Great experiance that tought me tons Past Review
By A student (Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics., Austin College) - abroad from 08/26/2012 to 12/13/2012 with
IES Abroad: Berlin - Study Abroad With IES Abroad
I feel I became a much more mature and independent person from the experience. I walked away with a lot of fun memories and an appreciation for the "Berlin life style" if you can claim that such a thing even exists. Going to Berlin was definitely one of the best decisions I've made, and I'd like to go back again one day.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The classes involved more busy work and useless readings than they needed, but the professors were very attentive. The program's main flaw is the extensive class length of 2 hours per session. This became extremely tiresome on the days I had 3 or 4 sessions. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
IES Berlin has an incredibly nice and knowledgeable staff. They are easy to reach and any issues can be sorted out quickly. There's no way to know in advance if a staff member is using one of their sick days though, which caused a few problems from time to time. They get a lot more vacation days in Germany, so if anything is extremely important, send an email the day before as a fall back. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My home stay was a little far away from the program center and the university classes I attended. This was occasionally annoying and frustrating. The family I was placed with was very nice however. |
| * Food: |
My home stay family cooked me dinner from time to time which was awesome. Local groceries carried everything that I could ask for. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I didn't feel ostracized or anything. I understood the rational for pretty much everything that different than in my home culture. Having 5 classes however may have limited my cultural education abroad, by limiting my time interacting with natives in more natural settings. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had no major illnesses or injuries in Berlin, so I can't really say. We were given some numbers to call in case of emergencies though, so it seems like everything should be fine on the health care front as long as you get a good doctor. |
| * Safety: |
A few students from my program got robbed and Berlin does have a few sketchy areas. Nothing ever happened to me though, and I wondered around at night a lot. I think that it's a very safe city over all, but I'd advise a little caution after hours just to be absolutely sure. Going to back alleys in Marzahn, Kreuzberg, or Wedding after midnight without a friend is a bad idea. The other areas of the city should be fine no matter what hour it is. |
| 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 cheep city. It's an exception to the rule of living in a European capital. Groceries for me were 35 euros a week, give or take. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 60 euros |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Pre cook your lunches and bring them with you. Döner's are cheap but deli salads are even cheaper. Obviously you won't always have the time to do anything like that, but it can seriously make a dent in your wallet if you rely on restaurants a lot of the time. Even going to the local grocery markets near the IES center and getting an apple and a bread roll can save you a lot of money. Berlin also has decent student cafeterias in the city. Dishes can be bought there for about 2 euros. |
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 |
It was all German, all the time. I highly encourage German learners to consider this program. The staff can all speak English for emergencies, but they won't unless you need them to. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 236 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 10+ |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Occasionally store owners will switch to English in Berlin, if they realize you're a native speaker of it. They think they're helping you by doing so or that it's an excuse for them to practice their foreign language skills. Getting a good accent is vital to using your German in this situations. If you don't sound english they won't switch into it, even if you still sound foreign. People thought I was swiss on many occasions, but this meant that I still only spoke in German. Before you even get to Berlin, try making your accent sound more German. It will help you fit in as well. |
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? | That IES as a company is quite obsessed with moodle. This wouldn't have discouraged me from going, but moodle annoys me. |
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! |
