My exchange trip to Munich

17.04.2023

Studying abroad is a life-changing experience for many students, especially when it involves travelling to a country that is culturally and linguistically different from one's home country. My name is Jaden Rono and I come from Nairobi Kenya, I am 16 years old, and I came for a 8-week school exchange trip in Munich at the Gut Warnberg Realschule. I arrived on the 5th of February and would be staying with the Odrčić-Babić family until March 30th. When I arrived in Munich, I was greeted with a warm welcome from my host Diabla Odrčić and her family. On the same day of my arrival Diabla's family generously took me for dinner in a Bavarian themed restaurant where I had the opportunity to try traditional Bavarian food for the first time and I can confidently say that it was one of the best meals I've ever had. As someone who had never been to Europe before, I was thrilled at the opportunity to live in Germany. I was eager to immerse myself in the German culture and learn about the country's history. Munich is a beautiful city that’s filled with many activities for one to do and I was ready to explore all the wonders Munich had to offer.

I was part of klasse 10, a class that was made up of 23 students. They treated me as one of their own, my class was full of extremely kind and helpful people, they all helped me navigate around the school and they always made sure to include me in everything they did.

While in Germany I visited many beautiful sights, such as the Rathaus, Frauenkriche, the Olympia Park and many more. Diabla, one of her friends and I went to see a movie, the movie was called ‘A man named Otto’ and I found it to be a very interesting film. While here I visited the Dachau concentration camp where I saw just how degrading and tormenting the Nazi concentration camps were during the second World War, I found it a great learning experience and would recommend people that love history to visit the camp. I also went to one of Diabla's friends' party, we went karting and I came in second place, it was a fun experience and I really enjoyed it. I also had the opportunity of seeing one of the greatest football teams in the world play right Infront of my eyes, I went with Diabla to watch FC Bayern play at the Allianz arena, it was an adrenaline pumping game and I was very happy to watch one of my favorite teams play in person. During the holidays I went with Diabla and her family to Austria for one week, during my stay in Austria I had the opportunity to see and touch snow for the first time when we went up the mountains to ride on our rodelbahns(sleds). On top of the mountains, I was a bit skeptical about riding on a sled down a mountain full of sharp bends and steep falls but nevertheless I got on and I set off with Diabla and her family down the mountain. After crashing over 100 times, we had finally reached the foot of the mountain, I was surprised that I made it down in one piece, nevertheless it was a completely life changing experience seeing snow and riding down a mountain on a sled, it was definitely the coolest thing I did during my stay with Diabla and her family.

While still in Austria we went for a local festival where we dressed up in costumes, ate sweets and danced to music being blasted on top of trucks and tractors. On the last day of our stay in Austria we went to Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart, and toured around the cities center. Salzburg had a lot of beautiful sights and I’d definitely like to return and explore more of the city.

As I am writing this, I only have 1 week left in Germany and it deeply saddens me that I have to leave so shortly. I have enjoyed every second of my stay in Germany and with Diabla and her family, they took care of me and made sure I had everything I needed to enjoy my stay here in Germany and for this I am forever grateful for her and her family, they gave me the best experience abroad I could've asked for and made my trip to Germany a trip I’d never forget. I look forward to coming back to my new family in Germany sometime in the future and spending more time and creating more memories with Diabla and her family.