Student Life
At all sites, students can make friends while pursuing their favorite pastimes.
Join a choir, a local soccer team, a photography club, or pursue any other cocurricular activity with the program’s support. In addition, students receive ‘culture money’ to sponsor their participation in the wealth of cultural activities that Mainz, Potsdam, and Berlin have to offer!
Group Trip to Weimar
A trip to Weimar will introduce integral and contradictory aspects of German culture and history. While you’ll walk through the acclaimed European City of Culture to follow the traces of those bearing the “big names” of German literature, philosophy, and music, you’ll also become aware that this is the city where the Weimarer Constitution was drafted before the Nazis were warmly welcomed for supposedly bringing back the “good old days”. The local (and national) results of this political development will confront us when we visit the KZ Memorial Buchenwald, only 8 km from Weimar.
Individual trips
To get a real taste of the varieties of German local cultures, students are encouraged to visit cities in different parts of Germany or other German-speaking countries. These individual student trips are sponsored by the program.
Language Partners
We support students with finding language partners for a Sprachtandem. Past students have also chosen to join in the uniquely German Vereinskultur—organized groups of people that meet regularly to share their interests in subjects like photography, horseback riding, or dancing. Doing that means to improve your language skills while you’re practicing your favorite hobby.
Travel in Germany
In order to plan your trip to German cities and places of interest, you can easily collect information by going to the cities’ websites. Their names all consist of www., the city name, and “.de”.
If you wonder how long it may take you to get there by train and how expensive the tickets might be, go to www.bahn.de. If you know you will be traveling long distances by train at least three times during your stay, you may want to purchase ‘My BahnCard’ at 69€ per year for people under 27 years of age. This card cuts the train-ticket prices of all your in-country long-distance travel by 50%. Another option is the German Rail Pass, a pass for non-Europeans to use in Germany www.germanrailpasses.com. For safe, clean, and reasonable lodging options, check the website of the Deutsche Jugendherbergen.
About the Sites
Learn more about student life at each of the program locations: