Language difference - shock for first time study abroad

 Language difference - shock for first time study abroad

In the early days of coming to Dresden, Tam fell into an extreme feeling of being lost before the scene of 'starting a conversation with people in English, responding in German'.

In early September, Nguyen Thi Thanh Tam, 26 years old, from Muong, went to Dresden (Germany) to study a master's program in Tropical Forestry at Technische Universität Dresden, after winning a full scholarship.

After two flights lasting 24 hours, Tam "landed" in an 11m2 dormitory room, different from the space of Hang Kia - Pa Co nature reserve in Mai Chau, Hoa Binh - where Tam used to work. For 5 days in a row, Tam was alone in her room, looking outside through the square window, no conversation, no company, only an unconnected phone. Tam has to self-isolate for these 5 days because he has not received any Covid-19 vaccine.

"The first days in a foreign country were really bad," Tam said. But that's when she didn't know what awaited her next - the feeling of being lost due to the language barrier.

The window in Tam's room, where she watched everything around in the first days of coming to Germany. Photo: Character provided

The window in Tam's room, where she watched everything around in the first days of coming to Germany. Photo: Character provided

After the quarantine period ended with the negative test notification, Tam began to complete the procedures for international students, from registering a residence, buying a phone sim or opening a bank account.

In Dresden, most people speak German and do not like to speak English. Despite fully understanding what Tam was saying, the reception staff often responded in German. In some procedures, Tam asked for help from an international student from Vietnam. But when he went to open an account alone, Tam had to go to the bank for the third time to meet the English-speaking counter person. Sending a small parcel, she also had to go 2-3 rounds to receive it, because she had to go online to figure out how to fill in the information, because there was no one to guide her.

Her only joy every day is going to the "Go Asia" supermarket to buy things and then go home. During the distance of about 500 meters, Tam could not communicate because no one spoke English. Once, seeing a large bookstore on the way, Tam stopped by to find an English storybook to read to ease boredom, but looking around, he could only find German books. Standing in the middle of a bookstore with thousands of books, Tam could only smile, then turned to leave and quietly returned home like every other day.

For more than a week now, Tam's university welcomes students with many activities such as mushroom picking, walking, bowling, even going to a bar together. Having had a vaccine, Tam feels more secure when going out to meet people. She was also able to communicate with her classmates in English. However, Tam predicts, the feeling of being lost will still cling to her, at least until she officially goes to school next week.

Thanh Tam still often walks outside when

Thanh Tam still often walks out when the quarantine is over. Photo: Character provided

Tran Phan, 24, an international student in Spain on an Erasmus Mundus master's scholarship, also spent days wrestling due to a language barrier. Leaving Vietnam at dawn on October 1 and arriving in Spain a day later in fatigue, Phan even wanted to swear when he encountered all kinds of difficulties, right from the airport to the hostel.

In Spain, very few people speak English; The system of train stations and yards is wide, so he struggled for a long time to get on the right train. By the time he got home, Phan was exhausted. After half a day of rest, he bought a phone sim to access the Internet, considering this his first "mission" to contact his family and school.

According to regulations, Spain only grants 90-day visas to international students. During that time, students must complete residency procedures, from which they can apply for bank cards and other services. However, meeting the police to get a residence card is not easy.

In addition to the difficult communication, Phan learned that the intermediary companies had already bought all the appointment slots, so the time slots for meeting the police were almost always full. Therefore, international students need to buy back "slots" from these companies for 60-150 euros. "If the card is not completed within 90 days, the international student will be considered an illegal resident. So although this is quite absurd, most still accept to buy back the appointment to complete the procedure," Phan said.

Currently, Phan is still trying to register for an appointment in the "orthodox" way, but neither he nor nearly 20 international students in the same program have been able to book. He admits that not having a residence card causes a lot of insecurity. It also made it impossible for him to complete utility registrations.