[Editor’s note: These students are participating in a three-week German language course at the International Summer School of German Language, Culture and Business at the Bremen University of Applied Sciences.]

Mari TakahashiSeniorGermanJapan

“I went to a party three days after first coming to Germany. I was talking with a young couple, and then I went to get a beer, and when I came back, they were kissing. That’s not normal in Asia, to kiss in public. There are also topics that are talked about in public here, that we would not discuss in Japan. But I’m used to it now.”

Sam MagrathJuniorEnglish England

“What I find surprising is the amount of trust given to people. On public transportation, tickets are checked very rarely. There’s not much regulation in Germany, although people see Germany as bureaucratic and pen-pushing. I’ve also noticed how clean it is. In England, we have a lot of trash men going around, picking rubbish up. I don’t see anyone doing that here, because I don’t see anyone dropping litter on the ground.”

Vyara BozhkovaSeniorChemical EngineeringBulgaria

“People here are not close to each other. They need more distance, in comparison to my country, where the people are more connected to each other. Friendships are closer in Bulgaria. But everything is better organized here. It is very, very clean here.”