Revista del Poeta

My Erasmus trip to Germany offered me a new perspective on the world.

Elena García Espín, 1º Bachillerato A

From the airplane, I was already fascinated by the vast German fields. When I got off, even the atmosphere felt different, the air was much purer.The first day was quite interesting. We arrived at a huge school, and after some time, we finally reached the room where the Germans had prepared a traditional breakfast for us. There, I tried pretzels and blueberries. It was a bit awkward at first since my German exchange partner is quite shy, and it took her some time to open up. That same afternoon, they took me to see Schwetzinger Schloss, a palace inspired by Versailles, though it reminded me of Barbie’s palace because of its pink color.The second day was my favorite. At 10 in the morning, we took the train to Heidelberg and headed straight to its famous castle, a very romantic place. That morning was my souvenir shopping spree. At one, the Germans joined us and took us to a restaurant where I had the best Margherita pizza in the world. Later, we learned a bit about German history and had a somewhat chaotic debate about feminism. Afterwards, we went to the banks of the Neckar River, had a picnic, chatted, shared our cultures, and danced to "El Chocolatero" and "Cotton Eye Joe."The third day was also interesting. We visited the sports fields at the center, which looked just like those typical American movie scenes. My German partner and I ran 15 km there to raise money for charity and later did a photorail around Wiesloch, taking some pretty creative pictures. That night, my German partner and I watched "Mamma Mia!" and sang and danced crazily to its songs.The fourth day was when we really bonded. It was one of the Spanish students’ birthdays, and the Germans were excited about it. After going bowling, we went to a vineyard and taught the Germans bachata and flamenco. They were quite impressed with our artistic skills.The weekend arrived, and each of us did different activities with our host families. I was very lucky. They took me to an adventure park and climbing area and also to Stuttgart, where I saw the Porsche museum and got to drive a car for the first time.As the days passed, Monday came, and we visited SAP, a large company that develops software to help businesses manage their operations. In the evening, my German partner’s friends and I went to a fair where we bought matching bracelets, and later we went to one of her friends’ gardens to play cards.Finally, the farewell arrived, the saddest part for all of us. Honestly, I would have stayed longer, and to this day, I still miss being there with them. They made me feel at home, and my expectations were clearly exceeded, all thanks to the wonderful family I stayed with and my amazing German partner, who made me feel like we were old friends.