Sustainable Solidarity in the Green City of the World! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

My class schedule varied greatly, because our program was set with intensive three week courses divided into 5 modules. Each module class typically started at 9am, but day to day it varied. Some days class would end at 12pm and start again at 3pm, and other days there’d be a full day trip. I enjoyed the variability because there wasn’t much of a dull day in class!

On-site administration of your program

IES Freiburg staffers had warm and welcoming personalities (contrary to German stereotypes) and provided no hand holding during the program. They acted more as an accessible resources that an in-you-face guidance. I prefer this method, as some programs suffocate students with requirements, rules and expectations. IES Freiburg staff managed to create an excellent balance that allowed students to create an organic experience. Personally I would bother the staffers every so often with questions like the best restaurants to visit, in which I was provided an extensive print out (in my budget range at that)! When I got sick, they assisted me in the process to find a doctor, and provided my information on navigating the German “Apotheke.” The assistance which the staff provided made for a simple transition and development of a normal life in Freiburg.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I loved my housing placement, and IS filled my initial housing request, a mini apartment place all to myself! It had a bedroom space with floor length windows, a large closet, a full bed, a desk with chair, and a table complete with seating. I also really enjoyed my electric ceramic stove top, and the microwave was very much like an oven (it cooked pizza and fried fish sticks too!). My bathroom had a shower and standard utilities. It was a spacious accommodation, not too large or too small. I was happy that it was all mine that semester! The housing complex, the FIZZ, consisted of single student apartments. There was a lounge space, laundry, and study rooms in each building. The tenant assistants and the kitchen were on the main floor of the main building, where I was housed. The tram stop was right outside the door, making commutes to class and into the city very effortless! I really enjoyed the community, which consisted of university students and professors. They were a vibrant bunch that made living in Freiburg a comparable, yet familiar experience!

I am not very keen to German and European cuisine. Aside from sea port towns, most food is carb heavy. As a woman of color it all goes to my hips, and I managed to gain a lot of weight. Unlike traditional American life styles of buying food in bulk, many Germans practice the habit of purchasing groceries weekly (if not daily) and cook meals daily. As a college American who can cook, the frequency was too hard to adjust too. I was unaccustomed to buying and cooking so frequently. I wasn't raised vegetarian (and had a heard time cooking produce, mushrooms became my specialty), and meat was luxury price, so I ate a lot of pasta and potatoes. Luckily, eating out wasn't very pricey. I often enjoyed Turkish and Asian cuisine, but a Schnitzel and Beer were always a fav of mine!

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

It was incredibly difficult to make local German friends. As I was studying with American students, a part of an international club, and lived in a building with a large international population, I had solemnly interacted with Germans. Aside from here and there encounters of the normal kind, I really wished I did a better job of finding a niche community of Germans I could interact with on a weekly basis.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had gotten sick and they scheduled me an appointment with an English speaking physician!

Felt safe and no threatened every where I went. I was racially profiled on the tram by a ticket checker and was very scared of the tram checkers following, but he was the only instance of when I felt unsafe or not cared for.

I WILL be doing it all again this Spring, and this time I'll try my hand at the IES Freiburg Lang & Areas Studies program. This time, taking all I learned this past fall, and applying it to my spring semester abroad.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

I had one time expense of a semester ticket (94e), round trip tickets to Freiburg and Frankfurt and back (about 180e), a round trip flight (about $2000) and 500e in personal emergency cash. I budgeted 500 euros a month and my spending habits were: 200e on activities, 200e on food/groceries, 10e for laundry, 100e pocket change.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

The classes were taught in English, and students were required to take a German language class, but students only interacted with host language as frequently as they desired or practiced.

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• Apartment

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

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• Americans

• "Tree Hugger" Students
• Trips and hikes into the Forest
• My own apartment

• alternative options for full year students staying between programs
• Internships for IES ES program
• MORE intera programing between ESS/EU/LAS studnets!!

The Outright Urbanite