Education Abroad at Freie Universtitat in Berlin

This was my second time studying abroad, and it had a lot to live up to. Granted the first program was a year and this one was 4 weeks, but it actually impressed me. I figured the short school term would make it easier, but I found myself with more schoolwork than I was used to at home. I actually learned a lot from it and got credit back home which let me graduate a quarter early. Regardless, the program was fun and definitely worth it. It was overwhelmingly UC students at the summer school, and since everyone spoke English it wasn't hard to make friends. Highlights for me included Dönnerkebabs, German beer, peaceful runs (and occasional swims) around busy lakes, and great public transportation. Fun program!

Berlin is an amazing city that has a lot to offer students. The University has great networking and support connections. It's a little on the outskirts of Berlin, but near the lakes. Perfectly manageable to arrive by bike.

To begin with, I should stress what an amazing city Berlin is. Even with an unorganized program I had an amazing time, improved my German and met friends I've stayed in close contact with. Berlin has the best of all worlds, great night life, food, overall laid back vibe, and youth culture not to mention a great music and arts scene.

Nevertheless, the University of California's program, "Education Abroad Program" was a nightmare. Not only was the head of the program dictatorial, but the housing was off the map of Berlin proper, not to mention unsafe and unsanitary. While the classes were interesting and taught by knowledgeable professors, the courses were housed in an off campus, isolated, all-exchange student environment, so we rarely interacted with German students.

While the schedule was well adjusted for students so they could travel and experience the culture of Berlin (no class Friday) it was hard to get into the classes you wanted. The workload was certainly manageable, although some teacher's accents were impossible to understand. The German language courses were also very fast paced and often left most of the learning to outside class.

Although there were field trips, they were clearly focused on the director of the program's interests - none related to art, music or popular culture. Although certain amenities were convenient, such as a museum pass and subway pass, there was very little encouragement to engage with the German public.

Overall, I would recommend Berlin as a site to study abroad over all others, because there is something for everyone, and while it is easy to improve your language skills they are by no means a prerequisite. In addition, it was easy for me to get a job bar tending once a week and to meet interesting people around the city, hence there are many cool things that are easily accessible to foreigners. In that same vein, I would not recommend this program, because while it does enable you to study in an amazing country, there are many more interesting programs that are better run and more interested in making sure you have the best experience ever!