Report October - Bohdan Chepkunov

Hi all! My name is Bohdan Chepkunov and I’m an international student from Ukraine. Now I’m studying Logistics at University of Applied Sciences Wurzburg-Schweinfurt in Schweinfurt. I would like to tell you about my first expressions of living and studying in Germany.

To begin with, I should say that the study in universities of Germany differs a lot from such one in Ukraine. At the very beginning it was pretty hard to get used to the fact that lecturers here give only basic information about the subject, but everything else student is expected to find and learn by himself. Here you won’t ever hear of everlasting evaluation of student performance, control works, inspection tests and grades for tasks, which have already become an everyday routine for Ukrainian students. In Germany you have only lectures, the only aim of which is to give students an ability to pass exams successfully. I am really happy that my study in Ukrainian university gave me enough knowledge to not to feel myself a flanker. So, the study part seems great to me. The lecturers are nice, they are always glad to help you, show a right example of solution of a problem and are just good people. Moreover, subjects are interesting. The only thing you have to do is to study.

But what about other everyday worries of students? Oh, it’s way harder to explain. For those students who have not ever had a luck to live alone it will be a little bit troublesome to blend into the dashing rhythm of German students. You know, except attending to lectures you have to organize your housing, solve problems with city administration and a lot of other important things. Before everything else, you always have to remember that nothing is done fast in Germany. Sometimes you may wait for the worker to install Internet all month long or get an appointment to an exact time in two months. And it is considered to be normal! Germans really adore to settle dates and terms, so be aware if you do not know how to plan your daily routine beforehand. In fact, it is really important to not to forget about some settled long-long time ago date, because occasionally you may be obliged to pay a fee for delay or, what is most horrible, achieve a prolongation for an indefinite period. Can you imagine waiting for a worker to have your drain in a shower cleaned for more two months? Me neither. Seems like a nightmare, but just be careful with planning your schedule and you won’t ever face such a problem.

Finally, let us talk about the most interesting thing: spare time or what to do on weekends if you’re a student who lives in Schweinfurt. It should be said that Schweinfurt itself is a small city – it has a population of only 53 000 people. Despite the fact that you can cross it on foot cornerwise in about an hour, you will always find here something new to look at. Every time you go outside, more and more spectacular lanes and alleys, sideways, small pretty narrows and fascinating squiggles on the house fronts reveal. And all of them are just filled with the atmosphere of Bavaria. The FHWS itself organizes dozens of different BBQs, exhibitions, beer and vine parties, trips to other cities almost every day. And I’m not even talking about such attractions like cinemas, restaurants, bars, pubs, night clubs and so on. All in all, you definitely won’t feel bored here!