Share your Global Impressions on education!

Help us design our website and share your thoughts, experiences or short stories with the whole world. This time, we are covering education.

"Language is much more than just a means of communication – it’s a cultural asset and an attitude towards life."

DW intern Sarah D. tells us about a long journey that brought her closer to her goals.

"'Orientation trips' are pretty standard in Germany. Young people take time off after high school or college or in between jobs to travel to other countries and clear their heads. “Work and Travel” is just one of many possibilities. It’s easy: You go to another country, work there and travel from place to place.

My orientation trip took me to Australia right after high school.
I definitely wanted to go to college, but didn’t know exactly what to study. So my best friend and I went to a convention called “What to do after high school”. A week later my friend had decided that “Work and Travel” was the thing to do, and she was headed for Australia. I did the same thing.

Australia was amazing! A gorgeous country with unbelievable scenery. You learn a lot when you decide to take a trip like this. You learn how to be more independent and you meet interesting people from around the world. Australia is a country full of immigrants – from England, Italy, Greece. I could speak German, French and English and managed to get along well. My language skills provided me with a sense of security and not only made it easier to communicate, but easier to understand the people and culture as well. In the 10 months that I was there, something became undeniably clear: Language is much more than just than a means of communication – it’s a cultural asset and an attitude towards life. Centuries of history and cultural mindsets are reflected in the melody of each language.

A funny side note – me and my friend only saw each other once in Australia ;-)

After returning from Australia I had made up my mind. I was going to study English and Spanish as well as geography – a stroke of luck!"

And you?

Why are you learning a foreign language? Which languages are taught at your school? Did it take a long time for you to decide on a certain career or area of study? Maybe the first time that you came in contact with other countries and cultures was after or during your time in school?

What was the most influential event during your period of education? Tell us your story! Share your “global impressions”!

Send an e-mail to [email protected] with your entry on elections (maximum of 1,500 characters).

We will publish a selection of entries online at www.dw.de/globalimpressions.

We would also welcome any pictures that you would like to submit to highlight this topic - please submit them with your entry!