From now I have been staying for one month in Germany (in Stuttgart). Many stories to be told, but sometimes it is quite hard to dance in the keyboard and write my story. In short, I can say that my activities right now are learning German and of course adapt with the German culture and system. I am adjusting my life, from tropical-communal life to four seasons and more individual spaced life. At the end, it is a learning of life, how I can find who I am and accepting other people value. It is not a lecturing or course in social science class. But it is the true learning that as a human and a life as myself. For sure I have to accept other value which sometimes we need more time to do it or accepting who we are, and our background as a value that equal to another.
I am going to tell what I already seen in my class, In German class actually. But I won’t to discuss about German culture or German people since honestly I don’t have Germans friend here in University (until I wrote this). It is quite silly but it is true. Anyhow as a foreigner it is quite easy to have friend with another foreigner compare to with the local one. Lucky you if you can make a friend with the local people as fast as you arrived. But I think most of us actually already have friend before we arrive in your destined country. Let’s take an example I have a German friend (maybe they call me as bekannt since they need time to be as your friend) when I was as exchange student in Korea. At that time as foreigner (again), it was easy to make friend with German or any other nationalities compare to Korean. However, right now in Germany, maybe it will be much easier to make a friend with Korean.
As a foreigner we have unspoken language, same a feeling that we are as a new comer. We have a fear as well as a hope. We have worry we can be accepted or adapted. We have some feeling that we make a block to the local. We= foreigners and they = locals. Every single problem that we face, we always compare to our culture or discussing with another foreigner. Actually it is just simply, we don’t have enough friends of locals so our discussion is never balance.
In my German course we don’t have any German over there. Since the teacher is a Greek. We , all of the class member can be closer since we are in the same boat, as a foreigner. We learn a language that in almost every day we rarely practice it into the reality. It is normal if we use in supermarket or office with the contact less than five minutes. But again, as an international student we need time to gel a local friend or sometimes we don’t know how to make it.
Until now I am trying to get a way to use my German skill in the casual activities. So, I decided to apply for Multicultural training in International office that the arrange event to get closer with the local people. I also made it in virtual way such as finding a language partner or meet up that I can interact with.
Today, as one month anniversary for me in Germany, is also sign that next week on 13 October, my “real study” as an engineering master student will be started.
Catatan Harsono 