Sandwich everyday.

“Sandwich everyday” is one of the examples which I challenged in Germany. I think that the best way to learn another culture is to imitate local people.

Then am I now almost German? The answer is no. Though I have almost finished my internship and challenged many things in Germany, I feel that I am still Japanese. Why still do I feel like that? It may be because that I did not eat sausage everyday.
But anyway through this programme, I got vitality to survive in another country and confidence to talk with foreign people in English or German. I am sure that it affects my future very much.

Before coming to Germany by this programme, my experience of foreign country was to only have been Canada for one month as a part of university programme taking care a lot by my university. This Vulcanus programme was difference. I had a lot of right to do and free. After language school, I was able to go to café with my friends and go drinking at night. In weekends, I made even small trip with my friends. But, in other hand, I had a responsibility for everything. When I moved to another city to start Internship, I had to find new apartment by my self. I called some landlords of room, visited them to check room and contracted to live with landlord. It wouldn’t be difficult if I could speak German well. But at that time, I have studied German for only 3 month. To call someone in German was very stressful. I had to make script for conversation and explain I am not strange foreign people. After getting contract, I felt these experiences made me strong and gave me big confidences.

Besides that, I had a lot of chance to talk with foreign country people. But I had been afraid of talking European people for first a few months, because I was not used to talk in German and English and I could not read their face. But now I have many friends in Europe. I talked with them about a lot of things and learned their culture. I think that if you want to understand another culture, best way is to go there and have a life together. Actually I did not need to be German. I wanted to take pride Japan and explain about Japanese culture. And it helped mutual communication and understanding.

Now I want to take an advantage of what I got this experience in my future and challenge anything whatever I can, “Sandwich everyday” made me little bit unhealthy though.