Experiences abroad during the pandemic

Between masked encounters and social distancing, wanderlust increases immensely. Five students of our university have been able to realize their dreams of studying and/or working abroad - how this was influenced by the global pandemic and how they dealt with it Elena, Sarah, Johannes, Felix and Marina tell us here. They have been to Bolivia, Chile, Iceland, the USA and Slovenia.

Marina Geisler, 25 years
Master Business Administration: Supply Chain Management,
Erasmus+ funded year abroad
Ljubljana, Slowenia

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When I applied for my semester abroad, there were no signs of a pandemic yet. I was looking forward to a time abroad where I would meet many new people and get the chance to discover another country and culture. One thinks of lectures together at university, lunches, parties and travel. So my anticipation dimmed a bit when we were still in the pandemic in the summer. Nevertheless, I was happy that we were able to live in the local student dormitory despite the online semester. For me, there was no question of following the semester online from Cologne. In retrospect, this was a very good decision, because despite the Corona crisis I had a really great, just a different semester abroad! The university in Ljubljana was perfectly prepared for an online semester and the courses via ZOOM were still very interactive. Breakout rooms and shared documents made it possible to work together in small groups during a course. We had the opportunity to get to know each other better and exchange information. It was also easy to master our numerous projects online.

Fortunately, many thought like me and traveled to Ljubljana. I arrived two weeks before the official start of the semester in order to settle in a bit and make one or two small excursions. Very soon we arranged via a WhatsApp group to explore the city together or to go out for a drink in the evening. Through these first days I had the opportunity to get to know some of the others. We didn't have any parties, but we cooked together, enjoyed game nights in a bar or went hiking together. Pretty soon, unfortunately, came the lockdown. This meant stricter measures from week to week. Everyone had hoped that it would only be for a few weeks, unfortunately the lockdown lasted until the end of our semester. But despite the really very limited options, we always found something to do together within reason. In the beginning, we just met outside and sat down with take-away food in a park, for example. Later on, we planned a lot of things in the dorm in small rounds, such as kino nights, cocktail rounds, and brunches. Somehow we always came up with something.

I am very happy and grateful to have had the opportunity to go abroad despite the pandemic. The semester was a bit quieter, but there was no lack of cultural experiences. Therefore, I can only advise anyone who is in a similar situation to go abroad despite Corona and even with restrictions and not to miss this great experience!

Elena Glässer, 22 years
English and Geography for teaching
Voluntary internship abroad
Cochabamba, Bolivia

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Now it is already more than a year ago that I had to cancel my internship at the Colegio Alemán Federico Froebel in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Nevertheless, I had a very great time during the 5 weeks I was there and was able to gain valuable experience. Although it was a rather abrupt end - or maybe because of it - I would like to travel there again and continue my internship. At the beginning of February, I traveled from Germany via the Netherlands and Peru to Bolivia. There I received a very warm welcome from both the German coordinator and my host family. The first weekend was relatively unspectacular due to the exhausting journey but also due to the time difference.

On the first day at the school, I was shown around and introduced to the teachers. There are 9 German teachers at the school, who were all very nice to me and included me everywhere. Because I did a project in cooperation with BIDS-KIDS, I was mainly active in the 11th and 12th grade German classes.  I was allowed to observe and was able to tell the students more about life and studying in Germany. I was then allowed to conduct lessons on the topic of educational justice and Fridays for Future. I was also asked if I would like to teach geography and history in German and also about Germany. I gladly accepted this opportunity and I designed lessons about World War 2 and the German states. I also had the opportunity to give daily tutoring sessions to new students who were not yet very good at German. I was very much involved, which allowed me to gain very unique experiences. I was also able to enjoy a typical Bolivian life there thanks to my host family.

These 5 weeks on the ground helped me grow both personally and professionally. Even now, one year after my return, I have constant contact with the school and still a very close contact with my host family and hope very much to be allowed to travel to Cochabamba again in the near future.

Felix Kirchhof, 27 years
Teacher training Master HRGe: Social Sciences and English
Stay abroad
Pennsylvania, USA

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Through the cooperation between Allegheny College (Pennsylvania, USA) and the University of Cologne, I got the chance to study and work at an American liberal arts college for 10 months. Already the size of the college is in strong contrast to the University of Cologne, because there are only about 1500 students. The partner program provides for the work of a Teacher Assistant for the subject German and additionally allows for the attendance of two courses per semester. This allowed me to gain experience in the role of a teacher, but at the same time to get to know different teaching methods as a student. The work is limited to 10 hours per week. My tasks included two German language courses per week, a consultation hour for students and also the organization of larger and smaller events for German students. The German courses themselves take place in small groups. The number of students varies depending on the semester, for me it was between 5 and 10 people. This is a very pleasant group size. In addition, the German professor helps you with the structuring of the courses. Overall, the focus is on language practice.

