Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange: Study in Germany

Absolutely the most rewarding, challenging, amazing experience of a lifetime!! I cannot say enough positive things about the year I spent living in Cologne, Germany. I never in a million years thought I would live in a non English speaking country, but doing so was more enriching than I could have ever imagined. I had constant support from the program, even through having to switch host families halfway through the year. Not only that, but I have built friendships that will certainly last a life time. My exchange year was 2001-2002 as a 17 year old girl, and I can honestly say that now, as a 31 year old woman, the experiences during this year sculpted me to be the person I am today in the most incredible ways. I would re live this year exactly the same a thousand times and never run out of wonderful things to say about the country, its people, or the memories I made while there

This program combined a whole bunch of elements that I have seen separately in other exchange programs--study, internship, homestay, volunteer work, and citizen diplomacy. The structure of the program really makes you be proactive in getting out to experience so many elements of Germany that I'm not sure many people get in their own countries. I was able to study at a German university, intern at a statistics company, volunteer with the German coast guard, meet members of the German parliament, attend some amazing festivals, and travel around the country to experience the other participants' lives in different parts of Germany. I was so busy living life that it can sometimes take a retrospective look to realize how incredible my opportunities were and how much I grew as a person and as a professional in my time spent on the CBYX fellowship in Germany.

Through the CBYX program, I had what was definitely the best year of my life. The people I met through the program - from America and in Germany - were some of the best people I've ever met. Most of them remain some of my best friends to this day, and have even come across the ocean to visit me! I never felt unsafe or out of contact with my program. The people managing the program were well-educated in their fields, helpful, extremely nice, patient and understanding. Germany itself is a fantastic country, with a colorful history and unimaginable beauty. The people there are genuinely nice and have respectable values, while still being able to have a very good time. You won't have to worry about finding a group of people to fit in with. Additionally, you will without a doubt find yourself growing and becoming a better, more mature person while you're there. Through my exchange I've gained a broader view of the world, an openness for cultural differences and a love for travel and language. This program has also opened many doors for me, boosted my résumé, and made me think about possibly studying (and even living!) in Europe someday. I'm convinced that my year abroad will remain one of the best years of my life, and I don't regret it for a minute.

I was born in Germany, have family there, but grew up mostly in the United States. I wanted to spend a year in Germany after graduating from high school to improve my very basic German language skills. My 10 months abroad helped me do that and much more.

I was placed in Thüringen, Germany, in a town of about 5 thousand people. On hearing of my placement, I was disappointed I wasn't going to be living in a metropolis and a little nervous about being out in the middle of nowhere. In the end, though, my little town of Bad Klosterlausnitz became a second home.

I quickly felt myself at home mostly because of 1 important reason: my host family. My family was warm, welcoming, tolerant, and engaging. That last adjective can be explained well by the nearly weekly trips my family took me on to show me Germany (and even Austria twice!). We went to museums, festivals, concerts, river cruises, visited cities, countrysides, hiking and skiing in the mountains, castles, mines, Nazi concentration camps, palaces, churches...just about anything and everything.

I grew really close to with my host family. I continue to stay in contact by phone, email, facebook, and travel. I have since been back to visit for several days; I wasn't sure how things would have changed after a year, but things were unchanged.

Because I graduating from high school already, I didn't have to worry too much about my classes in German schools. I didn't get grades, but I did try to learn when I could. Some subjects where nearly impossible for me. Without either a strong background or the technical vocabulary, I basically ignored my biology and physics classes. I did really enjoy and/or get a lot out of my history, math, German, French, physical ed, and geography classes.

The orientations and support through AFS (provider of CBYX scholarship winner's programs in the northeast U.S.) were okay. Not great, because sometimes they were repetitive or unhelpful, but mid-stay and end-of-stay enrichment trips to Cologne & Bonn, and later Berlin were a blast. You'll love being with other CBYX students from the U.S. They are smart, engaged people who are on the same crazy adventure along with you. They were the best friends I made and stay in touch with them today.

Living in a new culture and trying to speaking a foreign language is never easy, but an experience like CBYX is a real privilege. It will push you in many ways. You'll grow personally, in your understanding of the world, and in your thinking. It may not happen until you return to the United States, but you will realize your time in Germany will have changed you forever. For one, you will from then on see the world as your oyster. You'll have a travel bug and will want to go everywhere on earth and try to experience everything this life has to offer. If you are thinking about going abroad to study, work, or live (whether with CYBX, a different program, or on your own), do it! It's one of the best decisions you can ever make.

Going abroad in high school would have been virually impossible for me without CBYX. Their scholarship covered everything from the flight to the entire program cost and a carefully selected homestay.
The hardest part was learning to adapt to my host family's living style (they had different rules and expectations from my family at home), but these difficulties were overcome and I had a wonderful relationship with my host family.

School was not easy. I came to Germany with zero understanding of the German language. By the time my 10 months in Germany was over, I was writing poetry in German at nearly the same level as the native German students in my class. However, it still took me dramatically longer to read a German book than it did my classmates.

Like any place you go there will be good people and bad people. The key is to find the good people and make friends with them. It will not be east, as Germans are notorious for being hard towards strangers, but once you break down that barrier you will have friends for life.

The type of support you will have from the organization you travel with depends on which organization. I went with AFS. AFS was very reliable and I never felt like I was unsafe or without help.
The greatest part of your experience will also be the worst--going home. It is the greatest because you will have realized how much you've gained from your experience in Germany, but the feeling will be bitter sweet because you will feel like you are leaving a second home.

This program is especially good for mature individuals, because in the first few months you will probably feel like a fish out of water, but if you are determined to succeed, you will eventually feel more comfortable and learn to enjoy every moment of your time abroad.

The 11-month program begins with a 2 week language camp. Unfortunately for me, not knowing German, the language camp was sort of a joke. Luckily, I had just graduated high school so I did not need to bring any credit back, because I did not understand my classes for the first 5 months while I was learning German, and after that the coursework was still difficult, even when I understood the lectures.

My area representative was less than helpful, and when I was having problems with my host family she handled the situation horribly.
That being said, I am really glad that I had the experience. I am now fluent in German, and had a wonderful second host family that became very dear to me. This program definitely takes a lot of maturity and it can be very difficult at times to be that far away from home for so long, but it definitely helped me grow as a person and learn a lot about the world around me.

In addition, it's a very inexpensive way to travel abroad, as the scholarship covers almost everything except airfare from Washington, D.C.