What inspired you to travel abroad?
I started taking German classes in high school because three years of a foreign language were required to graduate. By the second meeting, it had become my favorite class, a preference which has yet to change even seven years later.
I had planned to go abroad to some German-speaking countries the summer after my junior year through the social studies department, but that was the summer of COVID. Flash forward to the start of my freshman year at Butler—I needed to declare a major and still didn’t know much beyond that I really loved German.
So I majored in it. Study Abroad is essentially an unwritten requirement for foreign language majors, and I was still desperate for an opportunity to use the language beyond the classroom.
Why did you choose the IES Abroad Freiburg – Language & Area Studies program?
I narrowed my choice to an IES Abroad location based on student reviews, both online and from students at my home university who were active in the study abroad department.
I chose IES Abroad Freiburg for a variety of reasons: the semester dates worked best for me when I considered family obligations, a summer job, unpacking from the semester abroad and packing for the next one, moving in for the next semester (living off-campus for the first time and having to furnish/set up bills), and time I could spend with my dog before I went back to school.
Course offerings were also important to me—I was able to take a comprehensive German history class spanning 1871–1989, which offered context I would never have found in the U.S., taught by someone who had a deep understanding and several personal connections to it (some staff lived in/had parents who lived in divided Germany).
Location also had an impact on where I studied. Of the three German-speaking locations (Berlin, Freiburg, Vienna), Freiburg was the most central compared to other cities I was interested in visiting while abroad.
My first day trip to Basel, Switzerland!
What was your favorite part about Freiburg, Germany?
My favorite part about Freiburg, Germany, and Europe as a whole was the water! All of the cities and towns I explored, as well as my host city, had gorgeous water features.
It was almost impossible to walk for more than ten minutes in any direction without passing a stream, river, pond, or waterfall that could be heard throughout the whole town square. I found it particularly calming that the water features were just a part of the city, rather than being a focal point or touristic selling point, like they can tend to be in the U.S.
Even the major rivers (Seine, Danube) didn’t garner that much tourist attention. The water also supported seemingly infinite grass and flowers along the streets and sidewalks, which made cities and towns feel more quaint and unindustrial.
What made your experience abroad extraordinary?
The people! The people I met abroad were incredible.
Everyone on staff at IES was friendly, experienced, and excited to be there. The local people I met were welcoming and understanding of international students’ imperfect German.
Most of them were excited to see students’ German improve over the course of the semester. They were patient when students were nervous or uncertain of their language skills and excited when students got it right.
I lived with three German students, who spoke in a mix of English and German with me and were always willing to explain colloquialisms and generational slang, which can’t be taught in a classroom.
How did the local program staff support you throughout your program?
All of the IES Abroad staff in Freiburg were incredibly supportive of students. Teachers were willing and able to explain class concepts and homework in multiple ways and with several examples.
All of the staff were willing and able to adjust their grammar, vocabulary, and speed of speech to increase student understanding without breaking into English. Everyone at IES was excited to talk to students, get to know them, build relationships, and help improve their language skills.
They also provided context for areas where students had little to no experience learning, such as German history from 1871–1989 from the German perspective, as well as modern German literature from 1900–1933.
Office staff were available to help students with practical language application, such as the names or popular brands of foods to look for at grocery stores, how train schedules work, which passes are better suited for different travel needs, and any other linguistic, cultural, or transitional questions students had.
What's one thing you wish you would have done differently during your time abroad?
I wish I would have made more concrete arrangements to get from the airport to the IES Center before I left. I knew I would take a train, and that there was a train station within the Frankfurt Airport, but I hadn’t downloaded the German railway app or researched how to buy train tickets before I left.
I’m rather short, which made travelling with a semesters’ worth of luggage difficult, so it would have been better for me to have looked into buses or cars before I left. Getting on the train was one thing, but then finding a luggage rack, loading my luggage on it, and putting it back together to disembark the train was another.
I also had to change trains, so I had to cart my luggage down an elevator, through a train station, and up to another platform, and then repeat the whole train process, just to get there. A bus would have been direct, and the driver would have stored my luggage in a compartment under the seats, then gotten it out at the destination.
It also would have been easy for me to ship some of my things from the US to myself in Germany. I had my address before I left, so I could have sent them before I left, but I took it all with me. I shipped some of my things home at the end of the semester, and it wasn’t expensive. Shipping things I didn’t need at the beginning (warm-weather clothing, extra toiletries) would have made for a significantly easier travel day, by bus or train.
Trevi Fountain!
Describe what a typical day in your life abroad looked like.
I woke up and got ready, sometimes made breakfast, then walked to the tram stop with some other IES students who lived in the same dorm complex. Our walk was about five minutes from the dorm to the tram stop.
