Love at first sight

French national Celia Gagliardi spent part of her studies in Landshut, where she met the love of her life

A new country, a new culture and thousands of new experiences – a semester abroad is the fulfilment of a long-held dream for many young people. Every year, a number of people from all over the world come together at the campus in Landshut. The university chatted with a couple of them and got some special insights into the lives of exchange students. Some of the stories are real Hollywood material and would give Rosamunde Pilcher a run for her money! In this mini-series, we’ll be reporting on individual people’s experiences.

Celia Gagliardi’s time spent studying abroad in Germany can be summed up as an Italian-French love story. Celia, who comes from Strasbourg, is a great example of an international young woman. She spent her first three years in England, before moving with her parents to France. And she spent nine years learning German at school. “That was also the main reason why I wanted to spend some time in Germany,” explains Celia. “Despite having learned German for such a long time, my language skills weren’t at all good. And that was a good enough reason to change things. In addition to this, Landshut University of Applied Sciences also has a very good reputation in France.”

A life-changing encounter

Celia didn’t find moving to a foreign country to be a difficult step: “I had already spent one semester in the Netherlands, and I’m a very open and adventurous person by nature.” Once she had arrived in Landshut, Celia received great support from the International Office, and quickly got to know the other exchange students. One person in particular made a big impression on her – Gianmarco Cringoli. Gianmarco, who is from Italy, and Celia, from France, fell in love with each other straight away. “It was love at first sight,” recalls Celia. “My semester abroad was therefore a life-changing experience, as it gave me the opportunity to meet the love of my life.” Celia is planning to move to Italy to live with Gianmarco before the end of the year.

Celia is also still in regular contact with several of the other students. “I very much recommend this experience to everyone. The semester abroad isn’t just hugely character building, it also helps you when you are looking for your future job,” emphasises Celia. “Shortly after graduating, I managed to find an attractive job as a Sales Executive in Famenco.”

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