WEBVTT

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In 1997 – 20 years ago – the tutoring program was launched for two reasons:

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Germany had become an increasingly popular study location for foreign students.

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And most of them preferred to live in dorms because of the cheap

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rents and the chance to meet other students.

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I’ve been working as a tutor

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for Hanover Student Services for 3.5 years now.

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I enjoy helping foreign students with their daily issues:

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opening a bank account, extending their visa

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at the immigration office, or applying for health insurance.

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We employ student workers as tutors.

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They do a terrific job in the dorms, making sure that foreign

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and native students get along well.

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Commendable work and therefore well paid.

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I’m not familiar with today’s tutoring program,

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but back then it was a worthwhile cause – students helping students.

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There were only 10 people in our team.

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We hosted cooking events. We visited the opera.

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We went on all kinds of excursions. We did city trips to Hameln and Celle.

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We helped other foreign students to get their bearings.

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My name is Bihan Zhuang, and I’m from China.

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I’ve been studying in Hanover for 7 years now,

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currently in the industrial engineering master’s degree program.

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I’ve been working for Hanover Student Services for a year now,

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mostly in the tutoring program.

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We regularly conduct social surveys, also regarding the living conditions of foreign students.

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In 1996, the first survey for foreign students showed that

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they wanted to have more contact with native students.

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Now I can pass on what I received when I first came here.

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I can only recommend making use of this service, to commit yourself, and to profit from it.

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I’ll keep doing it as long as I can.

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It makes me really happy to see the project that started

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off 20 years ago continue along the same lines.

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And it’s always a true joy to witness how relations of foreign

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and native students in the dorms improve thanks to our efforts.