Germany in 7 months Past Review
By Erin B (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE/LETTERS., Illinois State University) for
Paderborn University: Paderborn - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
With an internship under my belt from this experience I have gained valuable knowledge and experiences to help me in any future employment. My resume certainly has grown from the experience and that is something I wanted to happen.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload seemed almost nonexistant, and I was surprised at how easy most of my classes were. All of my classes only had one final assignment, which was very strange to me as I am use to having numerous assignments throughout the semester and then one final large project. Another difference I found that was refreshing was the 'rapping of the desk' (students knocking on their desks). This was done at the end of lectures, almost like applause, to show appreciation. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The support of the administration was never ending, and that was a huge relief. If ever I had a problem I knew who I could count on to help me solve whatever problem I had encountered. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Karneval. What a blast! That's really all I can say for the cultural events I was in Germany for. Every student should participate in Karneval!! As far as other events arranged by my program, I never participated in them and instead did traveling on my own. I loved every trip I took and wouldn't change any of them. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
As for safety, the students just need to be smart and take the same safety procautions they do at home. But as a side remark, in case it isn't thought of, ALWAYS travel with a buddy/friend. The healthcare provided was satisfactory and I ended up getting insurance just in case but I never ended up using it. That made me a bit upset as I was paying a big sum of money each month and if I could I wouldn't sign up for it again and stick with my insurance from home. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Towards the last 3 months I could spend under 15euro a week on grocerys/personal expenses. I wasn't going out a lot and I had learned the best places to shop (Lidl and Aldi). |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | When you first arrive all you will want to do is go out to eat and drink. BE CAREFUL. You don't realize how much money you spend that first month and after that you see how much you've spent and you might freak out a bit. Stay calm and figure out a spend schedule on how much you want to spend on travel/grocery's/miscellaneous. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Beginniners |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I would use small German phrases when in public to get by, but as it was my first time learning the language not much of what I did end up learning stayed or ended up working its way into my conversations. I did find that I was able to read the language, and listen to it, better than I expected to after my German course. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | International Business majors will benefit most from this program. Paderborn University is attempting to cater more towards those students, and they will be changing the length of time to a year. |
