A place to nest Past Review

By (Wellesley College) - abroad from 08/30/2017 to 12/23/2017 with

Bard College: Berlin - Semester or year at Bard College Berlin

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I learned how to advocate for myself, how to take risks, and what I truly want to study. It was absolutely worthwhile.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

BCB's program was valuable for me to focus on artistic practice and to grow as a student in an international context. Berlin is an international city full of change, and BCB felt much the same. The program, in my experience, is focused on community and personal creative/academic growth. This both means that the student body is involved and passionate, and that academic resources are limited (in a way that I felt was reasonable considering how small the campus is) and the intensity of a student's academic experience there is entirely up to how much effort they want to put in. I wanted to focus on creative growth, exploration, and developing my own academic interests without being overwhelmed: I was able to do all of these things because I was somewhat challenged by my classes and mostly left on my own to do the work.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

There seems to be effort put in to provide more on-campus resources, but since a lot of the student body is only there for a semester or a year, and most full-time students live off campus, the administration is small and logistical details are often not explained.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

On-campus housing is nice and quiet and I enjoyed where I lived. The housing office was not always helpful if issues arose without being pressed.

* Food:

The food at the cafeteria is good and cooked by a talented team; however there are rarely vegetarian options that have protein and the meat was almost always pork, which was an issue for me with no recourse. The cafeteria hours are extremely limited. Most people I knew who lived on campus cooked about half of their own meals to supplement the sometimes-inadequate or poorly scheduled cafeteria offerings, which I couldn't really afford to do and which was a difficulty for me.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

BCB is working hard to integrate the campus into the suburb of Pankow that it is mixed in with. I don't know how successful these efforts are from a wider standpoint. I never felt integrated, but that wasn't my goal - I chose to go to an English-speaking American university, and BCB feels like an English-speaking university in a suburban area of Berlin. I felt like an explorer in Berlin, which is what a lot of people living in Berlin temporarily feel like, so that was perfect for me.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

The on-campus doctor is rarely actually on campus, but her off-campus practice is easily accessible and pretty useful. There is little support from the program for mental health or physical health. In Germany, it is a lot harder to get medication (antibiotics, cold medicine) that Americans are used to; this wasn't an issue for me, but was for people that I knew.

* Safety:

I generally felt safe walking around Berlin and taking public transportation, which kind of surprised me. As a queer person, most of the city is very queer so being visibly queer was not as much of a safety issue as it can be in some US cities. Of course, I'm white and appear fairly feminine, so feeling safe was a very privileged experience. I am Muslim but don't "look" like it. Being non-white and especially "looking Muslim" is less safe in Berlin.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

This experience was transformative for me as a person, an artist, and a student

Finances

* 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)

"A student's budget" doesn't really make any sense to me; I don't think that's a universal thing. I am a student on a lot of financial aid and work-study and I wasn't able to work this semester, which meant I was pretty broke towards the end of the semester. Berlin is not very expensive if you avoid bougie areas (food and coffee are cheap, like 2 euro for a coffee in most places, but in Mitte it's like 7 euro). Going out is pretty expensive - expect to spend around 30 euro a night, or 15 euro if you don't buy any drinks/snacks. I was able to do most of what I wanted to do.

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? 150?
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Get a Jahreskarte for the museums! It's totally worth your money and Berlin's museums are amazing. Don't buy drinks at the club.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?

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

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? Like five hours of Duolingo
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? A lot of people in Berlin speak English, but in some neighborhoods it is rude to speak English (especially neighborhoods that are being gentrified) - always just try to speak German, lots of people in Berlin speak terrible German and if you can't get through the whole conversation in German, whoever you're speaking with usually understands some English. Just be sure to ask if they do speak English instead of assuming

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
  • Apartment
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
  • International Students
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International Students
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?
  • Students
  • Internship
  • Art classes
* What could be improved?
  • Resources
  • Orientation
  • Campus
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I wish I had known that I could work while abroad so I could have earned some money