My name is Hou Jiaying, and today is more than 300 days since I came to Germany. In nearly a year of living in a foreign country, I experienced many challenges that I had never encountered before, and at the same time I gained many precious memories and experiences, which I share with you today in this article.

New here

I think that from the moment I landed in Germany, I and thousands of other international students realized that "now you have to rely on yourself!" The moment. This is indeed a moment that has been anticipated and fantasized about countless times. Fantasy is always better, and reality brings me the thrill and excitement of facing challenges alone. Suddenly, with countless opportunities so clearly laid out on the road ahead, was there not a new passion beneath the pressure? What I want to tell you is: never run away from difficulties, never spoil yourself with the idea that "just get through it now"! Because people go high, over the mountain there will always be higher mountains, more majestic scenery in attracting you. Just face the obstacles and imagine yourself moving up the ladder. Once you realize this moment by moment, the fear of being a newcomer will slowly disappear.

Explore this fairytale country with curiosity

In this way, we have never dealt with German government agencies, never cleaned the entire dormitory by ourselves, never relied on our own three meals a day, and never learned new knowledge in new languages all the way to grow into what we are now. Suddenly, one day, I was surprised to find that I could do all the big and small things. This feeling is very good, and you can't get this feeling by running away. Since I came to a foreign country alone, I try to take control of my life with my own strength. Parents must not imagine that we can make a table New Year's Eve dinner to find an internship after the initial adaptation to the new life, the new challenge has come one after another - to find an internship on their own. I found two internship opportunities this year. The first was a clerk at a chain of cosmeceuticals in Germany. Another is the opportunity I just got recently, to do a one-year internship in a bank. The bank is the second largest in Germany by market share. I'm sure I can learn a lot of useful knowledge and skills if I can work there as an intern for a year. I have to admit, this whole internship thing is really giving me a headache. After reflection, I think the biggest problem is that as foreigners, we always have a small mind that our level is not enough. I never thought that it was this kind of thinking that made me less confident, limited myself, and didn't play to my true level. What I want to tell you is: as normal young people, there is no situation in which you can't handle the tasks in the internship. Because the process of internship itself is learning, we are interns, the company will not ask too much of us. The purpose of our internship is not to make much contribution to the company, but to get an opportunity to learn and improve. The most important thing in finding an internship is to show your sincerity, your willingness to learn, ask questions and maintain an optimistic attitude.

Actively participate in the activities organized by the German Education Union and schools, and seize every opportunity to exercise yourself

After adjusting the mentality, you also need to fully prepare for the interview with practical actions. For this reason, I participated in the training of Dr. Wang of the German Education Union. The interview requirement is simple: introduce yourself in a personal way. When I got this topic, I was a little overwhelmed. What skills can you use to introduce yourself? Is not to report their name, age, major? In fact, there is a lot of learning in it. Starting from the expectations of the bank staff (rather than the expectations of the bank as an institution), Dr. Wang systematically explored and summarized my characteristics in terms of personality, life, and profession, and guided me how to present these characteristics clearly, vividly, and systematically. After training, I found that I was really a treasure girl!

After experiencing a formal interview, I am more convinced that German companies are willing to offer opportunities to young people with goals, even if you are a foreigner. During the interview, just bring your usual level of performance to the table, always smile, confident and generous to present yourself. This also leads to a new point, that is, I believe that the opportunity is grasped in their own hands, more pay means more gain.

Learning is a cumulative process, not overnight

I recommend that you devote as much time as possible to learning German, because the language may be the only limit to our development. As long as the language problem is solved, other problems will be solved naturally. We must not shy away from the problem and realize the real problem. Of course, in a dialogue, an opportunity to communicate directly with enterprises, if we are full of answers, rather than really communicate, to understand, will not affect our performance, and even let us lose valuable opportunities? Therefore, daily German input and output is very necessary.

Have a goal

After everything I've been through, I've learned the importance of having a purpose in mind. A goal is like a sign that lets us go without hesitation and constantly gives us faith and drive. Spend your spare time quietly asking yourself, what do you really want? What will bring you lasting happiness? Looking inward and discovering your heart's purpose in reading and traveling is the first step in everything. Running around like headless chickens is a waste of time and unnecessary. Instead of planning your goals for five or ten years, start with small goals every day, every week. For example, I'm going to work out four times a week, or I'm going to cook myself healthy meals for a week, or even something as simple as I'm going to finish all my homework today... Both are desirable. In this way, we can feel in control, "I made the plan," rather than "I was dragged by the plan."

Achieve a small extracurricular goal: climb to the top of the Harz Mountain

These are the lessons I have learned this year that I want to share with you. To understand is very simple, to do is difficult. But like I said, we have to imagine that we're going through an upgrade. I believe that no matter what the circumstances are, it is possible to break out of one's own world.