Germany ranks among the top three places to study among international students. One in five students in Berlin comes from abroad. A portrait of a Chilean architecture student in Berlin.
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00:00I always saw Germany as a paradise, but on my first day here in Berlin, I got mugged.
00:06My name is Max, I am from Chile, I am in an exchange here in Berlin, and I study architecture.
00:12I came with certain expectations, and this is how I see Germany now.
00:17We have the assumption of thinking that Germany is a paradise, because of the way that they reconstructed themselves,
00:23because of their technology, because of products that they do in architecture.
00:28Living in Berlin, it's not that much a paradise.
00:31It's not that easy to find a job, as you would think.
00:34It's not as clean as you would think it is.
00:37Now I can see the more real face of Berlin.
00:40It may be more casual, less formal, but that's what I like, actually, from the city.
00:48All of those aspects you would think about Germany, some are reality and some are not.
00:53The first day that I arrived here, I went to a coffee shop.
00:57I didn't know that it was a sketchy place to be in Berlin.
01:00Three guys approached me, asking for money.
01:03I said I had no money, but then they took knives.
01:06And at that moment, I gave them the money, I started running.
01:11My dad is German.
01:13My parents both wanted me and my brother to learn some German.
01:18They thought that having the third language would be an amazing plus in our lives.
01:41In Chile, the difference is that they push you to study, and that's how you learn.
01:47They push you.
01:48Especially in architecture, you're under almost the command of the teacher.
01:52And here in Germany, you're more free to do what you want and find your own path.
02:00It was less demanding than I expected.
02:03I had time that I didn't expect to have here in Germany.
02:06I had time that I didn't expect to have here in Germany.
02:09I was expecting something way more intensive.
02:12Here in Germany, they enjoy the process more.
02:15They use the free time to learn by themselves.
02:27There's not much competition between students.
02:30Here in Chile, it's way more like trying to compete to get the better grade than the other or whatever.
02:43German people are sometimes grumpy, especially in the street.
02:48Riding the bike, they are quite grumpy, yeah.
02:52They scream to me because of riding too slow or making a turn in the wrong way.
02:58So, yeah, it's quite common.
03:10Knowing German, living in Berlin, is important.
03:14I think you have to learn at least the basics of German.
03:17It's a sign of respect, basically.
03:21They're really interested in knowing what I'm doing here as an international student.
03:26They like to talk, they like to ask questions about where I come from.
03:34Germans have been treating me really well here, and they're really accepting me.
03:38So, yeah, I feel at home.