A wonderful year in Berlin!

I spent the entirety of the 2016/17 academic year in Berlin with the IES Language and Area Studies programme, and at the end of it my only complaint was that it wasn't longer! The classes offered by IES were all wonderful, taught by a great faculty, and I also really enjoyed the courses I took directly through the the local universities. The IES courses especially really made being in Berlin even more worthwhile. Learning about German literature and politics (to name just two examples) while actually being in the country made IES a complete experience.

One of the best things about IES for me was having the student centre right in the middle of Berlin. It was great having a place to meet up with other students and hang out between classes, and the location couldn't have been more conveniently located. I loved nothing more than getting out of class and walking a few blocks to the nearby park to have lunch. The staff at the centre were all wonderful. The few issues that did come up over the year were all easily handled and I never had a concern that should something go wrong, I would be on my own dealing with it.

I can't stress enough how amazing Berlin is as a city, and experiencing it through IES was one of the best years I've ever spent. I learned loads and greatly improved my German, worked an internship, and made many new friends. It was everything I hoped and more!