The year abroad is different things to different people, but in every case it is unique and never what you expect! So much time is spent in anticipation that by the time you make it out there, you've already got high hopes and an idea of what you think it will be like. In my case, I had been looking forward to my time in Germany for many years and certainly had a pretty detailed picture of what I wanted. But the reality was at the same time better and worse. But don't be scared by the 'worse' part, I'll explain that later!

My adopted city was Mainz, the capital of the German state of Rheinland-Pfalz, and I studied politics at the university there. However, I soon found out that studying forms a small part of the experience and in fact much of the learning is in discovering yourself. By being plunged into a foreign country, all alone, you are really put to the test. It is altogether different than going to uni in the first year! For a start, everything you do - from lectures to getting a TV license - is in a foreign language. Obvious as it is, this is a shock to the system and (at least in my case) it took a little while to properly adjust and to feel confident. I considered myself as a football player who has been taught the game on blackboards for ten years and all of a sudden found himself on the pitch! This is what I mean by 'worse' - I could never have imagined that kind of feeling, how could I have? But soon enough, and without particularly noticing the change, I discovered I could cope and actually enjoyed speaking the language. And so things became better than I could have imagined, which far out-weighed that intital feeling of being lost at sea. By the end of my time there I was as near fluent as ever, which is surely the ultimate goal for any language student.

Apart from this, though, there is a lot of fun to be had! In addition to the normal uni night-life, as an Erasmus student there are always parties going on - planned and impromptu - where you can meet other English-speakers (in case you feel homesick!) and also people from other countries all over the world. One of the best things is making friends with these people and staying in contact, so that you can make people jealous when you're back home by jetting off to America or Japan to visit a friend!

Travelling is also an important part of the year abroad, since when you're on the continent cheap, overland travel to the best places in Europe is at hand. And living in a new area means there is a load to see just where you are. I went a bit further a field when I was there and took a trip to Australia! The strange thing was that I went with a German friend who I had met only a few months before. We decided on the trip over a beer in January and left in March. It was made all the more exciting by the last minute nature of our planning and on the trip I actually spoke more German than I did English! I found speaking German very handy, as we met lots of Germans travelling there and they were always hugely impressed when I chatted to them in their own language. This was without a doubt the best experience of the whole year, but something I had never envisioned myself doing.

So while the year was wholly different to my expectations, it was also a great deal better and my outlook on life has changed as a result of it. In fact, among my friends who also took the year abroad I can see a change. The year abroad broadens your horizons through the language you learn, the people you meet and the new, exciting and sometimes scary things you do. Anyone who passes up the opportunity is missing out!!

Enjoying a tower of beer in the Eisgrub, the best drinking establishment in Mainz

The 'Deutsches Eck' (German Corner) in Koblenz where the Mosel empties into the Rhein

A bend in the Rhein near the town of Boppard

A not-so-German scene

Travelling can get you down!

But is worth it!