Mathias Stovring (Yr 12)

Friday, 4th August 2023 at 10:30am

Learning Languages Opens a World of Opportunities!

Mathias Stovring (Year 12) is looking forward to returning to Germany next year, to travel, study and take in all the culture he can!

Having recently returned from a fully funded Pedagogical Exchange Service (PAD) Scholarship, spending four weeks in Germany in June/July this year, Mathias says the experience was amazing and he thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in the German culture, visiting museums, and learning about the history.

Mathias' German language skills were certainly put to the test, spending two weeks in the Federal Republic of Germany, living with a host family, and attending lessons at a German school.

"I was placed in my host sister's class, and spoke fluent German throughout the whole time I was on the exchange."

Mathias (pictured above with his host sister) says his host family was very nice and he is going to keep in touch with them. "Actually, everyone I met in Germany was nice, the only unpleasant thing about my trip was tasting currywurst ice-cream (curry sausage) which was disgusting!"

While visiting the cities of Bonn / Cologne, Berlin, and Munich, Mathias' downtime was spent taking in the amazing galleries, museums, castles, and breathtaking mountains.

PAD scholarships in New Zealand are funded by ILEP (International Languages Exchanges and Pathways), the Goethe-Insitut, and the German government.