It all started as an Irishman with Trabi to Magdeburg

Magdeburg – He came with Tarabi. Hasselbachplatz was still gray, somewhat dilapidated and not easy to drive on, recalls Jerome Moulin. That was almost 30 years ago now.

“Magdeburg turned out to be beautiful,” says the Irishman, who grew up in Ballinderry, a small Northern Irish town between Belfast and Derry. Magdeburg is his home. When he says Germany, he usually means Magdeburg. This is where he has his friends, his work, and this is where he feels at home.

He did not consciously choose this house at first. Mullan studied Modern European Studies in London – a very business oriented course with lots of geography, history and politics. German was part of the show, he learned the language and went to Humboldt University in Berlin as an exchange student for a year in 1992. After completing his studies, he decided to come back to Germany again – at least not to leave behind his knowledge of German rust.

First to the university in Berlin, then to Spreewald

He ended up in Luckau, in Spreewald, at a grammar school in order to get teachers and students more familiar with English as native speakers. Jerome Mullan has fond memories of the year that “in nowhere” he “met really nice people.” The position at Luckau was fixed for one year; Apply to other cities. Berlin had had enough of its native speakers, and Magdeburg was still searching. So he came to Magdeburg in 1994.

And I was amazed that there were so many native speakers here – it was enough for the table of the regulars and our theater troupe. He works at a language institute, later as a freelancer for five years at a radio station. Over the years he has followed Magdeburg’s development and witnessed the city’s transformation.

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Magdeburg is now very beautiful, says Moulin, and his Irish family loves the city, the Hundertwasser house, the cathedral and the city park. and environment. “It’s easy to get to the Harz Mountains.”

Negotiations in English

At some point, the Magdeburg native made the decision to become self-employed, working as a language lecturer, translator, speaker and linguistic travel agent. With his company “English-Mobil” he goes to companies, trains employees, makes them suitable for communication with international clients, for business trips, and for contract negotiations in English.

In his job he notices how the world of work is changing in Magdeburg. After the urgent need to make up for English skills after reunification, there was a slight lull.

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Meanwhile, many companies have established global business relationships. The ability to speak English is essential – as is for contacts with Eastern European companies. “Even in the Eastern Bloc, businessmen only speak English to each other.” Jérôme Moulin kept his accent, and the people of Magdeburg accepted him and were open to him—but they seldom ask where he comes from when they first meet him. time.

“The Germans are reserved. I have learned that they are different from us Irish people. The Irish are a curious people, they ask where you are from, what is your grandfather’s name. The Germans hold back, perhaps out of respect.” Jerome Mullan doesn’t say much about Brexit, he’s glad he decided to get an Irish passport in his native Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK. As an Irishman, Mulan is a citizen of the European Union. All he had to do was exchange his British driving licence

A monster of bureaucracy when exchanging driver’s licenses

This was a beast of bureaucracy – it took eight months for him to get his German driver’s licence. He sees the idea of ​​creating a welcome center and naming several things in English favorably in light of Intel’s upcoming settlement. It helps those praying find their way more easily. Magdeburg is truly cosmopolitan. “Internationally, there’s a lot more going on here, than you might think.”