IES Abroad Berlin Summer – Language & Culture

My first study abroad experience with IES had been a phenomenal experience. As a German major, I wanted to improve my language speaking skills, however, I wasn’t ready to submerge myself into the super German Bayern region. I fell in love with the city of Berlin because there was never a moment where I didn’t have anything to do. In addition, IES placed me in a very wonderful home-stay in Prenzlauer Berg- a neighborhood with a planetarium, small shops, and cafes. For courses, the IES program offered classes that were exciting and entertaining, such as Contemporary German films and Berlin Literature. With the literature class, I received full immersion to discuss texts verbally and write essays in German. The film class helped me understood the German cultural mindset after WWII. After class ends, I would go with a group of friends to have lunch in the vegan district of Friedrichshain, touring museums along the Museum Insel, or attend open-air concerts and operas. From the beginning of my arrival to Germany, I went from not being able to ask for directions to conversing casually with the Döner stand owner about how his stand was my favorite place to get Döner and how I will miss it when I return to the US. I am more than glad to have been a part of this program.

My name is Emma Roach, and I am a German and Linguistics double major at University of Vermont. In Summer 2018, I had the opportunity to live and study abroad in Berlin, Germany. I had visited Berlin for a few days a couple years ago, but nothing can compare to actually living in a foreign country. I spent 2 months this summer living in a homestay, taking classes, interacting with locals, and getting to know the city. I had never lived in a big city before, so it was a bit of a shock for me at first, but I quickly fell in love with the city. Berlin has so much to offer in terms of culture, art, museums, music, food, and people. There’s no way to see it all in such a short time, but through my experience with IES, I was able to really make the most of my time there. I've been speaking German for around 8 years, so I already knew the language when I came to Berlin, but that wasn’t necessarily true for everyone in our program - many students didn’t know the language at all, but IES offers multiple levels of intensive language classes, from beginner all the way to a literature class for those who already speak the language. I absolutely loved the literature class I took - it was really focused on literature about the city, so we were able to actually see the places our readings talked about. This made our course really unique, and different from any other literature course I had taken before. By taking this course, and living with a woman who only spoke German, my German improved tremendously during my time there, even though I could already speak the language well. IES offers such a range of language classes, which really encourages every level of student to come there. I’ve always been a strong believer in studying abroad, and my experience with IES only strengthened this belief. I would always recommend studying abroad to everyone, because it can truly open up a world of experiences that you never knew were possible. I can easily say that I grew so much during my time in Berlin with IES, and my abroad experience strengthened and inspired my desire to return to live and work in Germany one day. I would recommend IES for anyone interested in studying abroad, and especially for those who might be worried about a language barrier - the IES language courses, starting from the beginner level, can give you a really strong understanding of the language even in just a short time. IES is really helpful and understanding in all matters, and I’m incredibly happy that I got to have this experience with IES Abroad Berlin.

Ever since I began studying German, it has been my goal to visit, study in, or work in Germany. I feel in love with the culture and language from the start and being there for the first time, I was star-struck and in the honeymoon effect. I thought that was the reason why I loved my study abroad experience in Berlin (granted I do miss Germany a lot and plan on going back), but the IES Abroad-Berlin staff was phenomenal. Even though I arrived late to Berlin, the staff was friendly and made sure I knew what was in the center and who I could talk to if I had any questions. While I didn't have a lot of questions, they were able to help me find more information about what to look for when looking at Universities to come back to and study at. The thing I was most nervous about was staying with a host that only spoke German and Polish; speaking German with my host was not a way to improve my German, it was the only way I could communicate with him and that terrified me for awhile. It took me awhile to get used to but it was worth it in the end as my German speaking and listening abilities improved greatly. The classes I took while abroad were really interesting. I am a Biochemistry major, so I do not usually take a lot of Liberal Arts classes and I actually enjoyed them because the content was fun, my classmates were amazing, and the teachers were better than I imagined. I could not have asked for a better first experience in Germany. Bis zum nächsten Mal Deutschland.