A Semester in Bad Honnef Past Review
By Alysha M (Business Administration, Management and Operations., University of Maine at Orono) - abroad from 03/05/2012 to 07/27/2012 with
IUBH Campus Studies: Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I would say it was extremely worthwhile, and I think a semester abroad is something every person should do. It teaches you so much about yourself as you are completely outside of your comfort zone and without your normal support group to lean on.
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. |
Classes meet for two and a half hours once to twice a week (depending on the level of the class). At the end of the semester you have one final exam per course which is worth at least 70% to 100% of your final grade. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The apartments are rather small, unless you live in a three-person apartment (in comparison to the double or single). The kitchen isn't very well equipped for cooking, as it only has a very small refrigerator and little counter space. It is nice, however, that you do not have to share a room as you do in the States. Each person that lives in the apartment has their own room with a desk, shelves etc. as well as and a porch/patio area. |
| * Food: |
The campus has a cafe called Dallmayr, which is very popular among students. It is also equipped with a students bar, Charly's, as well as two "dining halls", Anno and the Mensa. A major difference between this university's meal program is that they only provide lunch, and it is a-la-carte style. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Bad Honnef is very small town in Germany but it's close to the bigger cities, Bonn and Cologne, which helps you to feel more acclimated to the culture. Due to the fact that the international students were able to live on campus, or in the surrounding area, I would say that I felt very integrated with the local culture. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had no issues with healthcare during the time I was abroad. I purchased insurance prior to leaving but I did not have to use it once. |
| * Safety: |
Bad Honnef is extremely safe. This is one of the major advantages to this program. I never once felt unsafe. The streets are very clean and quiet usually, and I never was afraid when walking the streets at night by myself. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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) |
3. I did not purchase the meal plan so I was buying groceries for the apartment every week. Also, because Bad Honnef is such a small town there isn't as much to do, thus I found myself going out to eat and going out to get drinks much more. I wouldn't say that Bad Honnef was an expensive town, but I wouldn't say that it is cheap either. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | No |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | No |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Somewhere around 50-80 Euro depending on the week. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I would suggest not to purchase a cell phone in the states before leaving, it is much easier to find a German friend and set up a cell phone with a compnay in Germany for the time period that you're there. It is much cheaper that way. Other than that, there aren't a lot of major ways that I would look back and say that I could have saved money by doing x. |
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 |
I was enrolled in a German course which met twice a week for an hour and half each time. The class was taught, for the most part, almost entirely in German, which made it so much easier for me to become comfortable speaking. Also, there are places in Bad Honnef where people don't know English so it is those times when you must rely on the skill you learn during your class periods. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | I did not take any course in German. |
| 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? | If I had it to do over again, I would have enrolled myself in a language intensive program that way I could really become immersed in the culture. Whilst in Germany I found that I would have liked to be able to communicate more in German I just simply did not know how as it was above the level at which I was learning at the University. |
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? | I wish I had understood how serious the program is. It is intense, especially during exam week. I didn't have as much time to travel to other countries as I had expected or hoped for prior to going. However, I do feel like I had a great educational experience as I did learn a lot in my classes and it was very enlightening to have a different perspective rather than just the American perspective. |
