with this name: colorful walls, Mexican delicacies, cheerful hustle-and-bustle, and great warmth towards customers.More ...

With so much dedication and effort, 2012 is really getting off to a promising start! Above all, with such creatively and socially engaged users like those of you in the Todo Alemán Community. We received over 120 submissions for our contest New Year’s Resolutions for 2012, and we had a very, very hard time selecting 3 winners, when dealing with such exceptional and imaginative plans for the New Year.More ...

The Goethe-Institut Chicago promotes the international exchange of ideas between young American and German scientists.More ...

Anyone who has spent a longer time abroad will recognize this feeling all too well. Of course, in the beginning everything is still new and exciting, and there are lots of things to discover in Germany: one marvels at unfamiliar products in the supermarket, beams with pride at every successful order from a German menu, and even a hum-drum subway ride is the stuff of adventure.More ...

Another idea from America hits Germany: “Greeters”. Motivated only by a sense of hospitality and a passion for their city, these unique citizens happily show visitors their favorite locations around town.More ...

On her first visit to Germany, back when she was a high school senior, Yanalte De Haro's shoe broke. But no matter – ever resourceful, De Haro simply fashioned a fix with a plastic bag and continued to explore the country she'd grow to love.More ...

Each year in summer, things really get going at the Leipzig Sports School, and pretty ambitiously, too: for three weeks, under the guidance of the Goethe-Institut, 50 young people from around the world study German intensively in the morning and chase soccer balls in the afternoon. And this is by no means an exclusively male domain. Astonishingly many girls turn up and prove that they are absolutely able to be winners.More ...

Almost 30 students, aged 15, all studying Spanish and in year 9 at the Siebold Institute in Würzburg, have taken part in an exchange with Spanish students who study German at their school, the Colegio Fundación Caldeiro. For some it was their first trip to Spain … what was the experience like?More ...

It was summer, 1986 and time was running out for the GDR when a young Spaniard, Serafin Fanjul, took a language course in Dresden. He tells Todo Alemán about a Dresden that young Germans only know from documentaries.More ...

Every year in autumn, more than 70,000 students from over 700 different schools in the U.S. and Canada take part in the Award of Excellence contest. The videos showcase a slice of German life in different topics, and every year a new theme sparks a new interest in students. Check them out!More ...

I was well prepared – or so I thought. When I moved to New York from a small town in Germany five years ago, everything was clear to me. My life would become louder, more expensive, more colorful and bigger.More ...

Felipe Barreto (19) is from Mexico and intends to study in Munich next year. He is currently living in a shared apartment. Like 26% of German students, he shares an apartment with young people in his age group. The plus points are obvious: life in a shared apartment is not only cheaper, it’s also – mostly, anyway – more fun.More ...

You’ve fallen in love? Congratulations! But what to do if your “significant other” lives thousands of kilometers away and speaks a different language on top? Emily, from the USA and Caro from Germany know all too well what it’s like to keep a relationship going with an ocean between. They tell their unusual love stories here.More ...

My name is Francesca, I am 24 years old and come from Prato, near Florence in Italy. After 21 years in my native city and 21/2 years in Cologne, Germany, my partner and I decided to spend some time in the United States. After a number of applications, I found a suitable job in Manhattan.More ...

Rocío Guadalupe Bravo Salazar, 25, from the city of Oaxaca in southern Mexico reports on what she has noticed about Germany. She is studying political science at Berlin’s Free University.More ...

Today, older people are more active and flexible, young people more self-confident and independent. Differing age groups have a future together when they define themselves with respect to each other in a more conscious fashion. False compromises are detrimental here.More ...

Later Cali, hello Germany: we tag along with some students from a high school in Vallejo, California on a trip to Germany - see them prepare in their German class and watch them on their first trip to Germany. Want to come along? Then take a look at the videos and click “Play” - Let's go! Los geht's! ¡Vámonos!More ...

Show us a day in your life. Grab your digital camera or your camera on your cell phone and take six to eight pictures at different times throughout the day. Take pictures which show us who you are, where you live, what you do - pictures which will give us some impressions about your everyday life.More ...