My BUDDY from Brazil

I interviewed Nicolas, who is my buddy for this semester. He is 22 years old and also an exchange student from Brazil. I was curious about his exchange life and his language skill because he can speak English and German fluently besides his native language is Portuguese. I have only been in Munich for three weeks, so I wanted to ask him for some advice on living abroad.

I hope you enjoy this interview, where he shares helpful tips on language learning and communication.

Interviewer: Thank you for making time for this interview.

Nicolas: You’re welcome.

I: First of all, what are you studying here at LMU?

N: I’m studying law.

I: Oh, yes. What are you interested in about law?

N: Well, back in Brazil, my home country, I’m interested in becoming something of a judge myself. But first, I’m interested in learning about German law, sort of as a master’s program in my field.

I: That’s interesting. Why did you decide to study in Munich?

N: I chose Germany because it’s so challenging, and it was a difficult language. It seemed like the subjects were similar, but also because LMU has a program with my own university. So, they offered us the opportunity to do a lot of things like traveling, taking German tests, and then studying at LMU.

I: Okay. LMU provides the BUDDY Program for incoming students, and you were chosen as my buddy. This helps me a lot. What motivated to you to join the BUDDY Program?

N: I didn’t have a buddy myself other than my own friends. So, I thought, why not help other foreign students? It’s just like me, as we say in Brazil, falling without a parachute into Munich, where they don’t know, for example, how to speak German, how to buy food, how to use the library, or what to expect from the weather. So, I wanted to help and to get to know new people, of course.

I: You’re so sweet. Your native language is Portuguese, isn’t it? But you speak English and German, fluently.

N: I speak English fluently, but my German is not so well. I’m learning German now.

I: How did you master those languages?

N: Well, I’ve studied English at a language school, and I’ve always played video games and watched movies in English. As for German, I studied it at a German school. There is not that much media in German, so I couldn’t really learn it until I came here.

I: I see. So, what do you think is the most important thing to learn new language?

N: To learn your language well, you must be in contact with native people, either in person or through things like movies or television, because it is one thing to learn the language, and it is another thing to speak it.

I: I was surprised that you are an exchange student because you looked like you are used to living here. When you first arrived here, what has been the biggest challenges or culture shocks?

N: Well, there were a lot of other exchange students who were similar to me, but I don’t really relate to German people. They seem very direct, very precise. I’m always surrounded by other foreigners.

I: That’s true for me. On the other hand, what impression you got the most about life here?

N: How the society works, like the public transportation, the safety, and the health. Everyone seems rich. It is a very expensive city, but everyone seems to be able to afford a good standard of living here.

I: I cannot speak German not at all, but I want to make friends here. So, do you think speaking German is important to make friends German people?

N: Yes. You should speak German with German people.

I: Beyond language, what do you think is most important when connecting with people from different backgrounds?

N: Listen to them. You will realize their culture, their stories, and their institutions are different.

I: That’s good. When you want to make friends, what do you do?

N: It depends on the situation. For example, there is a group called Erasmus which organizes a lot of activities, and there are always some people interested. So, we just go along with people. The way they think about making new friends, they just sort of appear along the way.

I: That’s all. Thank you so much.

N: I was so glad to talk to you again.