Experiencing Europe with IES

During the Spring 2017 semester, I participated in the IES Abroad European Union program based in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany! I really loved my experience, it was invaluable to say the least. I will look back fondly on my time in Europe and the lessons I learned for the rest of my life. I would recommend the program to any student, especially those with an interest in Political Science, International Relations, or Economics.

My living situation was very pleasant. I lived in a modern, student apartment building called Berliner Allee in a flat with 5 flatmates. There was one other IES student living there; otherwise, all of the other flatmates are German students between ages 24-27. Some IES students use this as an opportunity to practice their German, even though I didn't personally! My flat was remarkably clean because of our "putzplan," or cleaning schedule, which is quite common for German living situations. I wasn't too far away from the IES center where we took our classes; it was about a 15 minute commute if that. Though depending on which neighborhood in Freiburg you end up in, the cleanliness of your flat, the number of flatmates, and the distance from the IES center can vary quite a bit.

As far as academics are concerned, if you are looking for an easy-breezy semester abroad, I would not recommend this program. We took all of our classes at the IES EU center. Obviously like any institution, there are easier and harder teachers and professors, but the required 5-class course load means you will definitely be working throughout the week. I wouldn't say it's as hard as a lot of American colleges and universities, but it is certainly no walk in the park. Finally, since the program includes quite a bit of travel, I definitely did my fair share of work on planes and trains. As we are currently in a period where the European Union is in flux, the topic courses I took, EU and the Muslim World, EU-US Relations, and Migration, were very current and interesting.

For me, travel was far-and-away (pun intended) the best aspect of the program. I can guarantee by the end of the program, you will feel like you did not spend enough time in Freiburg. First, there are 21 days of built in travel included in the program. If you plan no additional trips, you will still get to visit 7-9 countries with your classmates. Second, the program schedule includes two "Wanderlust Weekends." These are weeks with no Friday classes to allow you to get an early start on a fun travel weekend. With mine, I went to London, England and Nice, France; both were lovely. Finally, there is a healthy-sized Spring Break to allow for further travel. In total, I visited 14 countries in Europe and North Africa throughout the semester.

One of the most important things I learned on the program is that the more you travel, the more you realize how much more there is to see. Even though I was lucky enough to see some amazing cities, there were many that I wish I had WAY more time in, and even more that I wanted to see but didn't have the time. You really get an idea of how enormous the world is on this program, which is a lesson worth learning.