Expat Diaries

Here I will tell you my story of Ukrainian expat in Germany, will share tips and useful links, we will talk about German history, culture and traditions. You will find about about studying, job search, working and many more.

Applying for Master Degree in Germany

/ Iana / 4 Comments
Pursuing Master Degree in Germany: My Story

Good afternoon, my dear friends! Hope you are doing well and staying healthy. Today I would like to talk about pursuing a Master degree in Germany. My story of studying in Germany began back in summer 2013, when I came to Germany for two months to do a summer language course. Once the language school organized a study trip to Schmalkalden and had a tour on the campus of University of Applied Sciences. Coming from a small town in Ukraine, I was fascinated. I started dreaming about studying there already on the way back to language school. After this excursion, I have firmly decided to do my Master’s degree in Germany. 

So, here I will describe my process of applying for a degree program in Germany in few easy steps and will give you some useful tips for your application process. Kindly note, that my degree was entirely in English, so I will describe here application process for English speaking degree. Continue reading →

Advent in Germany

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Advent in Germany

Hi, there, my dear friends and happy 1st Advent to you. It is official! Countdown to Christmas has started – only 25 days till we can all enjoy Christmas celebration! As you understood, today I would like to tell you more about the Advent in Germany, what it actually is and traditions surrounding it. So, what is Advent?

Advent is a religious celebration, the special time of the year during which the  preparation for the arrival, or “advent”, of Christ take place, which is then celebrated on 25th December. Advent usually starts four weeks before Christmas, to be more precise, four Sundays till Christmas. And today, on 29th November we are celebrating the 1st Advent. So, what do people usually do during Advent time in Germany? Well, there are many traditions surrounding this period including Advent wreath, Advent calendar, setting up a Christmas tree and general preparations for Christmas. Ohhh, and let’s not forget that around this season the Christmas Markets usually start (well, except this year unfortunately). Continue reading →

Did you know? German Edition

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Interesting facts about Germany

Hey, guys! Today I would like to introduce you to Germany. I have already told you about how I first came to Germany, but now I will simply rewind back and actually tell you some interesting facts about this beautiful country of Germany. So, let’s start:

  • Germany is not only the member of European Union, in fact it is also one of the founding member of EU (well here I am talking about West Germany);
  • The population of Germany as of year 2020 is 83 million people, which makes Germany the most populous country of European Union after France and UK;
  • Germany borders with nine countries – Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, France, Czech Republic, Poland, Austria and Switzerland;
  • The border between Czech Republic and Germany is the same length as the border between Germany and Austria;

Continue reading →

University Life In Germany

/ Iana / 1 Comment

Hi, my dear friends! Today I would like to tell you a little bit about my impressions of studying in Germany. As you know from previous blog posts, I moved to Germany 6 years ago to pursue my Master’s degree in International Business and Economics at Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences. It was incredible time filled with a lot of joy and, of course, adventures! I would say it took me a little bit of time to adjust to educational system in Germany and way it works since there are quite a few differences compared to Ukraine. So, in this blog post I would like to tell you more about differences between university life in Germany and Ukraine!

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My First Time in Germany

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I am sure every single one of us remembers their first time. How excited and at the same time scared you were, how you were imagining and dreaming it to be. Maybe you doubted whether it was worth it or you should wait a little bit longer. Wait… Are we even talking about the same thing here?

Not sure what were you thinking about, but I am talking about the first time I came to Germany! Yes, that very first time, when you come to a new country and immediately fall in love with it. It is exactly what happened to me and Germany.

Continue reading →