In Germany, Learning About China

Dominick is an American student studying in Germany as part of the CBYX (Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange) scholarship exchange program.

Although I expected my first friends in Germany to be, well, German, they actually ended up being Chinese students. 

Being an exchange student is a special title that sticks with you for the rest of your life. There’s certainly something unique about plunging into a new culture halfway through school that not many will understand, so when you find more exchange students, it’s always a special moment.

I shared that moment with some Chinese students, Hank and Ray, because the CBYX language camp was actually hosted at an international boarding school. Tucked away in a German castle, we observed the new continent we found ourselves in and related a lot about the global superpowers we call homes.

It showed me that searching for a deeper understanding of our planet is an inherent drive of humanity itself. Borders may mark where we live, but our efforts to bridge them show us who we are.