One of only 250 students chosen across the United States, senior Santiago Muirhead was a participant in the 2023–2024 Congress Bundesliga Youth Exchange program (CBYX). As part of the year-long study abroad program, Muirhead was immersed in German culture first-hand while living and studying with a host family.
Surrounded by a diverse culture and a family with a passion for travel, Muirhead’s background motivated him to participate in the program.
“[My parents] went out of their cultural norms – that’s how they met – and that’s how they created a family that likes to go out in the cultural world,” Muirhead said.
Like his father, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Muirhead knew he wanted to study abroad in Germany.
“CBYX is a partnership between the U.S. and German governments to create stronger ties with allies, but also to create cross-cultural experiences for students so both countries have a better understanding of each other,” Muirhead said. “My grandma, my dad, and my great grandma all traveled and studied in Germany for a few years. I had to follow tradition.”
When looking back at his experience, Muirhead is proud to have taken complete advantage of his opportunities.
“Within my time there, I showed my culture, where I come from,” Muirhead said. “Not necessarily only American culture, but also how diverse American culture can be. America’s the land of immigrants. It’s been influenced by immigrants, and I myself could show that I am part American, but also part from a different culture, to show that America is more diverse than people think.”
Despite his limited German vocabulary, Muirhead had a vital role in a rural German town where outsiders weren’t as welcome.
“I was a teacher for my school,” Muirhead said. “I was an English teacher, so I taught fifth graders to 13th graders English and I got really close [to them] by teaching. I was in the outskirts [of Germany] and so I had to learn how to manage because people didn’t like outsiders there. I had to show that not all outsiders are bad and there’s a lot people can learn from each other.”
Though wanting to avoid a traditional classroom setting, Muirhead sought out the opportunity to teach English.
“I didn’t want to spend two hours a day in an English class where I already knew what I was doing,” Muirhead said. “I wanted to make a difference in the school that I was in, so I decided to ask if I could do something else. People heard that I was an exchange student, and they were like, ‘Yeah, do you want to come and teach or help or just observe?’ I was like, “Yes, I would be great,’ and then they realized how outgoing I was and how I wanted to help and influence these kids, and so I got a job doing that.”
Prior to starting the program, Muirhead, along with 49 other students, participated in a month-long immersion course within the program to learn some of the language and culture before departing abroad.
“I went in with zero knowledge,” Muirhead said. “The program allowed me to have a month of immersion with 50 of us kids to learn the culture and a little bit about the language and what we’re getting ourselves into. When I was thrown into my school and my city and the town I was in, I had to learn just by seeing and hearing people’s actions. Towards the later months of my stay, I finally learned how to write and read.”
Muirhead’s impressions of Germany changed drastically as he gradually adapted to his community.
“I was used to a very open, lighter culture in America, and when I entered [Germany], at first it seemed like it was a lot colder,” Muirhead said. “People weren’t as friendly. It just seemed really different…[but] as soon as I really put myself in there, I got to see a whole different light of it. It’s a much more complex culture than people see here. Typically, there in this small town, you walk by whoever you have to greet them, greet their kids, you greet everyone, and they’re actually really warm and outgoing once you get into their inner circle. Just getting into that inner circle takes time.”
Muirhead also understood the importance of diplomats in fostering international relations and had the unique experience of working with them.
“A unique future of this program is that it’s partnered with the [United States] Congress and [the German] Congress, and so within this stay, you got to meet your representative from the U.S. and in Germany, and I got to work with the German parliament,” Muirhead said. “I got to meet the U.S. ambassador and the German ambassador. We could talk to them, ask them questions, partake in their lectures, and sit in Parliament and hear what they were discussing.”
By working through the uncertainty, discomfort, and trials of his time abroad, Muirhead realized what he wanted his future to look like.
“In Germany, I saw how much I love to just throw myself in a new culture and see what I can become,” Muirhead said. “There’s so much uncertainty, I barely understood the language, a very uncomfortable situation for many. It was very uncomfortable for me, but I love that. I love understanding new people’s ideas, cultures, language and identity.”
In light of the community he fostered abroad, Muirhead encourages other students to travel and discover the impact they can have.
“I would really encourage students to think about going abroad,” Muirhead said. “A lot of people are nervous; it’s a long time to be away from home. The benefit of that is you learn so much about yourself and others that it helps the world become a better place. When I was leaving, I could really understand the big impact I made on all these people from my school where I was teaching, to my good friends that are going to be friends forever, my host, a family that I truly could call home. That was my home.”