02 Feb
Thousands of people from foreign countries come to Germany every year fora variety of reasons. Everything here is new and strange for them, most of them do not speak German and have to find their way in a completely new life. It’s quite a challenge, and not everyone manages it easily. Find out how Alejandro mastered this huge task and what role his German course played in this in his very personal success story.
Adios Heimat – Welcome to Germany
Alejandro and his family left their home country of Venezuela seven years ago to start a new life in Germany. They wanted their young son to have every opportunity for a good education and a successful future. Their home country of Venezuela could not offer this security and the chance of a better quality of life. Fortunately, Alejandro’s wife’s siblings were already living in Munich, so they were able to help with the first major stumbling block – finding an apartment. The first step had been taken, and now it was time to integrate into a country with completely different customs, an unfamiliar culture and a completely new language.
All beginnings are difficult
“The weather,” Alejandro recalls with a broad grin, “was a real change at first. It was already autumn when the family flew in from the warm South American temperatures to the uncomfortably wet and cold November in Germany. This was followed by countless visits to the authorities to get their new life off the ground: Registering with the district administration department, finding a suitable kindergarten, opening a bank account and, last but not least, finding a job. But before that, Alejandro and his wife first had to master the German language in order to be able to write appealing applications and have any chance at all on the job market.
German language – difficult language?
German as a foreign language is not always easy for many foreign citizens. Alejandro and his wife both enrolled on a German course. “That helped us a lot,” reports the German by choice today. “In addition to the language, we learned a lot about German culture and customs.” His wife soon found a job thanks to a mentoring program run by the city of Munich, where she was also able to use her various language skills such as English, Spanish and French alongside her newly acquired German. Alejandro also continued to develop his German in numerous courses and attracted the attention of staff and the management of the Integra language school with his friendly manner and ever-improving language skills.
“Learning German means gaining more experience, more life and more opportunities”
Alejandro
A job offer changes everything
One conversation led to another until Alejandro was finally offered an internship at the language school. Today, he has been a permanent employee at Integra for over two years and is responsible for exam organization and building management. On his own initiative, he carries out a wide range of different tasks on a daily basis, has contact with external service providers – in short, he makes sure that everything runs smoothly – and does so with a lot of fun and great success. Alejandro is grateful for this unexpected opportunity. But he knows that he also owes it to his tireless hard work and perseverance in learning the German language properly.
Language opens up paths to a new life
Those who do not speak the local language find it all the more difficult to integrate in their adopted country. But with good language skills comes more self-confidence in your own abilities, motivation and the desire to look ahead.
“Learning German means gaining more experience, more life and more opportunities,” says Alejandro. His statement for others: “Languages are keys that can open many doors in life.” Alejandro knows that his good knowledge of German has helped him to improve his quality of life and would like to encourage all his fellow citizens and foreign nationals in Germany to follow this path. He hopes that his success story will also help others on their path to integration in Germany.
