My name is Alba and I’m a doctorate student on a scholarship. Originally I come from Spain and it’s been almost a year since I moved to Germany. Before coming here, I found out that there weren’t any travel guides written in Spanish, so I thought it could be a good idea writing about what I’m learning and discovering here in Cologne in my blog.
I think there are many people that come from different cultures and countries in Germany, but the interaction between them doesn’t happen that often. Integrating in a culture is also a question of where you come from. For some societies it is easier to integrate into simply because they are much similar, and vice-versa. For me it is difficult to say, as an exchange student, I have been most of the time with international students, so it is not easy to have an access to the “real Germans”.
I never know how to address to people here. In German courses they tell you to use “Sie” when referring to everybody, but then I found out that many people say “Du” without actually knowing you….It’s sometimes a mystery to me!
From Spain I miss the most the food, the sense of humour and the relationships with people. But I try to enjoy my time while here, there is plenty of things to do, to learn and to see.
English
"I never know how to address to people here," says a Spanish doctoral student.