FU-BEST is the most fitting name

Unlike most people who study abroad(at least the ones I met), my decision to do so was quite late minute and out of desperation. I was very upset with the political climate back home in the United States and I decided to set out on an adventure to an unknown land. Although I had studied extensively on East Central Europe for my major in Political Science and History, I didn't have much expectations for modern Germany. I had also never been away from home, but I guess my lack of planning is what led to me submitting the application. To be fair, I did develop cold feet days before I took off, but I was persistent.
Best. Decision. Ever.
I arrived in Tegel Airport and took a cab to the University. Although I was tired, I was greeted by the program directors and student assistants with a big smile on their faces which felt very nice. My host family picked me up from the University and these are some of the nicest people I ever met. They made me feel at home immediately. The first week of classes were mostly excursions which felt quite tiring at the time but I came to appreciate it later on when we felt so familiar with this new city within such a short period of time. Classes were challenging, yet manageable which I greatly appreciated. The readings and books given to us ended up being so helpful that they are now a part of my reference list and I use all the time. The German language classes have such an innovative and spontaneous learning environment with a lot of excursions which made the language learning process (which could be quite frustrating), so exciting. I fell in love with Berlin so much that I decided to pursue my Masters here, in the same University. I met my wonderful boyfriend in Berlin. I feel like my host family became my second family and I still visit them every other weekend. The best part of this program - for me, is that it isn't too easy. I have friends who went to Italy and Paris and all they did was eat pasta and visit other countries. FU-BEST is challenging and thus very informative about German politics, culture, architecture etc. I feel like it is made in a way that falling in love with Germany and inevitably Berlin is inevitable. We get just the right amount of free time to visit all of Europe, but the academic part is definitely given as much priority. Literally everyone who was in the program with me are majorly jealous of my move here and still DM me all the time asking how they could do it too. There was not one person I met that didn't feel the same way I did. To any future participant who is reading this: do it! If you are really serious about learning a thing or two while still getting your adventure on, this is the BEST program for that.