Leeds to Mannheim

After surviving the first month of my Study Abroad placement, it made sense to write a post about the differences between the countries and how I’m settling in.

Mannheim is beautiful to me but apparently not so much to the locals! It was completely destroyed during World War 2 which means all buildings have been reconstructed and have apparently made it ‘ugly’. However, as far as I’m aware there is nowhere else in the world where you can go to University in a castle! It’s also in a perfect location, it’s so easy to explore Germany and the surrounding countries from here. I have already been to a local theme park, Munich for Oktoberfest and Switzerland and, in the next few weeks, I’ll be visiting Budapest, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Strasbourg and Frankfurt!

Settling in was not as difficult as I imagined either but there are a few cultural differences to be aware of:

• On Sunday’s all shops are closed by law. Some train stations have shopping centres in them as these are the only places where the shops are legally allowed to be open! It is also frowned upon to make too much noise (including hoovering) on a Sunday. Cafés and restaurants are open however which has given way to my new favourite tradition of Sunday Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake).

• In Germany, students knock on desks (instead of clapping) at the end of every lecture which can be quite alarming at first.
• People here also often go to the lake to swim. This was an issue for me when my German “buddy” invited me to the lake and I ended up sat alone because they were all swimming and I hadn’t brought a costume!
• Quite an obvious one but everything is in German and that takes some getting used to regardless of what level you are at. Saying that, most people do speak English if you ask so it’s not that difficult to work things out!
• Ice hockey is a major sport in Mannheim (it is more popular than football) and going to see the Mannheim Adlers play is effectively a rite of passage!

• At the supermarket, you can expect to be queueing at the tills for at least 5 minutes and they will immediately start serving the next customer after you pay, regardless of whether you’ve finished bagging your groceries.
• In Mannheim they don’t do a freshers like they do in the Leeds. However, there are loads of things to do during the day and there are some excellent international societies so you don’t get bored before lectures start!
• Finally, and for some most importantly, you can drink alcohol anywhere! This really confused me at first, but people do just sit on the streets, in fields, on public transport and around the University casually drinking. It happens at all times of the day but particularly in the evenings and pre-drinks for the University club night tend to be held on Uni grounds. I’ve often walked past the local museum and seen groups of people playing drinking games on the patio!

Overall, despite the initial homesickness, I’m really enjoying my time in Mannheim so far and can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings!

This blog was originally written for Leeds Outgoing Study Abroad