Exchange Program (Incoming)

Sonja, 25 from Italy, is keen on preparing dessert for her friends and has now two favorite German words concerning Tiramisu: Auflaufform and Schichten

I chose Würzburg, because several friends recommended me going to Germany and studying at a Bavarian university and as I found - many relevant courses were on offer at the JMU in Würzburg, so I decided to go there.

I expected the Germans to be less well-mannered but they are polite and helpful, they always say “Hello”. If you approach them, they are very kind, and I got to know them as very nice people.  

Emir, 21 from Turkey, questions every day stereotypes about Germans  

At the faculty, I found classes that will be extremely useful for my studies at my home university. Moreover, studying German in free of charge courses was another great opportunity.

Before I came, I had a stereotype: Germans are cold. Being here, I found out that they are so hospitable, so I had to demolish the stereotypes in my head (yet German people speak mostly German J).

Misaki, 19 from Japan, finds it great how the Germans say goodbye on Fridays saying Schönes Wochenende!

What surprised me the most when I came to Germany, were the closed shops on Sundays and friendliness in everyday life. 

In Japan, some people interact with their mates during classes whereas here - in Würzburg - the students are more disciplined and focused. On Friday students say “schönes Wochenende” and generally after a finished class knock on the table, which is a sign they appreciated the lecturer a lot.  

Lucas, 21 from Brasil, loves the Bavarian word Grüß Gott and the slang word meeeega

I love the city, the faculty and studying here. Among the advantages, I would mention 1) the central location of the affordable city, 2) the fact that we study at a Bavarian public university, 2) the lovely atmosphere in Würzburg, and 4) the fact that the price of the public transportation is included in the semester fee here.

The people are generally cheerful (maybe because of the wine), the city – calm with a nice atmosphere, surrounded by wineyards and not as small as I expected. It is hard to connect with the Germans, especially in the classroom (how did they even meet :-)?). They are nice but reserved. I think it is a cultural difference.  

The welcome week at the Faculty was informative and extremely useful, and going to parties / bars gave us the chance to connect with the German students. Our trip to Europa-Park was a highlight of the stay here.

Lina, 21 from Slovenia, likes the international atmosphere at our university 

My first impression here was that many professors talk fast and expect prerequisites, so whats striked me most at the beginning was the high academic level. In Slovenia the speed of the class is slower, and it is common to approach the professor after the lecture. In the class “Cross Cultural Management” we learned a lot also about the German culture, so it was easier for us to grasp the cultural differences.

I appreciated the first days of the semester at the faculty with the welcome session, games and the tour around the faculty and the city. It gave me a great overview about the system and the studies here. 

Eric, 21 from Mexico, loves the word servus

Germans are very nice, but sometimes they are too punctual. If you have an appointment and arrive a bit too late, the German mates have already left or do not attend you anymore.  

Here in Germany the educational structure is different: 1. lectures are longer, 2. the class size is bigger, 3. students have only one big final exam in each class, and thus a lot to study at the end of the semester. Therefore, as a student it is good to be committed and responsible for yourself throughout the whole semester. 

The faculty organizes many events for its international students: I liked the city race with group games, where we really laughed a lot. I also loved the trip to Europa-Park with our German Buddies because it gave us the opportunity to talk in German and spend much time with our German mates.