3 months ago if some one asked me what I you knew about Germany, I would answer that I knew Hitler, the Berlin wall and watched the 2006 German world cup. But in 12 weeks my views have drastically changed. I was privileged enough to be a part of the Hilton exchange program and to experience three months in Schule Schloss Salem in the outskirts of Germany.

Schule Schloss Salem was originally a castle (hence the name Schule Schloss Salem – school castle Salem) that has a lot of history to it. Its beautiful architecture still attracts tourists from around the world today. When I arrived I was given a brief tour around the school but I felt, ironically, more lost after the tour.  My first week was very challenging to be honest. I think the main reason for this was definitely a result of the language barrier. The guys spoke English to me but I occasionally felt left out when boys would be deep in conversation and I was unable to join in. After two weeks or so when I had made good friends my exchange experience really escalated.

 

I made friends from many different cultures and backgrounds. One of my friends came from Vietnam and lived in Australia. Another one came from Iran and could speak Persian. One of my other friends came from Canada and only recently moved to Germany from Mexico. The school was extremely international. There were many exchange student and many other students that came for only six months and many that only came for a year. So the students were used to meeting new people. Another thing that I experienced that I wasn’t really used to was have girls around you the whole time. Girls to me were always people who I saw on the weekend and in the holidays. If a girl walked by the house at Hilton the whole house would have there head out of the window, but there they were simply schoolmates, which was really awesome.

Classes there and here are poles apart to classes at Hilton. One thing that I think summarizes the social differences was in English lessons the teacher would often ask us to hold a discussion on a specific topic in our set work book. The discussion was one that was really professional and would take up most of the lesson. She just sat in the corner, listened and took notes. The class etiquette was also a lot different. The class environment was much more relaxed and sometimes the students could get away with murder. I think the reason for this is the lack of efficient punishment because the students mostly didn’t mind it and could probably get out of it. Going to school while it was snowing was also something I was not accustomed to.

The school is split into two systems. A German system called the “abbi” system (I can not remember the full name) and the English Pre-IB system.  I was obviously in the English system but for two weeks my class had to under go a sort of work experience like the one at Hilton but a little more extreme. One of the guys went to the Canberra institute for medical research in Australia. The other Guy went to the Max Planck institute for genetical engineering. These guys did some intense stuff. One of the guys had a passion for cars so he worked at Bentley. In this time I went into the German “abbi” system. This was an amazing experience but an experience that I wouldn’t be in a hurry to repeat. It was really mind blowing to go through a whole lesson and knowing one thing only: the teacher is speaking and you are listening. I even had the honor to write a math’s test in German that I think the teacher might have enjoyed.  This experience was thankfully cut short as me and Mathew Moxham organized to meet up. So I booked plane tickets to London on the cheapest airline. This airline was well known for its low prices but also for its terrible service. I would mention the name at the dinner table and everyone would look at each other and laugh. But I got to London safe and sound and experienced the massive city in four days with my good friend Moxi. We traveled around, saw sights, resorted to eating MacDonald’s every second meal due to our tight budgets and really had an awesome time. One incident that I think sums up our experience in London was one late afternoon Mathew and I were tired from walking all day and decided to retire to a cup of Starbucks coffee in Covent Garden. We took the train and when we arrived we saw this huge screen with barriers every where and all these massive trucks. I don’t see how we did not “click” that something was happening, but nevertheless we carried on in our tired stroll to Starbucks. When we turned a corner we were surrounded by people and lights and noise. We gathered our bearings and realized we were in the middle of the British academy awards. We saw the likes of Daniel Craig and Kate Winslet. It was fantastic going around London with no specific plan except Moxi’s limited knowledge of London. It was this method of travel that led us to some extraordinary places and people.

When I came back to Germany the school was on holiday and I had prior to my trip in London agreed to participate in a holiday German course, and as soon as I arrived I was picked up by the family I was staying and stayed in this typical traditional Wooden German house. But there was more to this house that met the eye. It had this heating system in the house that used heated marble to keep the house warm. The whole house was connected to the internet through Wi-Fi. The family I stayed with treated me like I was their son and my friend from Iran who did the German course with me had a lot of fun. One Night we went to Konstanz and went to a concert there. The reason I mention this is that when I went to bed that night I thought back and realized that I had met and talked and laughed with people who couldn’t speak English. It was such an amazing feeling and I will never forget the people I met in those ten days and I hope to see them again someday.

When I arrived back at Salem it was so really good to hear about every one's holidays and work experience. I missed the people from my holiday but life went on. This half of my exchange was really awesome as I had made really good friends and we did many stupid but fun things. I ended of my exchange with a day and a half in Zurich with a mate from America that was flying back on the same day as me.

Now if some one would ask me what I thought of Germany it would be difficult for me to answer, to compress an indescribable chain of emotions into a few words. I suppose I would tell him to go experience it for himself, and perhaps see and feel the awesome things I experienced.