Nine thousand kilometres from home, two weeks in
Wesley and Abroln left Dar es Salaam for a small German town neither of them had heard of a year ago. This is what the first fortnight actually felt like.
Wesley Baraka and Abroln Lupala are both from Dar es Salaam. A few weeks ago they landed in Soest, North Rhine-Westphalia, to start a Business Administration with Informatics degree at Fachhochschule Südwestfalen — the newest arrivals in the COSMA family, and two of the most candid.
Education first, then everything Germany builds
Ask either of them why Germany, and the answer starts the same way. Wesley points to the country's standing in technology and business — the automotive names, the engineering, the architecture — as reason enough to study there. Abroln's version leans more personal: a strong education system, and a genuine pull to live somewhere completely new.
Germany is, in terms of technology, in terms of the business world, one of the top countries.Wesley Baraka
Both had a connection into COSMA already: a mutual friend, Egbert Chomba, had used COSMA's services himself and pointed them in the same direction. "Shout out to Egbert," Wesley says. "Thank you very much for making this all happen."
The first fortnight, by the numbers
From "we were connected to Justin" to a front door in Soest
Neither of them describes the visa and admissions process as easy — how could it be, applying from Dar es Salaam to a university system neither had seen in person? What they describe instead is being walked through it, step by step, with COSMA acting as the bridge between them, their parents, and the German side of the paperwork.
Abroln is specific about what that meant in practice: getting into the university in the first place, then accommodation in a new city, then a bank account — each one a small mountain on its own. "It's not easy in a new city to get something as nice as what we got through COSMA," he says of the house they moved into, close to campus, with what he calls very good neighbours.
Cosma helped me with everything from the visa, departure, arrival. Through Cosma, we got to understand well how the systems work.Wesley Baraka
Before COSMA explained it, and after
- The real costs and steps were laid out plainly
- Parents were briefed directly by COSMA, in language they trusted
- Even the CV became easier — reworked into the Europass format German employers expect
- "It's a lot of money" was the first impression
- Little familiarity with how German admissions or visas actually work
- Real tension about whether it would all come together
Serious classes, a slow-building friend group, and a lot of Wi-Fi
By their own account, the classroom side has been the easy part. Lecture materials, module notes, and quizzes all arrive through the laptop, and campus Wi-Fi has been strong enough to make studying from anywhere straightforward. Teachers, they say, are approachable and genuinely open to questions.
The social side is moving at the pace a first week usually does — one real friend each so far, Naveen from Malaysia and Benjamin from Uganda, with different class schedules making it harder to build a bigger circle quickly. What's landed harder is the general seriousness of German life: people who work seriously, study seriously, and, as Wesley puts it, "when they party, they seriously party." Adjusting to that rhythm has been its own small task.
Underneath the adjustment sits something more familiar to anyone who has left home before — a pull back toward parents and siblings that neither of them pretends isn't there, sitting alongside genuine excitement about the place they've landed. Abroln's list of what he's come to like reads like someone who has actually looked around: food that draws on many cultures, streets quiet enough to concentrate in, and public transport that's cheap or free for students across the whole country.
Only in Germany can you so easily visit other European countries.Abroln Lupala
What COSMA actually handled
Explained the system
Justin walked them through what German admissions and the visa office actually require, before either of them touched an application.
Got the admission letters
Applying straight from Tanzania to a German university isn't simple — COSMA handled the connection to Fachhochschule Südwestfalen on their behalf.
Prepared the visa paperwork
Including turning Wesley's ordinary CV into the Europass format the German system expects.
Opened the bank accounts
The financial groundwork needed to live and study in Germany, sorted before they landed.
Found the house in Soest
A place near campus, good neighbours, ready before they arrived — not something either of them expected to manage alone in a brand-new city.
There's already a travel wishlist forming — Dortmund's stadium, Cologne, Frankfurt, Munich (Abroln's been before and rates the Allianz Arena among the best he's seen), Berlin, and day trips over the border to the Netherlands, France, and Poland, all easy reach from where they've landed. Asked to sum up the experience in one word each, Abroln said "fantastic." Wesley said "superb." Abroln closed with a message for anyone back home still deciding — come to Germany — and a warm word in Swahili for future COSMA students making the same journey: safe travels, and COSMA will be there for it.
Thinking about studying in Germany?
Wesley and Abroln started exactly where you are now — with questions about costs, admissions, and whether it was even possible. COSMA walked them through every step, from application to front door.
