We were really looking forward to what the opportunity might bring.  Although a little nervous, after exchanging emails for several weeks, it felt great to finally meet my exchange partner in person.  We hit it off right away and spent the first day by a river, swimming, sunbathing, and going over the holes in my German vocab!  Luckily, we arrived during some of the hottest weeks of summer, so there was plenty to do and see.

Most weekdays I would do my work experience at the local ‘Grund schule’, with children of various different ages.  It was a really fulfilling experience and one that I’d definitely repeat.  It really helped my German. The kids were very understanding and most of them didn’t mind if I got a few things wrong at the start, and by the end, I’d improved so much that I felt entirely comfortable telling them what to do!

When I got home from work, my exchange partner and I did a range of things.  We went to Beer Gardens quite often, after going for a swim or a cycle around the city.  On one particular day we went for a trip with the rest of the exchange girls and their partners.  It was fun to meet up with everyone again, and we had a lot of catching up to do!

Over the weekend, we went camping with some other exchange partners and friends; there are many lakes around Munich and you can swim in most of them.  The surrounding countryside is extraordinarily beautiful and framed by the Alps.  The walk up is challenging, but the rewarding view made it worth the effort.

Overall, I had an amazing time and made so many new friends that I will definitely keep in touch with.  The Germans are really friendly and understanding so I never felt out of place.  I wish I could do the whole thing again, it was such a great opportunity.