Pleasant, Not Life-Changing, But Now I Have A Second Family in Neukölln Past Review
By A student (Brandeis University) - abroad from 03/07/2017 to 08/12/2017 with
IES Abroad: Berlin - Study Abroad With IES Abroad
While I'm not sure my German got exceptionally better (partly because I'm already at a high level, so progress is slower now), my vocabulary did expand, and I got more comfortable/less embarrassed speaking in my second language. I learned how to be more self-sufficient with cooking. I learned how to book and plan trips. I learned how to better handle travel emergencies (being pickpocketed, missing a flight, etc). I had a wonderful host family and met a lot of great American friends. While not life-changing, it was absolutely worthwhile, and there's no way I would NOT have studied abroad.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I did not find the IES classes difficult. Syllabi are also not common in Germany, so expectations weren't always clear. That being said, there were many resources and people (the student assistants were particularly great) at the center for support, if needed. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
IES Berlin is considerably more relaxed than IES Chicago makes the program out to be, which is nice in some ways. What I found particularly disappointing, though, was the internship program. We sent in our materials way in advance, the internship search only just started once we arrived, there was virtually no communication about how the search was going, and many people did not get placements until a few days before we were supposed to start working. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My host family was absolutely wonderful, a great match for me. They were super generous, and we interacted a lot. I felt like a member of the family and regularly joined them for meals. I only wish they could have lived a little closer to the city. |
| * Food: |
Not applicable, since my host family was not required to provide food (although their food was wonderful). I mostly cooked for myself or ate out. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Other than my host family, I rarely interacted with local Germans until my internship started. I guess IES gave us information on how to seek out more of that if we wanted, and I did find a language partner at the local university, but we didn't really keep it up. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had no health problems while abroad |
| * Safety: |
Berlin is a big city, no different than any other big city, so you have to be smart and aware of your surroundings. Keep your eye on your bag/backpack when sitting at a cafe or restaurant, don't fall asleep on the subway, keep your wallet and other valuables safely tucked away from pickpockets, stay away from extremist political events, consume alcohol responsibly, and always stay in groups with friends when you are out late. The usual. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
Yes/Maybe. I'm curious about what the Freiburg program might have been like. |
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) |
One can live very cheaply in Berlin. Our transportation was included with our semester ID, we had prepared readers instead of textbooks, and my groceries usually never exceed 20 Euros a week. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Maybe 100 Euros |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Buy groceries every week. Eat breakfast at your homestay, and pack a lunch for the school week. Don't always go out with friends; you can also go to someone's house and cook together. Use your student IDs for discounts at museums. Find cheap flights through websites like momondo.com |
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 |
We had two weeks of intensive German before our program even started and before we took placement tests for our German classes at the local university. I spoke exclusively German with my host family, and pretty much only German with the staff at the IES center. All of my classes were theoretically in German, although many professors would sometimes revert to English to explain something. |
| 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? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Probably upper intermediate/advanced |
| 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? | Speak exclusively in your foreign language with your host family. If people reply to you in English, keep replying back in their language. Eventually they'll get that even though you don't sound native, you can hold your own in their language. Find a language partner. |
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 it's more important to have fun than to obsess over language learning and end up frustrated, even if that means you end up befriending more Americans than Germans. And that it's okay if study abroad is fun, but not life-changing. |
