What is your home university?
I’m from Tel-Aviv university, Israel
How is studying different here?
My home university is much larger than Bucerius and there are students from many fields and several campuses, not only law. Also, because it’s so much bigger (only in my year in law school we are 400 students, and we have 4 years), there is no personal connection to everyone in the administrative staff, so sometimes problems can take longer to solve.
What was the biggest change for you when you came here?
Before I came here I got many confused questions about what a Jewish & Israeli girl has to look for in Germany (and not even a “cool” city like Berlin) - but it is a unique experience to have here. I feel like it’s really complicated sometimes to choose a place that is less attractive to people from your home university but those are the most interesting places to be at.
I learned so much about myself and about a new place that not many people from Israel know about. The culture differences are the hardest thing to catch up - in Israel we are more vocal, more straight forward and we have different boundaries. Somehow - I feel more Israeli, and Jewish.
Are you keeping up with your hobbies here?
My cat is not here but I do have some plants here and discovered some new ones I didn’t know in Israel.I also got into other hobbies – I run more thanks to the beautiful parks in Hamburg; and I read more. In law school in Israel you don't have time to read for pleasure and here it’s suddenly possible.
Do you still work as a flight attendant while you are in Hamburg?
I took a break from work while I’m here so I can enjoy the experience.
How does that complement your studies in the field of law?
My job requires solving problems with little resources and it’s really intense in difficult hours. I also meet many interesting passengers from all over the world and got some job offers or connections from people that felt like we had a nice conversation or that the job is interesting. In the end - it's customer service and lawyers also deal with clients.
What has been the biggest challenge in combining university and working?
Time management is really important. Sometimes after a 15-hour flight I’m going straight to school for another several hours of lectures. It also means that I need to skip certain things in my life, activities that I want to do.
However, I prefer to do something that I love and enjoy rather than doing something that I don’t want to do - even if on paper it seems like it’s going help me even more. In the end - when you’re going to an interview, you want to talk passionately about the things in your life. When you are meeting people you want to highlight the positive aspects of your life.
What do you want to achieve in your time at the Bucerius Law School?
I wanted to meet new people and to get to know more about other cultures- I wanted to get to know new legal fields and topics that maybe I did not deal with in the past and to have the opportunity to travel and get to know a new place.
Given your job, you must have seen a lot of the world. What distinguishes Hamburg the most?
I think that the most unique thing in Hamburg is the huge green areas that you don’t see in many big cities anymore. I also think that Germany in general has quite a unique vibe to it because of the historical buildings but also the destruction that happened during the World War and it creates a nice mix between old and new.
And Hamburg does give more of a classic European city vibe but also feels more recent. I also like the nightlife here and I found the city full of nice music clubs, comedy clubs and places to dance and have fun - and one of the best gay scenes.
Liron, thanks for the interview.
