I would do it again, if given the opportunity Past Review
By A student (Music Theory and Composition, Wellesley College) - abroad from 09/12/2012 to 07/25/2013 with
Wellesley College: Wellesley-in-Berlin
Yes. I gained language skills, I learned how to live alone, I learned how to take care of myself, how to harangue an airline on the telephone, I overcame my fear of traveling and then my fear of traveling alone, I learned a lot about myself, I learned that I am capable of writing 24 pages of German, I learned that communication is more important than perfect grammar, I learned how to navigate a new city, I learned how to navigate in general, I learned how to deal with mourning a loss at the same time as dealing with an entirely new environment... I could keep going, but it is sure to get tiresome for me as well as for you, dear reader. Let's just say... if you're on the fence about going abroad, you shouldn't be. I don't care what program you choose, just go. In fact, I would say my program wasn't that awesome. It doesn't matter, as long as they don't have you living in a rat hole.
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. |
Academically rigorous, perhaps too academically rigorous. Doing all of your coursework in German can be quite difficult, especially given the timeline of the program: Although we are like German students in every other respect, we have a tighter deadline than the German students. Where German students have the time between semesters (the Ferienzeit) to finish their academic work from the preceding semesters, we were required to write our final papers during the semester itself (the Vorlesungszeit). |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
We have an on site director who is based in Mainz rather than Berlin. The assistant director on site in Berlin is helpful but lacks the political clout in the structure of the program to make decisions. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
There are three housing options: student dorm, homestay, and finding an apartment. I chose the dorm and was placed by random lottery in the international student dorm, where I had little to no contact with the German culture. The living arrangements themselves are physically fine, although some would complain about the location, as some of the dorms are located an hour or two from the city center. Those dorms that are far from the city center are more often than not much closer to the University, so it's a bit of a toss up. |
| * Food: |
N/A: There are student cafeterias "Mensa"s, which have discounted food for students and which are only really open for lunch. The cooking facilities in the dorm range from good to downright awful and depend entirely on the other residents of the dorm. I was lucky in that my neighbors appreciated a clean kitchen as much as I do. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt quite integrated with two cultures: The confused international student culture and the German university culture. Any other facets of German life remain a mystery to me. Berlin is an extremely cosmopolitan city. Although there are things about it that are undeniably German, there are also pockets of life and little communities where knowledge of the German language and culture is completely unnecessary, for instance the giant English-speaking expatriate community that lives here. If you are looking for a really German experience, you are better off going to a smaller city or a village. That goes for language learning as well. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I was physically healthy all year, but not mentally healthy. It was very easy for me to access the necessary therapy (in English) when I needed it most. |
| * Safety: |
My neighborhood in Lichterfelde (the South of Berlin) was very, very safe. My friend lost her i-Pod and it was returned to her unharmed the next day. It is in fact safe enough that the main building of the dorm is never locked. Students have the option of locking their flats/rooms. There are definitely certain parts of the city to avoid, others to be careful in, etc. |
| 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) |
Berlin is a very cheap city. The student dorm is also incredibly, almost mind-blowingly cheap. If you decide to cook for yourself, it should be pretty easy to live on a budget. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | It would have been possible to live on program expenses alone (for which I paid full Wellesley tuition). As finances are not tight in my family, I probably spent an extra few euro here and there on unnecessary expenses (travel outside of Germany, etc.) |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
Although the program is ostensibly designed to make language acquisition a must, my living situation in a mostly English speaking dorm led me to use German much less often that I had hoped and anticipated. The program unfortunately has no control over dorm placement, which is done through a strange, complex and bureaucratic process about which we know next to nothing. If language acquisition and immersion are important to you, then you are better off choosing a homestay or going through the pain that is finding a shared apartment with German speakers (WG) in Berlin. I was lucky in that my hallmates hailed from all over the globe and our common language just happened to be German, by dumb luck. Many other halls in my building also come from all over, but only have English in common. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | German 202 (two of my four German courses were short and intense Wintersession courses) |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Listen as much as possible. Listen to German radio, TV, audiobooks, anything you can find. Also know that there is no preparation for the initial shyness you may have, in which the thought of speaking German to anyone is incredibly terrifying. You will make errors. Really bad ones. You will have to get used to no longer being the most well-spoken person in the room, you ambitious liberal arts college student, you. You will have to get used to the frustration of never being able to express yourself as succinctly as you would like. Practice reading as well. It still takes me about an hour per page of academic German, which begins to add up after a while. Now for some real talk: when it really comes down to survival in German, you can forget about cases and genders. It's really gratifying to be able to do those things, but you don't necessarily need them to navigate a difficult situation. The plumber will understand you even if you don't know what the gender of the word toilet is. The important thing is that you know the word for toilet. So work on that first. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | 1) Berlin is giant. Really giant. 2.5 hours from one end to the other. 2) The Berlin winter is cold. But that's not the horrible part. The Berlin winter is horribly horribly dark: in the entire month of January 2013, we had only 5 hours of sunlight. In the entire month!! 3) Berlin is not very stereotypically German. 4) A German friend of mine agreed with me recently that it is especially difficult to make new friends in Berlin... she is from Freiburg at the Southmost edge of Germany, and apparently the culture there is entirely different and perhaps a little bit more friendly. 5) Sometimes you have to speak English, for your mental and emotional health. We take a language pledge, and that's great, but rest assured that you will learn plenty of German even if you take some breaks each week to process all that you are observing and experiencing in your mother tongue. Mother tongue time is important. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
