Hello! Herzlichen Wilkommen (welcome) to the first instalment of my exchange blog! My name is Katie and I am currently on a semester exchange in FREIBURG, GERMANY (what is my life). I can’t believe I’ve already been in Germany for over 2 months now, and I really can’t believe I get to stay here for yet more months to come! I’m quite sure that I cannot possibly capture the fullness of my experience in Germany so far, but I will try to give my very best to recount the happenings thus far.
I arrived in the gorgeous student town of Freiburg at the beginning of March. As of writing this blog post, I am 2 weeks into the semester itself (yes, Freiburg uni starts crazy late, even by Germany’s standards), but I first spent the month of March completing an intensive German language course with Freiburg Uni’s Language Institute. This was so much fun! My weeks consisted of 9-5 German 5 days of the week, so it’s safe to say my German has already improved! I also met so many other international students during these first few weeks, and we had such a wholesome class vibe I loved every lesson. Despite the full-on language-infused days, the evenings were also never dull! Don’t be fooled by it’s peaceful and picturesque appearance because Freiburg is a student town at heart, and that means the night life goes HARD. New Zealand could never match this vibe!
By the end of March not only had I spontaneously received a buzzcut (when in Freiburg, do as the Freiburgers do), but I had also “graduated” my amazing language course. This obviously meant I deserved a holiday, so I spent 3 wonderful weeks travelling into the north of Germany (Hamburg has my heart) before eventually making the day-long train ride back to home in Freiburg to prepare for the beginning of the semester at the end of April.
I must say, I have been pleasantly surprised at the amount of interesting courses taught in English at the University of Freiburg. I am taking quite the mixture of courses from across 4 different faculties including Political science, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Law, and of course German language courses (I really live up to the title they gave me of “interdisciplinary student”). Needless to say, I am determined to make the most of studying at a foreign university!
Now, let’s talk accommodation. I have been so incredibly blessed with my setup here. I live in a shared flat with 3 lovely German roommates in a large, 1000+ person student VILLAGE called Studentensiedlung am Seepark (you can call it “Stusie” ;)). It’s honestly so ideal. Not only can I practice my German everyday with native peers (a good reminder that I should speak more German), but my room is big (bigger than my room in NZ, HAH!) and I love my window view. My building is also located very central to Stusie, meaning in my surroundings there are ping pong tables, a volleyball court, a soccer field, a basketball hoop, slacklines(!?) just to name a few. The whole Stusie complex really is situated in a very convenient spot, with a beautiful lake and park to one side, and the tram stop, bakeries, supermarkets, and a myriad of other shops on the other.
Speaking of shopping… Food! I love German food so much. From bread to Wurst (sausages) to sweets to hearty meals, Freiburg provides! And while I’ve well and truly given up converting Euros to NZD at this point, I will say that I’ve found food prices to be very comparable to NZ, and sometimes even cheaper which is a welcome discovery for a budget-conscious uni student like myself.
There are also various cafeterias around campus (called ‘Mensas’) that offer super cheap meals for a whole lotta food. I’m talking $5-6NZD for very generous portion-sizes (some serious bang-for-buck action). I’m practically a local now that I’ve also adopted the hack of bringing a tupperware container to lunch and collecting my leftovers for a quick reheatable dinner (so so smart).
Now, public transport. Oh my GOODNESS, I love the public transport system here!! Maybe my expectations have been set low by NZ’s standards, but I am really appreciating this city’s efficient transport network so much! Freiburg is known for being an incredibly green, eco-friendly city, so needless to say cars are not the most endorsed mode of transport. Instead, transport here consists of three main options: walking, tramming, or biking. Turns out, I LOVE trams. It is so convenient having a tram stop 1 min walk from my flat, and it stops right outside the uni. Frequency + simplicity + affordability = perfection.
That said, I also simply could not resist joining the biking culture. So, €50, and a lot bike repairs later, I have successfully acquired a beautiful (second-hand) bike! I really love biking too! It’s such an easy way to exercise, get fresh air, and zip around the city (especially to places where trams/busses don’t easily reach). And kudos to Freiburg, because their city is set up so well for cycling. There are cycle lanes everywhere, some on the footpath, some on the side of the road. There are even some dedicated bike roads and traffic lights!
Apart from the practical side of things, a few highlights thus far include: driving on the opposite side of the road, eating so much bread + cheese + potatoes I feel I have been successfully indoctrinated into the German way of life, experiencing Germany’s vintage clothing and flea market scenes, entering my Schwarzwald (Black Forest) hiking era, and much much more (with still more to come!).
The last point I’d like to make though is MY GOODNESS the German Bureaucracy is on another level! Everything is posted by mail. Everything is on paper with hand-written signatures ONLY. Everything is in German (surprise surprise). Sitting next to me as I write this is a pile of mail I have yet to translate, file and/or action. It’s a lot, but nothing this honorary German can’t handle!
All in all, it’s safe to say I have been having the most incredible time here so far in the south (and a bit of the north) of Germany. I’ve met some really special people, made so many special memories already (I admit the photos app was my second most-used app of the week), and cannot WAIT to see what the rest of the semester brings, so watch this space <3.
Ganz viel Liebe,
Katie <3