Unsere Care Professionals aus 2024 teilen lustige Geschichten aus den USA, als sie als soziale Fachkraft im Ausland gearbeitet und gelebt haben.
Ergotherapeutin - Açelya K.
I didn’t know that so many people speak Spanish here. So I had to buy a ticket for the bus but the machine didn’t want it. Next to me was a young man who explained in Spanish with the patience of a saint why the machine didn’t work. He spoke so quickly that I couldn’t even interrupt him to point out that I couldn’t understand him.
So he went on and on. When he finally finished, I just said >I’m sorry but I didn’t understand anything. I don’t speak Spanish.
He looked at me very sadly, sighed, and left.
Logopädin - Veronika E.
I definitely have one. I was shopping with a friend and we parked the car in an underground parking garage. We loaded the shopping and I also put the car key in the trunk. The trunk could be locked automatically. I just didn’t know that if you lock the trunk automatically from the outside, the whole car is then closed. So we had to call the locksmith.
Now we can laugh about it, but in Florida in the heat you don’t want to wait an hour for the locksmith. That won’t happen to me again.
Getting lost in the underground parking garage or in mall parking lots has also become routine.
Sozialarbeiterin - Ann-Sophie H.
A spontaneous but beautiful trip took me to the Niagara Falls in NY. I went there spontaneously with a friend just for one night. We were so excited about everything, especially when we got to Canada. When we crossed the border, we sent a picture to my host parents and were kind of joking about that their CP was now crossing the border and said goodbye. That evening, we put my backpack down for just a moment while we were taking some pictures together and it was stolen… inside was my DS-2019 form and luckily only this and a couple other things…. but all the other important items (like the car keys or my wallet) were in my small shoulder bag. So much for joking to my host family that I would leave them…. We spent two hours in Canada searching everywhere for my backpack, but it was gone. Fortunately, everything went well at the security checkpoint and I was allowed to re-enter into the US, thanks to my online DS-2019 form.
Even though we went on a nice – but very wet – boat trip on the second day and had a lot of fun at the end, my tip to you is: don’t lose your backpack!
Physiotherapeutin - Julia F.
I think to understand the subway system in some cities especially New York, you have to go to university for! Phine, Luisa, Leefke and I were going like a pendulum back and forth during our trip, it always took us at least 30 minutes more to go from one place to the other. Or maybe it’s just something that happens during the holidays!
The moral of the story: If you don’t know the way just follow your feet they know the way or say the magic words biele, biele, biele, always works!
I am a big food lover as you can tell from the pictures!
One other thing: Do I really look like a little monkey?
Physiotherapeutin - Sanne S.
The streets and lines are sometimes a little tricky here. So make sure you pay attention, otherwise you may find yourself suddenly on the line where you are only allowed to turn right for example. Or you think you can turn left on this line but actually you can´t. That was when I immediately got pulled over with flashing lights for line skipping, luckily nothing else happened and so I didn´t got a ticket 🙂 That one time on a roadtrip me and a friend were driving through Idaho on our way to the Crater of the Moon Park, when we found ourselves surrounded by a huge herd of cows right in the street. Cows sometimes have an intimidating look on their faces 🙂
Gesundheits- und Kinderkrankenpflegerin - Darina K.
A funny, also subtly stupid story happened in New York, first of all I would like to say in my defense that it was my first time in New York and I was very overwhelmed by the impressions! When I was at the Times Square, there was a lot going on and there were a lot of costumed people walking around. All of a sudden, one of them comes up to me and asks me if I want to have a photo with them, I said yes and asked how much it would cost, the answer was that I had the choice. We took the photo with my phone and then they said, 20 dollars, and I was so perplexed that I took out my twenties and just held and asked again. At that moment, another costumed man walked by, took the twenty dollars and the ones I took the photo with said, he is not one of them, I have to pay them too… I gave them another five dollars. In retrospect I was so annoyed because I could have gone all the time, since I already had the photo anyway… But I was so overwhelmed by the situation that I didn’t really understand what was happening. But then I told my host parents about it and we agreed that it was also a very funny story… and I just have to appreciate the picture accordingly, after all, it’s worth 25 dollars. But that won‘t happen again to me!
Sozialarbeiterin und Erzieherin - Sophie L.
Turned out that traveling to the Grand Canyon in July is very hot, lol! 😀
Ergotherapeutin - Sara E.
It took me two months to figure out why the lamp in my room was so dark… The light was dimmed…
Physiotherapeutin - Josephine L.
If you want to live in Ohio and have a dog, you have to have a Goldendoodle. That’s what everyone has and the only acceptable breed here.
Sozialarbeiterin - Julia G.
I got sick with a really mean stomach bug. So when I called my mum at home she said I just should ask for a „Wärmflasche“. Since I never used that word before I googled it and it suggest to ask for a hot water bottle. So I told my host mum that maybe that would help me. I really had to laugh when I got exactly what I asked for: a water bottle filled with warm water. In that moment the whole situation let me feel a little bit better.
After I felt better I explained what I was asking for and learnt that this is not really a thing in America and my host family doesn’t even own one. So I already knew what my Christmas present would be. Since then my host family has a real hot water bottle 🙂
Sportphysiotherapeutin & Ernährungsberaterin - Theresa R.
Through APEX in New York, I met an incredible person who quickly became my best friend. We navigated the quirks of American culture together, attending weekend classes and creating unforgettable memories. Our post-night-out bagel sessions in the park became a ritual as we laughed about our escapades, piecing together the events of the previous night. These moments encapsulated the joy and camaraderie that define my time abroad.
Erzieherin & Sozialarbeiterin - Clarissa G.
I’ve been asked twice by Americans what it’s like to drive on the left in Germany.
Physiotherapeutin B.Sc. - Marilyn H.
I never knew that Americans use words like „Grillmeister“, „kaputt“, „Gesundheit“, „Gleichfalls“, „to schlepp groceries in“ and so on. And honestly, if I had said that in my English class at school, my teacher would have yelled at me not to talk Denglish!
How can Americans be afraid to let their children walk alone anywhere that’s 10 minutes away but always leave the guard open in a ski lift?!?!
Why do Americans not say they are going to make some „sport“? They just don´t use the word „sport“ if it´s not an official sport. But it´s so much shorter than a workout, exercise, or something like that!
Ergotherapeutin - Alina G.
Within a week of joining my new host family, I found myself in little car accident. Then, seven weeks later, another collision. (Fingers crossed that they’ll be the only ones) Waiting for the police, I noticed a familiar face – the same cop from my first accident. As he handed back my documents, he joked, „You really need to stop crashing and calling me.“ At least it wasn’t my fault the second time.
