My First German Course in Germany10. November 2022

Hello, I am Pelinsu, I am from Turkey, and I am 16 years old. I spent three weeks at the Humboldt-Institut Lindenberg this year and those three weeks were the most amazing three weeks of my life!

Already at the airport, I knew that I would have a lot of fun at Humboldt. The counselor who greeted me was very friendly. I was very stressed until then, but thanks to his help I quickly calmed down. All the counselors were very nice and helpful. They were always with us and helped with even the smallest problems. It was almost like they were our friends. We always talked to them and tried to improve our German. That was very helpful!

The school building in Lindenberg is also very nice! It is close to the city but still in nature! I usually don’t like to wake up in the morning, but in Lindenberg, I woke up very happy every morning.

We woke up to birds chirping, and I got out of bed quickly every day because I knew I would have a lot of fun all day. The view from the school is very nice, sometimes I went to the garden with my friends and enjoyed the scenery. Also, the rooms were beautiful, modern, comfortable, and big – and the view was great, too!

Before coming to Humboldt, I knew word and sentence patterns, but had difficulty expressing myself. Thanks to the lessons here and the fact that I speak German all the time, I have improved my German a lot. Now I can express myself more confidently. The classes average around 11 students, so everyone gets to speak frequently. The teachers are very experienced and even if we can’t express ourselves well enough, they understand and help immediately.

During homework time, we could test if we understood what we learned during the day. Our teachers also helped with things we didn’t understand. Every Friday, we had a test on the topics we learned that week. This test motivated me and I started to learn more German. It was great to see how I improved every week!

In addition to class and homework time, there were also plenty of activities on offer. Many activities take place at specific times each day. You can choose your favorite from a variety of activities! We were also able to meet new people and socialize through activities. I wasn’t bored for a second there!

We were allowed to go into the city on two days a week. Every time we went, we bought food and drinks with my friends and had a picnic. We also had a half-day field trip every Wednesday and a full-day field trip every Saturday. We went to so many beautiful places like Lindau on Lake Constance, Munich or the famous Neuschwanstein Castle. Furthermore, we visited museums, for example, the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart, and I loved them all! I bought lots of little souvenirs everywhere because I don’t want to forget any of them!

One of my favorite things about Humboldt was the friendly atmosphere. Even though it was my first time abroad, I didn’t feel like a stranger for a minute. If you want to make new friends, Humboldt is for you. In just three weeks, I made more than forty friends from all over the world. From Spain, Japan, Korea, China, Bulgaria, Ukraine, America, and many other countries. We still keep in touch. I had a lot of fun with my friends, and together we have many incredible memories.

I would like to study in Germany in the future, but I have never been abroad. Thanks to Humboldt, I improved my German as well as learned a lot about Germany. This is an experience everyone should have.

Thank you, Humboldt!