We then took a ten-minute tram ride to the city center. On days we didn’t make breakfast, we stopped at a bakery, then walked about five minutes from the tram stop to the IES Center for classes.
Depending on the day, we ate lunch together at the IES Center. After classes, I took a ten-minute tram ride back to my dorm, did homework, talked to my family (who live in a time zone seven hours behind Germany), made dinner with either my IES friends or roommates, and hung out with them—playing card games, going on walks, playing outdoor games, or just talking—until it was time to shower and get ready for bed.
Lastly, I would read and go to sleep.
What did you enjoy doing in your free time abroad?
On weekends and over the midsemester break, I loved travelling. I got to visit Switzerland, France, Italy, Austria, and several cities within Germany.
Public transportation was easy to navigate, and both trains and buses had Wi-Fi connections, which made keeping up with academics easy while still being able to travel. Travelling was also a great way to form closer friendships, especially with people who shared similar interests.
When I wasn’t travelling, I really enjoyed reading children’s books and watching children’s television series. The basic vocabulary and grammar structures, along with simple plotlines, were a fantastic way to immerse myself in a foreign language without the aid of a classroom and without spending half my time with a dictionary or deciphering grammar.
By the end of the semester, I was reading chapter books aimed at late elementary school-aged children. Lastly, when we had free time during the week or on weekends, we didn’t travel; most students in my program took turns hosting informal tea nights in our dorms.
Two-thirds of our group lived in the same dorm complex, and the other third lived in a separate complex, a three-minute walk away. Our dorms were apartment-style, with full kitchens and balconies, allowing us space to gather in small or medium-sized groups.
What type of accommodation did you have? What did you like best about it?
In Freiburg, I had an apartment-style dorm shared with three other students. We had individual bedrooms, two bathrooms, a shared kitchen, and a balcony.
I lived with three local students, and I really enjoyed getting to know my roommates, as well as the local culture, as we cooked and ate dinner together.
What is one thing every future participant should know about your program before their program begins?
I think everyone studying abroad in Germany should know that visas are acquired upon arrival in Germany. I was told before I left that the visa application process would be part of the on-site orientation.
There was a page in the pre-departure information packet that we were supposed to print and bring with us. It explained the visa application process and included the German law stating that visas could be acquired upon arrival. However, it was towards the middle of the packet, and not much attention was drawn to it.
I was challenged at the airport check-in about having a visa and panicked. It would have been incredibly calming for me to know that visa challenges like this are relatively common, but people still get through.
Checkpoint Charlie!
Would you recommend IES Abroad to others? Why?
Absolutely! IES Abroad is incredibly supportive of their students.
Because they are headquartered in Chicago, they understand the American educational system and go out of their way to combine American and local academic structures, so that students are challenged but not overwhelmed.
The balance of assignments and class requirements is designed to help students learn, maintain good grades, and still have time to enjoy the local culture and travel.
IES Abroad has local connections that help international students meet others, join clubs and recreational sports teams, and access student-rate tickets for cultural experiences such as museums and theatre productions—things students might otherwise be unaware of.
What do you feel the biggest benefit of traveling abroad is?
The biggest benefit of travelling abroad is knowing that you can.
After studying abroad, I believe I can go anywhere in the world for any experience—work, studying, leisure—and have minimal problems.
I believe I could go anywhere with only a few months’ notice and be relatively confident in learning a new language, culture, public transport system, and way of life—something I didn’t fully believe before I studied abroad.
Now that you're home, how has your time abroad impacted your life?
I’ve been home for about four months now, and I think the biggest lasting impact of my time abroad has been the friends I made.
I met people from all over the U.S. that I still talk to frequently, including a girl whose hometown is just ten minutes from mine! We hung out a few times once we got back to the US after the end of our program, before we went back to our home universities for the following semester.
I also made friends with German students—mostly my roommates (who were all native German students) and a few of their friends who hung out in our shared dorm with some regularity. My language skills improved exponentially, especially in areas I had little experience with or were irrelevant to the classroom.
Sight-reading street signs was important, as well as understanding loudspeaker announcements on trams, trains, and buses. I learned so much food and cooking vocabulary from grocery shopping and following German recipes—my understanding of the metric system improved with that too.
Cycle options on the laundry machines were available in German and English, so by the end of the semester, I had chosen my laundry cycle in German.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
Meaningful travel is travel that exposes you to the culture and lets you experience the culture on your own.
It allows you to book tours if you want, but allows you to make your own plans and alter them in the moment, especially when travelling alone.
Meaningful travel focuses on exploring the culture without much external guidance. It allows you to mix the city’s highlights and personal interests, which may not necessarily be popular in the city.