Talk to COSMAAcacia Estates Offices · Plot 84, Kinondoni Road · Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Nine thousand kilometres from home, two weeks in
Wesley and Abroln left Dar es Salaam for a small German town neither of them had heard of a year ago. This is what the first fortnight actually felt like.
Wesley Baraka and Abroln Lupala are both from Dar es Salaam. A few weeks ago they landed in Soest, North Rhine-Westphalia, to start a Business Administration with Informatics degree at Fachhochschule Südwestfalen — the newest arrivals in the COSMA family, and two of the most candid.
Education first, then everything Germany builds
Ask either of them why Germany, and the answer starts the same way. Wesley points to the country's standing in technology and business — the automotive names, the engineering, the architecture — as reason enough to study there. Abroln's version leans more personal: a strong education system, and a genuine pull to live somewhere completely new.
Germany is, in terms of technology, in terms of the business world, one of the top countries.Wesley Baraka
Both had a connection into COSMA already: a mutual friend, Egbert Chomba, had used COSMA's services himself and pointed them in the same direction. "Shout out to Egbert," Wesley says. "Thank you very much for making this all happen."
The first fortnight, by the numbers
From "we were connected to Justin" to a front door in Soest
Neither of them describes the visa and admissions process as easy — how could it be, applying from Dar es Salaam to a university system neither had seen in person? What they describe instead is being walked through it, step by step, with COSMA acting as the bridge between them, their parents, and the German side of the paperwork.
Abroln is specific about what that meant in practice: getting into the university in the first place, then accommodation in a new city, then a bank account — each one a small mountain on its own. "It's not easy in a new city to get something as nice as what we got through COSMA," he says of the house they moved into, close to campus, with what he calls very good neighbours.
Cosma helped me with everything from the visa, departure, arrival. Through Cosma, we got to understand well how the systems work.Wesley Baraka
Before COSMA explained it, and after
- The real costs and steps were laid out plainly
- Parents were briefed directly by COSMA, in language they trusted
- Even the CV became easier — reworked into the Europass format German employers expect
- "It's a lot of money" was the first impression
- Little familiarity with how German admissions or visas actually work
- Real tension about whether it would all come together
Serious classes, a slow-building friend group, and a lot of Wi-Fi
By their own account, the classroom side has been the easy part. Lecture materials, module notes, and quizzes all arrive through the laptop, and campus Wi-Fi has been strong enough to make studying from anywhere straightforward. Teachers, they say, are approachable and genuinely open to questions.
The social side is moving at the pace a first week usually does — one real friend each so far, Naveen from Malaysia and Benjamin from Uganda, with different class schedules making it harder to build a bigger circle quickly. What's landed harder is the general seriousness of German life: people who work seriously, study seriously, and, as Wesley puts it, "when they party, they seriously party." Adjusting to that rhythm has been its own small task.
Underneath the adjustment sits something more familiar to anyone who has left home before — a pull back toward parents and siblings that neither of them pretends isn't there, sitting alongside genuine excitement about the place they've landed. Abroln's list of what he's come to like reads like someone who has actually looked around: food that draws on many cultures, streets quiet enough to concentrate in, and public transport that's cheap or free for students across the whole country.
Only in Germany can you so easily visit other European countries.Abroln Lupala
What COSMA actually handled
Explained the system
Justin walked them through what German admissions and the visa office actually require, before either of them touched an application.
Got the admission letters
Applying straight from Tanzania to a German university isn't simple — COSMA handled the connection to Fachhochschule Südwestfalen on their behalf.
Prepared the visa paperwork
Including turning Wesley's ordinary CV into the Europass format the German system expects.
Opened the bank accounts
The financial groundwork needed to live and study in Germany, sorted before they landed.
Found the house in Soest
A place near campus, good neighbours, ready before they arrived — not something either of them expected to manage alone in a brand-new city.
There's already a travel wishlist forming — Dortmund's stadium, Cologne, Frankfurt, Munich (Abroln's been before and rates the Allianz Arena among the best he's seen), Berlin, and day trips over the border to the Netherlands, France, and Poland, all easy reach from where they've landed. Asked to sum up the experience in one word each, Abroln said "fantastic." Wesley said "superb." Abroln closed with a message for anyone back home still deciding — come to Germany — and a warm word in Swahili for future COSMA students making the same journey: safe travels, and COSMA will be there for it.
Thinking about studying in Germany?
Wesley and Abroln started exactly where you are now — with questions about costs, admissions, and whether it was even possible. COSMA walked them through every step, from application to front door.
Talk to COSMAAcacia Estates Offices · Plot 84, Kinondoni Road · Dar es Salaam, Tanzania