Munich, what else?

My name is Théo Prudhomme, I come from Paris Panthéon-Assas University, in France. My parents are in fact from the middle of France, near Lyon, but I have continuously been based in the Paris area since I started my first studies, in political science, in Fontainebleau. 

I am now spending one semester here in Munich to deepen my knowledge of German but also to learn from Bavarian ways of living and working. But Germany has a special part in my story… I have actually already spent one complete year in Germany, in Konstanz, in the south of Baden-Württemberg. Konstanz is a marvellous city, in between the Bodensee and the Swiss border and  weather aside, it can hold its own against any major city.

This experience left me feeling conflicted. On the one hand, I was glad to have had the chance to live there, to learn from people coming from all over the world and to improve myself in political science. But on the other hand, I felt that I spent too much time in international environment and without meeting many Germans. It’s thus one of the reasons that made me come here. I hope to learn from my previous mistakes and to fix that.

Here is a confession: I only listed Munich as my Erasmus destination of choice. I was attracted by the Bavarian culture, by the city’s renown of the city, by the geographical location of it and by the university academic high standards. I have absolutely no regrets about my choice. After my first Erasmus experience, I did not really believe that I could have another opportunity of going in Erasmus. For a long time, I thought that my Erasmus days were over, and that « the best time of a European student’s life » was behind me. But I had already entertained the idea to go back to Germany one day and was apparently right. 

I expect from that semester to improve and deepen my knowledge of German, and to count some new friends, especially German ones! I expect also a lot from the university and this course. Having the opportunity to follow such practical courses in Germany means that we will have the chance to visit some journalists offices and meet some professionals, which I find essential in an academic path. Confronting our theoretical knowledge to practical ways of communicating and addressing people is for me very meaningful.  

For the next three months, my goal is clear: to learn about approaches to communication in Bavaria, improve my writing skills, and deepen my German to a C1 level, without forgetting to travel sometimes. It’s actually quite ambitious and almost unreachable but like the expression says, « You miss every opportunity you don’t take! »