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Welcome to Germany!

November 11th, 2008

Why “Welcome to Germany”? What do I do in Germany? Good questions! I am in Germany in Berlin as an exchange student. I know it must sound strange as I study English philology over here and it should be taught in english-speaking country but believe me or not German universities are very good as far as English is concerned. One more thing – Freie Universität where I am studying is called ‘American University’. Most of the professors studied in the USA or Great Britain so I don’t study ‘German English’.

At least 6 months I am going to be in Germany as a student of Freie Berlin Universität and I am absolutely convinced that it will be an incredible expeience for me. Besides for English philology I am going to study German language (as now I don’t speak German at all). It’s just a great chance to get to know German culture, meet differnet people from all over the world and bring my experience to Kazakhstan afterwards. Having become an independent country, Kazakhstan started to develop in different directions. Its main priority is education.

There are various programmes which give students lots of opportunities to study abroad. The most popular and reliable programme is presidential scholarship named Bolashak. Every year about four or five fairs “Education without borders” are held in Kazakhstan (usually in Astana and Almaty). There is also so-called Erasmus Mundus programme which is quite new (2 years)but very good one.
So nowadays every student who can speak a foreign language can find a programme he is interested in and study in the USA, Great Britain, France, Germany, Australia and other countries without any tuition fee.

To be perfectly honest it is not very easy to get a scholarship because of the fact that usually there are many applicants, exams are tough and obstacles are endless .
In May as a student of Eurasian National university I applied for Erasmus Mundus programme. I wanted to study english philology so I passed TOEFL exam, translated my school living certificate and paper with my current grades at university into English, wrote a resume and motivation statement, got 2 recommendation letters, sent all documents to Netherlands where the head-quarter of Erasmus Mundus programme is located. I almost forgot about my application form when in september I got a letter of award. I didn’t expect it at all as I knew that only 8 students all over Central Asia would obtain this european scholarship but somehow I became one of those lucky people.

I have a firm belief that this trip will be of a huge benefit for me both in a professional and personal way. It is not just education but intercultural exchange, travelling and what is very important it is the way of self-fullfilment. I am sure that this scholarship wasn’t given to me coincidentally. I want to prove that I really deserve it. I will do my best and take every opportunity that is given to me.