My journey to Germany: what I wish I’d known first

After high school, I wanted one thing: to go and study abroad.

I tried several countries, without success. I finished my degree in 2018, but I didn’t give up — I kept looking for a way to continue my studies elsewhere.

In the end, an opportunity in Cyprus came up. The process looked simple and fast. I was being handed a dream on a plate.

And I said yes.

I hadn’t checked the information carefully enough. I was mostly carried by the urge to leave and start a new chapter of my life.

In 2021, I arrived in Cyprus to begin university. But the reality was very different from what I’d been shown.

After two or three years in Cyprus, I started looking for a way to leave.

At that point, I didn’t even know exactly where I’d end up. I just wanted to find a new option so I could keep moving forward.

So I searched. A lot.

Google became my best friend.

I looked for affordable universities, programs, countries, online admission processes. And that’s how I came across a university in Germany.

It was a private university, and the process seemed relatively simple: I filled in an online form. A few weeks later, the university contacted me for the next steps: an online English test, a deposit, documents. Things were moving.

But there was a problem: I didn’t really know what came next.

I naively thought that once I had the admission, the rest would follow fairly quickly.

I hadn’t yet grasped how much the visa steps mattered. I didn’t know how hard it could be to get an embassy appointment. I didn’t yet know all the financial requirements.

And above all, I didn’t know that some steps have to be started long before you actually need them.

Then I began looking for an appointment at the German embassy in Kinshasa.

And there… it was nearly impossible to find one.

After a lot of searching, I finally managed to get an appointment.

In July 2024, I finally had a date. But it was in October. At the time, it was stressful.

Looking back, that wait actually gave me some time to return to the DRC, get my things ready, and above all start dealing with the financial steps I hadn’t anticipated.

That’s when I discovered the blocked account. I didn’t really know how it worked, or how to set it up. I had to search, compare information, understand the process, and move forward step by step.

With a lot of research and support from my university, I eventually set up the account, the insurance, and the other required pieces.

I had my appointment. Then, in December 2024, I got my visa.

After months of paperwork, leaving was finally becoming real.

I arrived in Germany in January 2025. Honestly, I thought the hardest part was behind me.

I was wrong.

Once there, I still had to:

• register my address
• sort out my insurance
• open a local bank account
• complete some university formalities
• understand how my new life in Germany actually worked

And then came a surprise I absolutely wasn’t expecting: health insurance. I thought it was something you paid once. It wasn’t.

In my case, starting my courses online while my admission was already active led to my insurance being billed retroactively from September. I wasn’t even in Germany yet.

So I was discovering some financial consequences only after the fact.

Today, everything is fine. But all those little surprises made me realise something.

The hardest part wasn’t necessarily doing the steps. It was knowing which steps were waiting for me.

All the things I wish I’d known before I found myself facing them.

That’s exactly where the idea for Tangago started to take shape.

Looking back on my journey, I often thought: “If only I’d had someone to explain all this at the start…”

Not necessarily someone to do everything for me. But someone to tell me:

That’s what I wish I’d had. And it’s what I want to build with Tangago: a source of information that’s clear, accessible and honest.

A space where African students who want to study in Germany can understand their path, ask their questions, and get support when they need it.

Because an admission isn’t the end of the journey. It’s often where everything begins.

That’s what Tangago is for.

Tangago can’t promise that every step will be easy. But we want to make sure you don’t face them blind.

Whether you’re still thinking about your plan, looking for a university, preparing your application, or simply wondering where to start: you can move forward step by step. And you don’t need to understand everything at once.

That’s also why Tangago offers free resources, consultations, and support tailored to each stage of the journey.