Because of Covid, I almost passed on the whole Erasmus experience. I’m so glad I took the leap of faith and went anyway! Back in March when I came to Stuttgart, the whole city was closed. I became friends with some people from my apartment building and together we took this time to explore the city and surrounding areas outside. Some weeks later everything started opening and we could finally visit the museums, restaurants and shops with a negative Covid-test result.
I have been one of the fortunate ones who still get to go to campus (or has to go – it depends). Here I study print media technologies in Hochschule der Medien, and could not really do much from home. I have classes about campaign management, bookbinding, preparing files for printing, and different printing methods. These courses have been fun and useful, as they are sort of a natural continuation to my studies at TAMK (Interactive Media). The campus, teachers and classmates are all very nice, but I’m sure open cafeterias and events could have made the school experience even better.
What I could not do at the campus, I made up for outside of it. In addition to hanging out at the dorms, my friends and I have made countless trips inside and outside of the city. Southern Germany has so many beautiful towns, natural parks and mountains! You can see some of them in the picture collage below. These trips are definitely one the most cherished memories I will keep from the Erasmus exchange.
I have learned a lot during my time in Germany – professionally and culturally. The German students in my classes seem to be prepared to compete for jobs. They are generally driven, precice and demanding. They will suggest a group zoom meeting even on a Sunday morning, which is unheard of in Finland. I got used to their habits as we were only two Finns and one Turkish girl among 50 Germans. Sometimes I had to remind my group that I was just being polite, not uninterested, by not pushing my opinions all the time. Despite the cultural differences, everything went well in the end and I enjoyed the classes.
-Anna
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