The german adventures of a stressed little girl Past Review
By A student (Middlebury College) - abroad from 03/25/2019 to 07/19/2019 with
Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Potsdam
Besides the language improvement and cultural awareness I learned a lot about self care and what I need in order to feel healthy. This experience was definitely worthwhile !
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. |
The classes at the University of Potsdam were pretty great but there were some issues that I had with the pre-semester german course that we took in Mainz. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I think because the study abroad program in Potsdam is so new there are still a lot of issues being worked out but it wasn't well planned out or well researched and the students were left on their own to manage a lot of things, which I think the program should've been a bit more aware of. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Because the program in Potsdam starts a week earlier than the programs in Mainz and Berlin, we had to skip the first week (which was orientation week at the university) to be in Mainz for the pre-semester german course. I believe that this absence (considering during this orientation week there were many activities for international students) 'stunted' our social integration. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Potsdam is super safe - but it's always smart to be aware of your things in order to prevent pickpocketing. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I fell in love with Potsdam - even though i have a few issues with the program, I wouldn't want to study abroad anywhere else |
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) |
Groceries were super cheep (it costs about 30 Euros for a week supply of food depending on what you buy) but no kitchen appliances (utensils, plates, bowls, mugs, pots/pans) were supplied so those also had to be bought (which is a bit more expensive). |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $60 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | It definitely helps to take out cash - so you know how much you have to spend and then budget accordingly. Making your own food and drinks is cheaper than eating out so that also helps. If you have space in your luggage I would also recommend packing utensils and a cup/bowl/plate/storage containers for food so you don't have to buy them and then throw them away when you're there. |
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 |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| 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? | 400 |
| 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? | it helped a lotttt to listen to german music as well as put your favorite TV shows in german (or at least german subtitles). That way you're at least engaging and maintaining your 'german' consumption. Reading also helps incredibly and I highly recommend reading out loud! |
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 was very aware of the fashion differences in the US and Germany and so I ended up packing a bunch of stuff that I didn't really need/want - The germans are super modest and prefer to wear lots of layers so less clothing that you can layer is actually ideal. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
The all-powerful: Man and Power from Machiavelli to latin american Dictators and House of Cards |
| Course Department: | Romance Studies |
| Instructor: | Dr. phil. Gwozdz |
| Instruction Language: | German |
| Comments: | It was definitely more of a philosophy class than a romance course, which caused me to participate infrequently but the subject matter is fascinating! The semester was split in half with the first half dedicated to in-class slideshows for learning the material and the second half was composed of student presentations. We were assessed with weekly readings and a short essay or presentation as a final (student's choice). |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | n/a |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Emotions and Conflicts |
| Course Department: | Psychology |
| Instructor: | Maike Baumann |
| Instruction Language: | German |
| Comments: | This course was definitely challenging in that it was packed with information. I always felt comfortable asking questions in this class, which helped make it one of my favorite classes to take. The teacher was also very knowledgeable and well-prepared. We were assessed by weekly readings (4 of which we had to write reviews for) and a test at the end of the semester (instead of which I wrote a paper). |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | n/a |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Introduction to Health Psychology |
| Course Department: | Psychology |
| Instructor: | Prof. Dr. Warschburger |
| Instruction Language: | German |
| Comments: | This course was also challenging in that there was so much information in each session. The teacher was very knowledgeable but not very good at answering questions and tended to be a bit mean when students asked clarifying questions/when they were confused. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | n/a |
