Starting off
My first day in Germany started with allowing an hour and a half to travel to my language course, hopping on several wrong buses, getting caught in the rain, and being 5 minutes late to a building that was a 25-minute walk from my house – welcome to Germany!
A Little Bit About Me
I am an American international student living in Düsseldorf through an 11-month fully funded program called the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals program. The German version is called the Parlamentarische Patenschafts-Programm – the names are quite a mouthful. 75 Americans come to Germany and spend two months in language school, then study at a German university for the winter semester and intern in their career field in the spring. We live with host families, volunteer with local organizations, and visit the State Parliament of NRW and the Bundestag to learn more about the German and American political systems.
I graduated with my bachelor’s in journalism and mass communications from Kansas State University in May and moved to Germany in July. I have worked on many multimedia projects with different focus areas, ranging from reporting on food insecurity in rural and urban areas in Kansas to analyzing political polarization among Generation Z on a domestic and international scale. Furthermore, I moved to Germany to learn more about their different journalistic structures and approaches to reporting. I also want to connect with my German heritage and open my eyes to new world views. I currently write for Life in Düsseldorf, an expat magazine based in Düsseldorf, and I look forward to interning with the podcast organization Common Ground Berlin in the spring.
My experience
Moving to Germany has been one of the most exciting, challenging, and significant growth periods of my life. I have not only learned so much about journalism, but I am also learning German, how to use public transit (clearly), and how to make friends and live independently in a new culture. I have been lucky enough to travel quite a bit through Germany, including Cologne, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich, Trier, and more. With my program, I will also travel to Nuremberg and Berlin in the spring. I have really enjoyed each place I have been and truly do not have a favorite, but I have a soft spot for Düsseldorf since it is where I live.
Americans often say that Germany is about the size of Montana – one of the larger US states. Even though Germany is the size of one US state, I have been pleasantly surprised to learn about how the cultures change throughout the regions and the diversity in the topography of each area. Germany has everything from the Alps in the south to the Rhine Valley in the west and the bordering seas in the north.
I currently enjoy attending the Weihnachtsmärkte throughout the NRW region, as we do not have these in the United States. I also love Schnitzel, relaxing on Sundays when most shops are closed and celebrating German holidays like Karneval and German Unity Day. But above all else, my friendships have been the best part of the experience.
I made my first German friend, Clara, at the laundromat because I could not figure out where to pay to use the dryer. We started to chat, and now we are such good friends that she baked the cake we ate at my birthday party. These experiences and friendships have shown me that even though we are from different parts of the world, we can form deep and lasting connections.
The Parlemantarische Patenschafts-Programm
If this type of experience interests you, I have good news! My program is an exchange between the United States and Germany, and you can apply for one of the programs that would bring you to the United States. Below is some general information about the program. Check out their website, as there is a high school, vocational, and young professionals program.
Contact info
If you would like to ask me any questions about my experience, the PPP/CBYX program, or anything else, do not hesitate to reach out! My email is [email protected], and my LinkedIn is www.linkedin.com/in/eden-brockman
