My Experiences in Fulda

My Experiences in Fulda

My international exchange took place in Fulda University of Applied Sciences, department of Social Work. The course was International Course in Social work, which included subjects like Intercultural Competencies and Communications, European Studies, learning about Good Practices in Germany (visiting different institutions) and an internship.

The Dome near our student house, in Fulda.

First Impressions

My international exchange in Fulda, Germany started a few days later than planned due to acute illness and having being pulled off from the airplane in Norway and having sent to the hospital. It was stressful because I was not able to inform the tutors who were expecting my arrival. In addition I was worried about the hospital costs. To my relief everything worked out-the hospital in Norway was free for me, as I am a citizen of Europe and I even managed to get a new flight ticket without paying, thanks to the amazing workers at Air Baltic.

The tutors picked me up from the train station in Fulda and brought me straight to my new room, in a 6 room apartment. My first impressions were disappointing as the flat was old and not clean, the kitchen was dirty and empty. Later it also came out, that the shower water kept changing from burning hot to ice cold during the whole time we were taking showers. I had expected better conditions because of the pictures I had seen online. I also figured that for 260 euros they would offer more. This is something I struggled with for at least a month. Later on I managed to change my state of mind and not care about these things. I realized that my time there is so short and it was such a waste of my energy and time to be bothered by such issues.

The next day I met the other exchange students in Social Work program - a 65 year old lady from San Francisco, four 22-year old girls from the USA as well, a girl from Australia and one from South-Korea. The American girls were loud and talked constantly, which was quite scary for me, being an introvert and all. I was also worried, that I am going to be the only one, except the girl from South-Korea, who speaks English as a second language.

The beginning of the studies I considered to be slow. Reason being that I had been told by my other German friends how difficult and more structured the German education system is compared to Finnish. This was also one of the reasons why I applied to Fulda-to challenge myself and discover new ways of learning.

Therefore I can say that although I do not find German culture much different to what I am used to and I had been there several times before, the begging of my semester was mentally surprisingly challenging. I definitely had not expected that since I have considered myself to be very well adapting due to many travels. I now think, that my expectations back then were too high, in regards to the apartment, the school and also meeting new people and the study group.

The Studies and the University

The studies picked up after about one month of my arrival. We were actually explained, that the program was structured the way it was to give us time to settle in, discover the city and people and travel around.

The professors spoke clear English and are all professionals in their field. The classes were informative and structured in a way that there is a balance between teachers talking and the opinions and remarks of the students.

The university itself was breathtaking. The area on which the university complex was, was spacious and green, it had everything one could wish for. The library was huge, with big rooms for group meetings, rooms for computers and space for individual learning. Plus there were other special buildings for learning. The canteen was also spacious and had different sections for variety of diets. There was another cafeteria on the area, where smaller groups could hang and where university parties were sometimes held. Outside there were ball courts for sport, hammocks, benches for hanging out. I felt that in regards to my studies and motivation I opened up in a whole new level. I felt driven to learn and give my best. Still I am trying to figure out, what were the reasons for that and how can I keep it up here in Finland.

My internship took place in a project, where young socially troubled unemployed girls would get vocational training working with animals in a wild park. As the internship was once a week and the girls didn´t speak any English, I felt that my contribution in regards to communicating with the girls was not the best it could have been. I learned that I need to be more confident and throw myself into situations more freely. I speak A2 level German and I could have practiced more with the girls. My supervisor told me, that although spoken language was minimal, I still connected with the girls by using unspoken language and just being there. Still I feel that I held back. This is something I need to develop.

We also visited several different institutions, not only in Fulda but in Frankfurt as well. One of the most remarkable places we got to witness was the Eastside drug facility in Frankfurt. Reason being, it is one of its kind in Europe- drug abusers have injection rooms where they are allowed in controlled settings, to use drugs. It helps to prevent overdose and criminal activities on the streets- and what we heard from the professional workers of Eastside, it seems to be working.

Social Life and Free Time

In the beginning I felt lonely much of the time. Most of the time I would spend with the Americans, who I felt I was forced to spend my time with and I had nothing in common with. The reason for that was the fact that our international social work study group started our orientation and also the studies one month earlier than all the other students due to the semester times in America. In that sense I find the program poorly executed- our seven people group was totally excluded from the other international students, who had their orientation and activities all together later on, in a large group with people from different departments. This is something we took up with the professors as well and they promised to try to consider it next time.

Later, when all the German students joined the school and some also our study group, the environment and the general vibe changed completely. I guess all of us from our social work group had expected to get to know more German people and not to spend every day for one month only with the 6 other people. The big group connected well and we spent some amazing times together. I got really close with 4 German girls, who I spent most of my time there with.

I visited many different cities, where I have German friends already from the old times. We also had a field trip to Berlin, which lasted for 4 days. All of the exchange students from the social work department and some of the German students took part in the trip. We got to visit the main turist sites like the Berlin wall and the Bundestag, plus we had some free time and all the evenings free. It was the perfect way to connect with all the other students and also the teachers.

Towards the end, I also realized how close we really had gotten with our small 7 people group of internationals. There were times when I just wanted to escape and not see some of the people at all. But actually we made strong bonds for lifetime, having gone through everything together and supporting each other in all situations.

 The Parliemant house in Berlin

Enjoying a thanksgiving dinner cooked by everyone, organized by the Americans

To sum it up…

The beginning was unexpectedly challenging but after a short time of settling in, I was draining for the day of my departure home. I learned that giving also the most challenging people a chance is totally worth it. There is always something that you will gain. I also realized how much more I appreciate a more free society than for example Finland has. There are no major differences in the culture that I could bring out, however all the small things that made me feel like I am trusted as a citizenship or as a person made me feel good.

I made good friends and built useful networks. Although Fulda itself was a small catholic town, with an alternative scene of about 20-30 individuals, where I could have never seen myself enjoying my time, I would go again in a heartbeat. It is green with romantic architecture and smiley people.