We love having a multinational team across the Xplore offices! In this article our brilliant German intern Sina explains why she came to England and what she has learnt from being part of the English culture...
'When I
realised that my year as an exchange student in Paulding, Ohio, USA, was almost
ten years ago (and it sure feels like it), I thought: “I need to go abroad
again”. But where should I go? Definitely to an English speaking country. But
which one? Again the USA? Or Australia, New Zealand, maybe South Africa? Well, then I heard my Mum in the back of my mind saying: “Sina, you should go to
England. It’s such a beautiful country and you could finally learn the proper
way to talk the English language.” The United Kingdom? To be honest I wasn’t
too excited about the idea of living in the UK. Stansted Airport to Cologne
Airport is only a 50 minutes flight, it’s not a very exotic country to live in
and after all what else is there to see than London, Oxford and Cambridge? But it
sounded appealing as well. Indeed I had only been to London, so still Oxford
and Cambridge to tick off my list. I wouldn’t need to get a complicated working
permit and it would be easy to go home for the weekend. After several hours
discussing the UK as a possible country with my friends I decided that it is
worth giving it a try. I applied for an internship in a youth travel company
specialised in group travel, summer camps and academic placements called
Xplore. I had heard especially good things about their academic placements and
I thought it could be a very interesting place for me to work. Long story
short, 6 months later I was on a plane to the UK.
After 3
months in Suffolk, I must say I have fallen in love with the
country, the British people and Xplore. To be honest, I didn’t expect it to be
such a surprising country and more similar to Germany than it really is. How
could I have known that you can buy grapes that taste like candy floss, already
cooked pancakes and an estimated amount of 200 different kinds of crisps? But
not only the food is fascinating. The most random fact I have heard so far is
that British citizens can just rename themselves, and not only their first names,
no(!) also their surnames. In Germany it is almost impossible to change your
first name not even dreaming of changing your surname. As always when I spend
time away from my home country confronted with a different culture I also
reflect about German customs. I realised how silly it is that all new movies
are only released on Thursdays or that people actually wait until pedestrian
lights turn green even when there are absolutely no cars around. Furthermore, I
learned that I am almost the only person in the office who drinks coffee after
lunch because it is 'teatime'. Also, I realised how direct Germans are. A yes is
a yes and a no is a no. This is not meant as an affront or insult but merely
serves to state the actual conviction of the speaker. In the UK it seams that I
often have to decode the sentences hoping to guess the right meaning. I do like
the British emphasis on indirect communication even if I am not sure that I can
ever adopt it.
I am
very happy that I have the chance to work another two months with Xplore. Besides different customs and an amazing countryside (there is so much more
to see than London, Cambridge and Oxford) I have seen how much fun it can be to
work in an office. Xplore is a company that pays special attention to create an
amazing atmosphere and an unforgettable experience for all children that book with them but also for their employees. Xplore really
practices what they preach. Last but not least, I can just acknowledge what a
former employee of Xplore once said: 'Xplore is not just a job but a way of
life and I am proud to say I have lived it!'"
