Middlebury College has been sending students to Mainz since 1959. Participants in both Undergraduate and Graduate programs have been able to live, study, and socialize with Germans and immerse themselves completely in the local culture since there are so few Americans there. Since 2002, students have had the opportunity to study in Berlin with all that a city of 3.5 million people has to offer.
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Mainz is the state capital of Rheinland-Pfalz and is remarkable for the way its 2,000-year history is woven into its culture: its founding by the Romans, the forces of medieval Christendom, revolution caused by the invention of mechanical printing, occupation by the French, and other links to the past have become ingrained in the present-day city. They can be seen in the cathedrals and churches, palaces, winding old streets, numerous museums and galleries, and the neighborhoods rebuilt after World War II. Roman relics that continue to be uncovered tie the present city to its ancient past.
In recent years, excavators unearthed the second largest amphitheater north of the alps right next to the train station Mainz Süd. Several Roman ships dating from the fourth century are on display and an Isis-Temple is now open to the public underneath the Roemerpassage, one of the city's shopping malls. 
The Roemerpassage may be representative of the city's success in combining the remnants of its past with a lively and modern while cosy atmosphere defined as much by the 'Gemuetlichkeit' characterizing the Rheinlaender as by the fact that Mainz is a city of 35.000 students. Since the city is located at the heart of what is called the 'Rhein-Main-Gebiet" forming one of Germany's cultural and economic centers, students have easy access to Wiesbaden, the capital of Hesse, and, last but not least, Frankfurt (25 min train-ride), where international companies and important banks do business within the vicinity of one of the major centers of world economics, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Due to this central location, a lot of major newspapers, radio- and TV-stations have their offices here, among them the ZDF. Due to the many opportunities the city offers specifically to students and due to the high standard of living and countless cultural events throughout the year, Mainz was voted the most student-friendly city in 2002. Berlin is the old and new capital city of Germany.
The city's rapidly changing appearance reflects its history as well as its future. For most of the second 
half of the twentieth century, Berlin was the fulcrum of a divided Europe. With the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Cold War, and the reunification of Germany, Berlin continues to play a central role in East-West relations. The new Berlin came into being on November 9, 1989, and is still in the process of being reunited and reconstructed. 
At the same time, with the relocation of Germany's capital to Berlin, the city is poised to play a leading role in the continuing development of the European Union, particularly its future expansion eastward.
Middlebury College strongly urges all students to enroll in the program for the full academic year: compared to a shorter stay, the linguistic, academic, and personal benefits of a ten-month stay are incalculable. Students do, however, have the option to choose a semester or a full year of study. All photographs by courtesy of H.F.