Non american university student at FU-BEST

I became aware of the FU-BEST program by total chance. I was about to finish my anthropology studies in Bogota, Colombia at the Universidad de los Andes and I didn't want to be over with undergraduate school just yet. I decided, therefore, it would be a good excuse to continue my studies in Germany (preferably in Berlin), while learning german since I've taken some german lesson when I was in high school.One morning, I googled "german lessons and content courses in Berlin" and, to my surprise, I found something that perfectly fitted my interests: FU-BEST.

I was amazed with the possibility of talking content courses in english and german lessons. Since English is not my native language, it was a one in a life time experience that allowed me to learn two languages at the same time. I contacted Dirk and Kristina (the main organizers of the program) and I explained to them my situation. They were not only very nice with me by showing a lot of interest in my case but they also made sure that I received in time all the documents I required for my visa (ir you're a Colombian and you want to travel yo Germany its not very easy to do it, unless you receive help with paper work from a german).

When I arrived to Berlin, I found myself immersed in two different cultures at the same time (the European and the American). It was not very easy at first, but with time I got used to it. I didn't make many friends because I was very focused in my studies (the whole year I stayed in Berlin I had in mind the possibility of staying in Europe in order to do my masters so I wanted to learn German as fast as possible). In the contrary, I found a group of teachers (specially my german teachers) that not also became my friends but that showed me the beauty of the language, of the people and that encouraged me to stay in Berlin.

After my two semesters by FU-BEST, I want it to stay a little bit longer in order to figure out whether I wanted to stay or not. I consulted Dirk, Kristina and my german teachers and they encouraged me to stay and facilitated my transfer to a summer program also given by the Freie Universität.

When I arrived to Berlin, I was at a B2 german level and a year after I was able to take courses in German and to have a fairly interesting conversation with a native speaker.

FU-BEST not only allowed me to learn German and to realize that I want to go back to Berlin for my masters (I decided to return to Colombia for personal matters), it also permitted me to get to know an awesome city; a city full of life, contrasts and history.

I definitely recommend this program and I particularly encourage people from other countries to do the same thing I did. For non american students it is a unique experience that you wont find anywhere else!