Visiting and living in countries where your languages are spoken

[garyb]

I've not studied German myself but I've spent a bit of time in Germany and Austria with some friends, two of whom had high school German. Whenever they used it they were replied to in German, even though they obviously weren't fluent and had a foreign accent. Obviously this is just anecdotal evidence from a small number of experiences and places, but judging by this and what others have said on HTLAL, English-switching isn't a huge problem there.

[daegga]

There is one simple rule you must obey as an international student: don't socialize with international students. It's easier said than done, they will swarm around you like vampires, especially fellow native-speakers have a gift to smell your blood. Don't give in, remember, they only want your blood.

[MorkTheFiddle]

As someone else who is also going away for an extended period of time, how did you manage that? My last major trip I did not pack smartly.

Packing light involves both clothes and methods. There are several online sources for suggestions. For one, try googling the phrase
Ultimate Guide to Packing Light

That will take you to a page with ideas, tips and more links for traveling light.

I used some of these tips--though from a different source, because the Internet is an ephemeral place--for my 10-day trip to Germany. Essentially I travelled with 1 extra pair of socks and underwear, 1 extra shirt and one extra pair of pants (but avoiding heavy bluejeans). Probably a pair of sneakers. The best way to pack the clothes is by rolling them up. In my pack were enough packets of laundry soap (actually Woollite) for each day. I washed my clothes every night in the hotel bathroom sink and hung them to dry on the shower curtain rod. They dried by morning (mostly). Minimal toiletries (tiny tube of toothpaste (because paste the size of a pea is enough), toothbrush, comb, deodorant). Necessary medications. Palm-sized camera. Probably a few more items, but I can't remember.

If you plan to buy souvenirs, don't pack them in your bag. Mail them home to yourself or their intended recipient(s).

I shopped also for a lightweight but durable backpack, and that was it. On an earlier trip to Spain, packed the same lightweight way, one of the customs inspectors expressed (loudly) his disbelief that that was all the luggage I was carrying.

Again, my trips to both Germany and Spain were for only 10 days, and I had no need for formal clothes. See the link I suggest--or others--for more ideas.

[aabram]

I washed my clothes every night in the hotel bathroom sink and hung them to dry on the shower curtain rod. They dried by morning (mostly).

Yep, when you're frequent traveller it makes sens to have clothes that dry quickly. I know people who have strong "no synthetics!" stance, but for me, I'd take space age materials any day over cotton or linen or whatever it is that grandma used to use. I have couple of sports shirts that breathe really well and dry in no time at all and I use them liberally even outside the gym when needed because they're very light, pack extremely small and are perfect for travelling. Instead of being soaked on a hot day you're merely damp. They also stink less, stain less and are easier to wash.

Same for underwear and socks. I pay twice or thrice as much for special breathing/warm/water repellant materials, but when it comes to travelling and having comfort either in hot or cold climate then I'm glad I have them. Especially for guys -- invest into good breathable underwear that lets air in and out where it needs to be. Makes 10 hour plane rides and 2 day trip wearing jeans 24h much, much more comfortable. Also, good socks make a world if difference. Silver threaded socks actually work. They make your feet sweat less and you're not as embarrassed to remove your shoes when needed. Having right stuff means you can pack less because you can rinse and dry those few things easier than you could with regular clothes.

[Elenia]

To add to my tale of woe, after reading some of the other advice: It really is important to check the opening times of food places and the public transport system, especially for the first few days! My mother and I both lost a ridiculous amount of weight because we didn't realise that the majority of the restaurants stopped serving food after four pm (save the very expensive, tourist restaurants). We also didn't know that pretty much EVERYTHING shuts on a Sunday. So we spent our first few days there constantly hungry, and we didn't have a proper meal until we managed to get me moved into my halls.

In addition to this, we hadn't quite figured out the public transport system and so walked everywhere after the first day of taxi chauffeuring. Nothing wrong with a little walking, but having to make several round trips to haul suitcases about (when you are not one hundred percent sure where you are going) is no fun.

[motylyok]

I've studied for a month in Russia, a month in Germany and I am going to Russia in three weeks for my year abroad!

I'm not sure how your university handles the year abroad, but I find especially for destinations outside the EU that there is a lot of pastoral care. In particular, for my trip to Moscow our university is tied to a language school out there, which has native English speaking representatives who are going to "look after" us. This makes the whole thing seem less scary. When I went to Russia last year, the university arranged an ex-student to accompany us on the trip, we ended up becoming really good friends and she's helping me out with my queries about my year abroad.

I lived with a host family in Russia, and when I went to study in Germany last month. Although it probably isn't as effective for language learning as living with native speakers, it is almost always an excellent way to familiarise yourself with the culture of the host family, especially if you have meals included in your package. In addition, host families are much less likely to jump at the chance to practice their English so I certainly felt like I got in German and Russian practice, as well as trying foods I would otherwise not have tried if I'd been responsible for feeding myself.

I would like to say sort out travel from the airport beforehand, if you aren't in a massive rush to get to your destination in Germany, don't get an ICE, travel with Regio Bahn because it is much cheaper. I travelled from Berlin to Lutherstadt Wittenberg on the ICE when I got to the airport, spending much more than I needed to if I'd just stuck with an RB train.

I can't really think of anything else now, especially anything which hasn't been covered in the previous posts, I'll probably be updating my language log with things about my year abroad when it happens, right now I'm kind of just sitting around and twiddling my thumbs!!

[Serpent]

interesting posts in this thread on old htlal

[Rem]

Well this thread has gone in a direction I wasn’t expecting. Is 'people insisting on English' really a common situation that people find themselves in?

Speaking as someone who’s never had to deal with the situation of people insisting on English, I don’t think I’d mind if some people want to speak English with me, my worry is purely that they’d have to do so because my abilities in my target languages are too poor.

To add to my tale of woe, after reading some of the other advice: It really is important to check the opening times of food places and the public transport system, especially for the first few days! My mother and I both lost a ridiculous amount of weight because we didn't realise that the majority of the restaurants stopped serving food after four pm (save the very expensive, tourist restaurants). We also didn't know that pretty much EVERYTHING shuts on a Sunday. So we spent our first few days there constantly hungry, and we didn't have a proper meal until we managed to get me moved into my halls.

That sounds like a bit of a nightmare.

I’d hate to be sat in my room hungry because there’s nowhere open to buy food.

I'm not sure how your university handles the year abroad, but I find especially for destinations outside the EU that there is a lot of pastoral care. In particular, for my trip to Moscow our university is tied to a language school out there, which has native English speaking representatives who are going to "look after" us. This makes the whole thing seem less scary.

I’m not sure how they handle it yet either. So far all we’ve been told is that we ‘find out more about it next year’. Though, judging from some of the comments that I’ve heard from other people at my Uni who are going abroad this year, the vibe I get is that we will have to sort out the majority of arrangements (flights/accommodation etc.) ourselves. I guess I'll just have to wait and see for now.

I know that my University has connections with Unis in Germany and China, so at least I have a good idea of my options as far as location goes.

[Serpent]

Well, assuming you can get the basic needs like food and shelter covered, the biggest challenge is getting to improve your L2 as much as possible especially if your main subject is something else.

[daegga]

Speaking as someone who’s never had to deal with the situation of people insisting on English, I don’t think I’d mind if some people want to speak English with me, my worry is purely that they’d have to do so because my abilities in my target languages are too poor.

Plenty of time to improve until next year though.
And for Germany ... international students not speaking any German seems to be the norm. So at least in the vicinity of the University, I wouldn't worry too much about it. People usually don't mind if you speak English with them. It's just better for your language development if you don't