Internship in Germany

The excellence center was a great way to spend the last month of summer, and I’m very thankful for all the people I’ve been able to meet and experiences I’ve been able to have during my stay in Halle. My time with the excellence center has been a good one, but of course like any study abroad experience there were pros and cons.
I participated in the internship in Germany program, in order to learn German, teach English, and learn about the refugee community in Halle. A few days before arrival, I was put into a group chat with my roommate and given information about my accommodation. The accommodation itself was fine, but the details regarding it were somewhat skewed. Firstly, the apartment was pretty dirty (mold, food stains, etc). Secondly, I was sleeping on a mattress on the floor as my roommate and I shared what was meant to be a 1-person, 1-bedroom apartment (she had a bed next to my mattress). Thirdly, because of point 2, I do think the centers accommodation is overpriced. I would recommend trying to find your own accommodation, as rent is (incredibly) cheap in Halle. I do think we had one of the better arrangements in comparison to some other students with host families, however.
If you come during one of the busier periods, chances are you won’t be spending much time in your room anyways. The highlight of my time at the center is without a doubt the people I have had the opportunity of meeting here. Halle is a university town, so it’s a good environment for students. It is also well located, and during my month here I was able to spend weekends in Frankfurt, Berlin, and take day trips to Leipzig and Thale. During the day, if I had breaks between lessons I would head to the botanical garden (free for students), Ziegelwiese park, or local cafe/library/etc, so there are plenty of places to visit nearby if you get tired of the center at any point (it can get a bit busy sometimes so these spots are nice to take advantage of).

My German lessons were another highlight of my time here. I’d been to Germany before to visit relatives, and therefore had a very basic (emphasis on very) understanding of the language, but hadn’t studied German in a classroom setting before, so I was unfamiliar with writing/grammar/etc. I was lucky enough to have 1-1 help from Muaz, meaning the classes were attuned to my specific level. I do feel like I've made a lot of progress because of this and have covered enough ground to continue self studying German at home. The lessons themselves are engaging and flexible to your own needs/schedule (and take place not only in the center, but during tours across Halle, to Leipzig, etc). One thing to note, however, is that online it states that you get x hours of lessons per week, but technically each “hour” is equal to one 45 minute lesson. I paid for 6 hours of German lessons a week rather than the typical 3, assuming that meant 24 hours total for my 4 weeks here. However, since each hour is 45 minutes, it actually comes out to 18 full hours total. I just wanted to mention this as I think it’s helpful to know when planning your lessons!
A major benefit that might not be applicable to quite as many people is that, if you are studying both German and Arabic (like me), this is the perfect place for you. You have to take initiative in practicing the languages (which I admit I wasn’t too good at), but when you do, there’s plenty of opportunity to practice your skills at both languages. Since most of the people at the center are students are from the UK or US, it can be easy to fall into the habit of only using English (like I did) so I’d recommend that, if you come to the center, try to be more purposeful in regularly practicing your language(s)!
As for the internship aspect, I met with Rafat once as a sort of introductory lesson. Muaz also held a lesson, and helped translate for me during the two interviews I conducted. You can do more interviews if you choose, but the main thing is if you do this program you have to show initiative in making sure all aspects are completed in the way that you’d prefer. Overall, I learned a lot and am thankful for the people I met during my time in Halle!