What should we exchange ?

My name is Yarub Alhusseini. As a Jordanian graduate student, I had to spend my first semester of the mandatory German Year of my Bachelor program in Remagen.  

Having lived most of my life in Europe, I easily readapted to the culture and did not need to deal with any cultural shocks. What was interesting this time for me was the context during which I spent my exchange semester. The war in Ukraine reminded me of the times I spent in Vienna in 2013 during the Syrian war. Seeing the quick reaction of the German people and the German economy during those times, is what attracts me to the life in Germany. It is not necessarily efficient in solving the problem but at least it is dynamic and active towards finding stability and reason.

On a more local level, Remagen is one of the most beautiful places I have ever lived in. It can be immediately understood, that Remagen is an old village that can hardly attract young generations and as such, the goal of the campus is to bring life to it. And thus, people in Remagen are nice and always helpful which in turn is a good place to easily integrate the society by making you feel part of this small neighborhood and later be ready to live in the big cities of Germany.  

From a comparative point of view, several ideas, projects, and systems can be exchanged between Jordan and Germany. One can notice the differences but understanding what ideas can truly benefit a country’s economy and finding the strategic way of exporting/importing and adapting them elsewhere is the key to strengthening ties among countries of the world. In other words, as exchange students you should always ask the questions: what is it that is missing in my country? What is Germany lacking? And how should it be exchanged?