"China Was the Best Experience of My Life" – A Year of German-Chinese School and Youth Exchange

A Whole New World

Exchanges, of course, are in two directions. As many young Chinese coming to Germany have the chance to experience plenty of new facets of life, so many German pupils and university students take the opportunity to travel to China, live with a host family there, and in that way enlarge their cultural horizons.

“China was the best experience of my life,” young German high school student Joel said in response to my asking him how he felt after returning from his exchange year in China. During an YFU program, Joel stayed 10 months with a host family in Shenzhen in southern China. “My host parents and my host brother and me feel like a real family now,” Joel enthused. When recalling his visit, he mostly refers to them as “my Dad,” “my Mum” and “my brother.” He said he would never forget the unique experiences and wonderful people he met in China.

There is an old Chinese saying, “Seeing once with your own eyes is better than hearing a hundred times.” “China is so different from the picture drawn by our media,” Joel said. He added that if you try to know China solely through German television or newspapers, you’ll have no idea of the real country. One of the first impressions he gained during his stay was that the image of China presented by German media is somewhat biased and far from reality. China is wonderful, and the people are good natured and always willing to help – this realization alone makes the trip worthwhile.

German student, Joel, with his new Chinese classmates.

When Joel took his trip to China in August 2015, he was 15 years old. Upon arrival he had only rudimentary language skills in Mandarin, gained at a crash course at the German folk high school (Volkshochschule). So for him, the exchange was like jumping in at the deep end of a cold pool.

As his host mother worked as an English teacher, he could communicate with her in English. However, after only four weeks Joel was able to hold conversations mostly in Chinese. One thing that helped him make such rapid progress was that his host brother was only three years old, and so his host parents spoke to him in fundamental, rather than grown-up Chinese. In that way Joel was able to learn elementary linguistic skills with his new brother, so making use of a language learning loophole.

The Chinese school year started in September. Joel soon felt at home in his new surroundings, although he didn’t understand much during classes. Despite linguistic challenges, however, he managed to integrate fast and, with the help of his teachers, tried to participate as far as possible in school activities.

“I also made friends, but this really takes longer than in Germany!” Joel said. One of the main reasons might have been that pupils in China have far less free time than their German peers. Classes last from early morning until evening, when homework awaits. There remains little time for hobbies or friends.

However, Joel was lucky, as his host parents treated him just like a son. During school holidays they took him on several trips to give him a bigger picture of the country. One such journey took them to eastern Taiwan. “We travelled there in winter, in the month of February, and it was wonderful to jump into the warm ocean on the coast of this tropical island.”

A special experience for every China traveler always remains the encounter with Chinese cuisine, with all its unfamiliar flavors and cooking styles. “My host mum never told me what I was going to eat until after I had tried it. But I have to admit everything was really delicious,” Joel said. The greatest fun was having dinner with his Chinese friends. These loud and joyful gatherings were quite different from a German abendbrot.

Today, Joel sees the world through different eyes. The exchange year in China gave him much inspiration. There are many new things he has experienced in Germany since returning from China. Among them are the English classes at his school, which include a lot of oral conversation. He likes them much more than the traditional Chinese teaching style.

However, there were also many things he really admired about his Chinese school, for instance, the respectful attitude of Chinese students towards their teachers.

All in all, he didn’t want his trip in China to be the last. Next year he intends to visit his host parents again. “I miss them very much,” he said. He plans to fly to Beijing to meet them and start a trip around China.