Freiburg, Germany - A Great Place to Live

The time I spent abroad on my IES Freiburg trip was the best time of my life. I ended up on the program in Germany partially by accident; I had wanted to go to France but happened to find the IES program, and because it focused in environmental studies - my area of focus - I decided to just go for it! And I couldn't have made a better choice. The classes were amazing: my program had a really unusual course schedule, where students would focus on one class for weeks at a time, instead of taking several classes at once. This structure allowed me to really delve deep into the subjects we were learning about, and it allowed me to have a lot of time to learn outside the classroom as well.

IES did an amazing job of scheduling trips and excursions for my program to go on, especially hiking trips. We were situated in the Black Forest region of Freiburg, and there were a ton of program-led trips to hike into the forest during the course of my semester. Our program also took us hiking in the Vosges mountains of France, and we event took a class trip to the Swiss Alps, where we got to study the forestry and management practices of scientists within Switzerland! Of course, not all of our trips were focused on hiking. We had multiple class excursions to France to see the Christmas markets in the winter before we left, and we also were given the chance to take tours of our city and learn more about its history and culture. The trips I went on with my program were awesome, and I don’t think I will forget a single one!

I was also extremely pleased with my housing situation. IES had us fill out a housing survey before we were assigned our flats to match our personalities with other students and the different neighborhoods of Freiburg (which each have their own character), and I was placed perfectly! I lived in the Vauban neighborhood and loved the quirky but homey feel of the place. My flatmates were all really inviting and helped me get comfortable living in Freiburg, and were always willing to help me practice my German! I still keep in touch with them after having come back to the States - I really clicked well with them, and I think I made lifelong friends.

Finally, the people running my IES program were some of the most amazing and helpful people I’ve ever had the opportunity to interact with. My program director, Katie, made herself available 24/7 to help us adjust to life in Freiburg. She was there to give us tips on where to eat, which clubs to go to, and she even helped me buy a cell phone when I first got there! She really made an effort to get to know us all and listen to our suggestions for programming and events, and that made my experience 100 times better. And though I didn’t get to see the rest of the IES staff as much, the interactions I had with them were all super helpful and helped me have an incredible time in my city!

Overall, I cannot express enough the gratitude I have towards IES for creating such an amazing experience for me abroad. I made lasting friends, had incredible experiences, and learned lessons - both inside the classroom and out - that I will never forget.