From a Shy Girl to a Risk Taker

I am Nino Tsanava 21-years-old student from Georgia. 5 months ago, I came to Germany as an exchange student of the Erasmus+ exchange program and this is when my new life began.

From the beginning of my bachelor studies in my home country, I wanted to experience a different, independent life in a new environment. And back then it was my biggest aim and desire to go on an exchange semester abroad. When I applied for the scholarship, I knew that this decision would affect my life. However, I had no clue that I was about to experience the most diverse and significant 5 months that would completely change my attitude to life and the way of thinking.

Excitement, happiness and a little bit of fear is what I felt when I first came to Remagen. My landlord picked me up from the train station with a huge smile on her face and made me feel welcome. My first impression of Remagen - tiny German city, completely different from the one where I lived. At the beginning, it was a bit difficult to get used to the new environment, but eventually I started to appreciate the pretty houses with little gardens in front, people with positive faces in the streets that is quite rare in Georgia.

RheinAhrCampus is the university that brings together students and lecturers from different parts of the world. This is the place where I have experienced many new things and tried different roles. Together with the Sprachen/Internationales team I have worked on several projects. One of them was International Week, during which the campus became even more intercultural, with guests from all over the world. At RheinAhrCampus I have studied theoretical subjects and alongside them I also had practical courses. I worked for the simulated Event Management Company CommUNITY during the IBS (International Business Simulations) class, through which we organized an Integration Fair for refugees.

All this experience has changed my personality. From a shy girl with no clue about her future life and goals, who was scared to show herself off and take responsibilities, I turned to a risk taker and started to believe in my abilities.

I have never traveled that much before. Every day I explored something new, visited beautiful places in and outside Germany together with the students from different countries: India, Spain, Azerbaijan, Brazil, South Korea, Jordan, Syria. The international students now to me are very important people.

Now this fairytale has ended and I can say that coming here was the best decision ever made, as an exchange semester is all about new experiences, exploring different countries and cultures, personal and professional growth. It is about becoming more aware of yourself and having a clear idea about how you want your future life to look, getting closer to your goals, and most importantly, it is about the people, new friends that you make, new relationships, and new stories of the lifetime.