High school student Todor Cvetanov finds new sights – and sounds – in the metropolis of Frankfurt on a three-week PASCH scholarship ….
Frankfurt is a great big breath of fresh sights and culturally new experiences to see and understand when you come from a place like Christchurch on the other side of the world. My three-week winter course in Germany has been an adventure to never forget and has opened my eyes to many more new cultures. It has broadened my German language ability to a point I would have not thought I could reach in only three short weeks.
On the course, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know some other German enthusiasts like myself from nine different nations. These people soon became some of my best friends. All of us have come together to represent our countries to the world as we travel and live in Germany. Moreover, the other students mostly don’t speak English, but we share a mutual language of German. This I find to be amazing as you learn other cultural ways of life from places such as Nepal, Brazil, Bolivia and many more – all through speaking German.
German spoken here
Classes are filled with fun activities and the teachers are very enthusiastic and passionate about teaching the language. For example in my class, we were studying towards our B1 certificate, and our teacher had just one rule in the classroom: to speak only German in class.
This is brilliant, as when someone doesn’t know a word or phrase in German, they have to clarify what word they are trying to use – not only to the teacher but to the whole class. For me, this means that the new vocabulary I have learnt during my time here has stuck in my memory better, and my relationship with my classmates is built on trust and knowledge of their vocabulary.
The whole experience isn’t based solely on class work, though. It’s also combined with culture, people and historical and tourist excursions. The course has taken us to see snow on Mount Feldberg, which was a first for many on the trip, and go sledding and ice-skating.
It also gave us the opportunity to see the ruins of Königstein castle, take in Germany’s rich history and see the entire city of Frankfurt from a bird’s-eye view from the Main Tower. Through many excursions to places such as Marburg and Feldberg, we continue to build new friendships with amazing people with similar interests from around the world.
The short but sweet experience here has been one to remember with amazing people. The range of sights, tastes, and knowledge gained from this three-week course is unimaginable. This scholarship has been unforgettable, and the skills I have learnt on the course will stay with me into my future. All of us will be returning home with many amazing stories and a new perception and hunger to learn even more about the world.
