"You'd be surprised how much you can communicate with hand gestures."
Kavanagh College year 12 pupil Charlotte Bremer is already coming up with communication strategies after winning the New Zealand Padagogischer Austauschdienst Scholarship to study in Germany next year.
The language scholarship, sponsored by the German Government, was awarded to Charlotte by the New Zealand Goethe-Institut, and will see her immersed in German language and culture for four weeks in July.
"I've never been to Europe before.
"At the moment, it's all very exciting, but as the time gets closer, I'll worry a little about the culture shock."
Charlotte won the scholarship after attending interviews in Wellington recently with 15 other finalists.
While she was not yet sure which city she would be visiting, she had been told she would spend much of the time living with German families and attending German language courses.
Time would also be spent absorbing the sights and sounds of the city and its surroundings.
Charlotte said she was looking forward to gaining more first-hand knowledge of "a completely different culture" which she had only learnt about from books and NCEA study.
"I would like to do aid work when I leave school, and this will give me experience in adapting to other cultures," she said.
