Buddy Stories #2: Jacqueline

Through the Buddy Program, I met one of my closest friends:

Three years ago, on a whim, I applied to be a Potsdam Buddy without having any expectations. I had long since forgotten about it when, suddenly, in the summer, I received an email with the contact information for my buddy from Spain. I reached out to her, and we hit it off right away. Since we lived across the street from each other, we met up every day, often with a large group of Erasmus students. Coincidentally, I had applied to study in Madrid on Erasmus for the following year — the city where my buddy was studying. In the end, I moved into a shared apartment with her and one of her friends, and we spent another year together. We also decided to stop speaking English so we could teach each other our native languages. That means we’re not only very good friends but also language exchange partners. We’re still in close contact with the other Erasmus students as well. Right now I’m in Namibia because I’m visiting her during her internship. We met for the first time in 2023, and now almost three years have passed. I have the Buddy Program at the University of Potsdam to thank for all of this. This semester, based on that great experience, I applied to the program again and was able to meet more warm-hearted people.