January, February and March are probably the busiest months for students at the University of Freiburg. You have to start thinking about the exams, essays and other work you have to do to finish/pass the courses you’ve taken. The winter semester doesn’t end till the end of March but the last classes (Vorlesungszeit) end in the middle of February. This is also when the exams start and some of them can be quite hard, especially for the international students. So far I had to sit three exams and I still have to write two “Huasarbeiten”, which are 14 pages long essays (of course in German). Although it is a lot of work, I think that it is worth it. And it is definitely going to help me improve my German.

Studentenwerk & Internationaler Club

 

Studying is not only about attending your classes, reading academic texts and learning all the time. I decided to use this time in Germany to see and learn as much as possible. I realised that there are many people at the University of Freiburg, who think the same way I do.

Studentenwerk and Internationaler Club are organisations similar to our DUSA. They organise many events throughout the academic year to make student life more interesting. If you want to go places and see and do things you’ve never done before, they will definitely help you.

Internationaler Club organises trips to beautiful places around Europe. Every weekend you can go for a one-day trip to Strasbourg, Stuttgart, Basil, Heidelberg, Genève, Bern and many more. The trips are very cheap (between 11  – 50 ) and well-organised. You can meet new people and see new places.

This is the website with where you can find more information about Studentenwerk and Internationaler Club.

http://www.studentenwerk.uni-freiburg.de/index.php?id=104

Studying

Studying in Germany is definitely different than studying in Scotland. Their system varies in many ways from what I’ve experienced at the University of Dundee.

First of all there is much more reading to do… I have to read between 80-100 pages for each of my seminars every week. I have three seminars a week, so sometimes I have to ready 300 pages… Some of the texts are also quite complicated, so it can be hard to understand them. Fortunately, during our seminars we talk about the material and analyse it, so it makes it easier to understand…

Another very important difference is the way our seminars look like. In Germany they want the students to teach each other. Which means that each seminar begins with a presentation of the topic made by one or a group of students. This way they learn how to teach others and how to speak in the front of a larger group.

Although at the beginning it was rather hard to get used to the new ways of studying, now I feel much more comfortable and like this new system.

I think I’ll use some of the things I learn here next year in Dundee.

Accommodation

Be sure you think about where do you want to live right after you decide to study in a foreign country.

I was interested in the University accommodation from the beginning. It is a great place to meet new people and it is much cheaper than living in a private accommodation. Moreover, it is much easier and safer to find a room with the help of the University than to do this alone.

Remember, they cannot offer a room to every student, so make sure that you submit all of the documents before the deadlines, so there are no surprises later.

I was given a room in Ulrich-Zasius-Haus. It is a well-situated university accommodation – about 15 minutes from campus. In my building live about 190 students. My room is really big and warm. Everyone is extremely nice and happy to help with everything.

There are about 12 different dormitories in Freiburg. So, if you have special wishes, you will definitely find what you’re looking for. The prices range from 190€  to 350€  per month.

First things first

I’ve arrived in Freiburg a week before the start of the semester. It was a great idea because Germany proofed to be a very bureaucratic country.

I received a list of tasks to do, before I could start my studies. It was very long but extremely helpful.

Before you can matriculate at the University of Freiburg you have to:

1. sign a contract with the dormitory (if you’re living in one),
2. register your residence by the authorities,
3. open an account,
4. confirm the exemption from insurance in one of the insurance companies
5. and finally – matriculate.

It took me about a week to finish all of the tasks and I was really glad when I did. Although the whole process is quite long and boring, it is very easy if you follow the steps. The only problem was opening the bank account. It took about a week! The reason for that was a large number of students opening new accounts in the Deutsche Bank at the same time.

There is lots of paper work at the beginning of the exchange but there are also people around trying to help you deal with all of your problems.

It seems like an awful lot to do but as a person who experienced it I’m telling you – IT WAS WORTH IT

First steps

It’s been seven days since I’ve arrived in Freiburg and I can already see that this week’s experiences had a great impact on my life.

Let’s start from the beginning, so you can fully understand my situation and use the information to make your life abroad easier (if you ever decide to study, live or work in a foreign country).

When Diogenes of Sinope was asked where he came from, he replied, I am a citizen of the world. If you ask me where I come from I will tell you that I am Polish but I’ve been studying in Scotland and now have decided to spend a year in Germany. All the places I have been to made me who I am today and I would lie telling you that I am only Polish because I can identify myself with more than one culture. This is why I would rather say that I am European.

I chose to go on the Erasmus exchange not only for improving my German but also to experience something new and exciting. Since the first day in Freiburg I was certain I made the right choice coming here. I am confident this year will amaze me, exhaust me, make me change my mind hundreds of times and also give me new ideas for the future. Although the situations I will be in may not always be positive, the experience is worth being here and making my dreams come true.

The header at the top of my blog shows panoramic view of Freiburg and was taken from the Wikipedia.