Of course, the studies and everyday life were shaped by the Corona measures. Many extracurricular events that should have been held on campus were either canceled or held online. But the good technical equipment of the college allowed, despite distance regulations and safety precautions (e.g. mask obligation on the entire campus), the study in presence. The procedure here varied depending on the course: for example, courses were split up so that one group is present in the classroom once a week and participates in the seminar online once. All classrooms are equipped with beamers and good cameras for this purpose. The college had also set up its own "Health Agency": For example, as measures, students and faculty were tested regularly, contact tracing was done, a campus quarantine (no leaving campus) was imposed at the beginning of the semester, etc.
The campus itself is located in Meadville, a small town near Pittsburgh. The town is rather drab, but the campus itself offers many recreational activities, such as its own café, a gym, a football stadium with a running track, and a swimming pool. Thanks to the many green spaces on campus, you can also relax well there in your free time.

Although the negative aspects of a privatized education system are also evident at the college, there are still opportunities for critical education. All in all, I enjoyed my stay very much, it enabled contact with many people from all over the world and promoted reflection and exchange on many levels.

Sarah Schubarth, 22 years
B.A. Scandinavian Studies, English Studies
Erasmus+ funded year abroad, WiSe 2020+SoSe 2021
Reykjavik, Iceland

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I am currently spending a year abroad at the University of Iceland and have therefore been living in Reykjavík since August last year. I am studying Scandinavian and English Studies in Cologne in the Bachelor's program and at the University of Iceland I am mainly taking courses from the B.A. program "Icelandic as a Second Language", since I have already taken Icelandic courses in Cologne as well. Even though the situation here is much more relaxed compared to most other countries in Europe, the Corona pandemic is of course also felt here. Therefore, I would like to give a brief overview of what studying and living as an exchange student in Reykjavík is like.

Because of the Corona pandemic, of course, everything is a little different here as well. Nevertheless, I was really lucky here in Iceland, because here the infection was and is relatively well controllable. As of now (March 2021), bars and cinemas are also open again, the swimming pools were open almost continuously except for a few weeks, and many courses at the university are again held as face-to-face events. Last semester, however, all courses were held online (the semesters here go from September to the end of November and from January to about mid-April), only in the first two weeks we were partly allowed to go to the university before the decision was made to teach all courses online again. And even this semester, that hasn't changed for me so far, because there are too many students in my courses. Getting to know people is of course more difficult at the moment, although a lot has reopened here in the meantime, at least if there aren't exchange students looking for contacts. On the one hand, this is a pity because I study Icelandic and so I don't get to practice the language very much outside of my classes. On the other hand, I think that my small group of Erasmus friends and I have grown very close because the whole situation is quite unusual and as an exchange student without contacts you are otherwise quite alone. All in all, I am very happy and grateful that my stay abroad is going quite smoothly despite the pandemic. Best regards from Reykjavík and "þetta reddast!" (unofficial motto of Iceland, "it will work out").

Johannes Häffner
Chemistry and Social Sciences for the teaching profession
Semester abroad
Chile

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I planned my stay abroad even before the pandemic. Except for a PCR test and the quarantine, the organization did not differ from other stays abroad. Before starting my career, I really wanted to take the opportunity to go abroad again. Since I am at the end of my studies, I could not postpone my stay abroad. But even under the current conditions, I am satisfied with my stay abroad. The conditions are not really better in Germany. In Cologne, I could not enjoy the advantages of university life either.

The situation in class is similar to some German schools. Classes are separated into group A and B and come to school on different days. Some students who have had contact with infected people are quarantined as a preventive measure and are watched in parallel by camera.

A significant difference is that almost all teachers here have already been vaccinated since the beginning of March. Since the students have not been vaccinated, all protective measures must still be observed. What I was not so aware of before is the economic situation. As a private school, my school is dependent on the school fees of the parents. A long lockdown can threaten the existence of private schools in Chile and thus also the teachers. Accordingly, the infection situation is followed more closely here.