I never planned on spending a semester abroad. Erasmus was never part of my plans. I always felt a heavy sense of homesickness every time I would leave my house even for a couple of days. With that being said, I also had a deep love for traveling to the point that I would consider it more of a need than just a pleasure. My life felt empty every time I stayed at home for too long. The opposition of these two feelings felt like a constant conflict in my heart, one that I simply couldn't explain. So, when my friend first suggested Erasmus, I immediately declined and the moment I did I knew it was a mistake. Thankfully for me she didn't plan on giving up her own plan of studying abroad. She didn't want to go alone, however, so she simply had to convince me to join, which of course she did. To be honest I had a lot of doubts, but I was so sure that we would not be able to make it that I just went along with it. However, even if my initial thoughts were to immediately decline, I already knew the place I would choose to go. When my friend asked me if I wanted to study abroad with her, I simply said “No”, but in my mind I said “No, but if I did, I knew where I would go”. So, when she managed to convince me to sign up for Erasmus and the time to choose our country came, I immediately said I wanted to go to Hamburg.
Why Hamburg? A lot of friends asked me that question when I told them that I was going to study abroad for a semester. Out of all the places I could have chosen, why that one? More specifically, why Germany? I understood their curiosity. As someone who was born and raised in Greece, a country known for its beaches, landscapes and vibrant summer atmosphere, choosing to go to a country like Germany for the summer semester seemed like an unusual choice to my friends. Some thought I chose it because of the university alone, but if I’m being honest even though the school was certainly an important factor for my choice, I simply wanted to go to Germany.
Germany is a country that through the years has experienced a lot of waves of immigration, attracting people from a variety of countries, including Greece. To be more specific, my family happened to be part of the people that left their home trying to find a better life in Germany. My grandparents moved there before my mother was born, spending half their life in the country. Their family, their home, their friends, their community, everything slowly grew in Germany and so did their connection with the country. I have many friends whose one or both parents spent part of their lives in a foreign country, yet none of them seem to have the same kind of fondness for that place. It’s not that they feel negatively about it—just that they don’t have particularly strong or positive feelings toward it either. But for my family it was different. My mother was born and raised in Germany and to this day she still reminisces about it. She visits when she can and has even taken me and my little brother to her hometown in Frankfurt, the place she was raised in and spent her childhood. Her love for the country was more obvious through her actions than her words, however. Throughout our childhood, my brother and I experienced traditions of both Greece and Germany; Greece of course had the upper hand, but my mother made sure we would also experience the customs and traditions my family inherited during their time in Germany.
I remember telling my grandparents that I would study abroad in Germany and how their faces lit up as they reminisced about the life they left behind thinking how things would have been if they hadn’t returned. I know they love their life in Greece, but they always treated Germany as the sweetest memory, more like a second home than a desperate choice. When people leave their home to seek a better life or out of need, usually their feelings toward the new place can be bittersweet or sometimes just bitter. However, it was never like that for my family, they never treated their life in Germany as a bitter experience, more like a different chapter.
Even though I knew I wanted to study in Germany because of my family, I did not want to go to the city my mother was from. Instead, I happened to visit a different city that really caught my attention. It wasn't really planned, but my mother had a business trip to Hamburg, and she enjoys taking me with her every time she has to travel alone. I was initially skeptical because I still remembered my first visit to Germany. Even though everything was perfect, I felt that I simply could not adjust to the cultural differences between Greece and Germany. Of course, I joined on the trip, but my expectations were low, knowing that even though my family loved their time in the country it was simply too different for me. To my surprise though, I actually ended up loving the city. I didn't think Hamburg would be that different from Frankfurt, but I quickly realized that I was very wrong. I don’t know what it was about Hamburg, but it had a character and charm entirely its own. It wasn’t necessarily closer to what I was familiar with, but beautiful in its own distinct way. I remember talking to my mom telling her that if I had to choose where I would like to do my exchange studies, I would probably pick Hamburg.
When the time to do my Erasmus papers came, I still remembered what I had told my mom. Hamburg was the city where I wanted to experience life as a student. I already knew about HFBK from my time in Hamburg with my mother, but for some reason I never thought I would ever have the opportunity to attend it. Eventually, the results from Erasmus came out, and I found out that I was actually going to study there. Hamburg ended up being the ideal city for me for reasons that I had never anticipated. Even though my initial connection to Germany came through my family, it was the small everyday moments that ultimately made Hamburg feel like home. The air, the sound of the water and the seagulls gave the city a warm feeling. Coming from a harbor city myself, Hamburg immediately felt familiar. I couldn’t place it at first, but there were little moments and connections that just felt right. Even if the city had a completely different look compared to what I was used to in terms of architecture and culture, the atmosphere somehow felt just right. Maybe the new city was not that scary after all. And making connections in my mind to my hometown and my way of life there made things a little easier. Having to, potentially, move out in the future felt less like a scary and desperate choice and more of a different chapter just like how my family saw it.
Of course, my choice was not only made based on my family, even though it was greatly influenced by them. During my studies in Greece, I was introduced to the work of many German artists and artistic movements that had a significant influence on my own work. Having the opportunity to see their creations up close as well as the environment that inspired and influenced them, also impacted my choice. Other than that, I also had the opportunity to travel around Germany and visit many museums and galleries exhibiting works that I would not have been able to see in my home country. As grateful as I am for my home university, my time studying in Germany exposed me to creative ideas and perspectives that I might not have encountered otherwise. Experiencing living and studying in a new, more diverse city has provided me with knowledge that complemented my previous studies beautifully.
Choosing Hamburg felt like a bridge between the familiar and the unknown. I was simply following a connection that already existed in my family. However, what I didn’t expect was that I was going to create a connection of my own. Through this experience, I learned that stepping out of your comfort zone does not mean leaving parts of yourself behind. Sometimes, it simply means rediscovering them somewhere else. Broadening your horizons doesn't mean losing your sense of home. It means discovering that home can exist in more than one place.