My first German friend’s life

 This week I decided to interview the first friend I made here in Munich: her name is Luisa, she comes from Northern Germany and she is 20 years old. I met her in September when I moved to Studentenstadt.

She is involved in many projects of volunteering and mentoring and that’s why I thought you would be curious about her life and project!

I hope you enjoy reading the interview about her exciting life.

 Interviewer: Hello, Luisa. First of all, thank you so much for accepting my invitation. 

Luisa: Hello Margarida, it is a pleasure. 

I: Let’s talk about you, Luisa. Firstly, what are you studying here in Munich?

L: I am currently studying law in my 5^thsemester at LMU.

I: Great! I know that you also participate in several activities in Studentenstadt, could you please talk about that?

L: Sure. I am tutor of the red house in Studentenstadt- I organize events for the students who live here. I also work as a Barkeeper and in our Red House shop.

I: That is really nice! Being a tutor in the Red house seems like a very interesting job, since you have the chance to meet many different people from all over the world. How would you describe your job?

L: It´s very interesting because I meet a lot of people from different countries. The events are always fun to organize. Sometimes the tutor job is a little too much, because I write a lot of exams and have to study sometimes.

I: It must be hard doing all that. Besides, you also told me that you are involved in volunteer work in order to help foreign people here in Munich. What do you do exactly?

L: Yes! I am part of the board of the European Law Students Association in Munich (ELSA).

At Elsa I am responsible for STEP (Student Trainee Exchange Programme). I talk to law offices to find internship places and help the International Students coming to Munich.

Last semester I was a Mentor for Students for Refugees e.V. and for the P2P Programme (Peers to Peers) – I was helping out first semesters.

And this semester I am a Mentor BUDDY Programme from LMU.

I: That’s very interesting. You sure do help a lot of people!

However, all that responsibility seem like too much work. Do you manage to have some free time to do other activities that you enjoy?

L: I like to help our community. Sometimes it is not easy to have time for everything. But I love bouldering and I like to read. Sometimes I go to the gym.

I: It’s good that you do so much in order to help people and still manage to have time for the activities that you enjoy.

Now, I would like you to talk about Portuguese people. What would you say about them?

L: I think Portuguese people are very open minded and friendly. The Portuguese friends from our house like to party a lot (laughs).

I: That’s definitely true! (laughs)

And, if you had the chance to go to Portugal, which places would you like to visit there?

L: I would like to go to the Portuguese coast to go surfing.

I: Great choice! You will love it.

I have one last question for you, about a different topic: since you are from Northern Germany, what do you think is the biggest difference between Northern Germany and Munich?

L: In Northern Germany we speak standard German (and some people speak Plattdeutsch), but here they speak Bavarian German (but in Munich not that much). I think that the Bavarian people are a little bit more patriotic about Bavaria. What I like most about Bavaria is the beer and the mountains. About Northern Germany I like the sea and I like the humor.

I: Oh, that’s awesome! It’s great to learn more about the differences between Northern Germany and Munich. And I had no idea about Plattdeutsch!

Thank you so much for answering all my questions.

L: You are very welcome. It was really fun!