Giulia Giorgi, A German Adventure
<<For a wise man all lands are accessible, as the homeland of a virtuous soul is the universe≫ (Democritus)
Two years ago, during my third year here at “Ulivi”, I started to think about going abroad for a period of time. Why? Probably because I’m curious, and because I’ve heard about people, who had come back from such experiences and I was totally agog. So at the end of my third year, I left Parma and I reached Görlitz, Germany. I spent there 10 months in a family, in “my” German family, I attended the school, I met a lot of people from all over the world. I learned a lot about the German culture, I became part of my host family, I was no guest anymore, I won the prejudices against the Italian people, I won the prejudices that I had against the German ones and Latinos, through the distance I understood the importance of some values as family, friendship, honesty and tolerance. I had also the opportunity to know myself better. I’ve grown up, in a way that is really difficult to explain but it’s immediate to see. It could seem a nonsense, but knowing so many people I could appreciate much better my Italian friends, knowing another way of life, I appreciated some typical Italian customs, of which I couldn’t do without.
All of you will think that Germany is not so cool as Australia or USA, that it’s cold, that people are cold there. Well, they are all prejudices and if you live in any other country, I’m sure you will get the spirit of that place and it’ll never leave you, because if you try to live not as a tourist, you’ll become part of the community. That’s what I learned and now I can understand what Democritus had in mind!
But all this isn’t only the result of my work, I have to thank first my family, who has permitted me to live these experiences, my host family, without whom I wouldn’t have had such a beautiful experience, my friends, who are always there when you need and know that you are always there for them, no matter if you are 1200km away.
I cannot say that during all those 10 months everything was fine, without any problems: problems are part of life, you don’t live alone and you have to compare yourself and your needs with the others. But the greatest thing is that at the end you realize that all those problems you’ve solved have helped creating your life!
Squeezing 10 months, which are so intense and special, on a page is absolutely not easy. All I can do is try to give you an idea through the photos, especially about my school-life, which you can see on the ppt.
Giulia Giorgi
Parma, 03.11.2011