Milica’s experience during an intensive language course in Germany My name is Milica. I would like to share with you my experience from the intensive German language course. Namely, I have spent two months in Frankfurt studying the German language with the help of a scholarship of DAAD. I applied for the scholarship because I wanted to experience German culture and German language. I am studying economics, and because of this, Frankfurt was the logical choice as the financial centre of Germany. I also liked its position and the possibility to travel to other German and Swiss cities. My goal was to upgrade my knowledge of German and to see how the German economy works. Also, I was interested in the educational system and I wanted to explore German culture, to visit European Central Bank, the Stock exchange. I also wanted to make many personal and professional contacts with students from different countries and to learn more about their cultures. The first day in the school was great. The first thing they did was take us for a tour of Frankfurt. They showed us the best bank, shops, bakeries, restaurants around the school. They were very nice and hospitable. Before the tour we did a test to determine which course we should take. When we got back from the tour we had our first lesson. For the students of the DAAD books were free. At the beginning it was very hard for me. I was placed on the advanced level. The professor had a PhD in philosophy and anthropology. From him I learned a lot about the German language but also about philosophy and culture. It was very helpful that we had two hours a week that were set aside for us so that we could come to the school and get different explanations and exercises so that we could better understand the material from class. One other happy circumstance was that my house one and a half hour away from the school by train and bus. Because of this I spend three hours a day doing my homework and studying German or talking with the people from the train. I think the latter was crucial for me to start speaking German without fear from making mistakes because the people where very nice and eager to help. Often they would initiate the conversation first, which was very helpful. The thing that I liked very much was that many of the passengers read books. Because of this I decided to further better my German by reading. In the school we had a library with a lot of interesting books for all the different levels of studying. When I left Serbia, I was level B1 and I came back with having finished level C1. Learning German in Frankfurt was a very enjoyable experience. I assume that many of you are interested if the scholarship was enough to cover all of my expenses. I believe that this is most dependant on which kind of accommodation you decide on. I lived at our friends’ house in Wiesbaden. Unfortunately, it was impossible to get the room in the dormitory because the period of stay was too short. As for the food, I bought mine in big supermarkets like “Rewe” and “Aldi”. The food there is almost no more expensive than in Serbia. In the student canteen with the student ID you can get a discount so that you can get the entire meal for €3 which is very affordable. The food is very tasty. The school organises many field trips to Rüdesheim, Mainz, Wiesbaden, Heidelberg , as well as trips to museums, Goethe’s house, the botanical garden, the stock exchange and the cars manufacturing facility. We also organized by ourselves trips to Marburg, Munich, Basel, Lucerne and Brussels. There are very affordable group weekend tickets. I traveled to Munich and back for €16. Transportation in Germany is very well organized, but when you go alone and without discounts, it can get very expensive. The monthly tickets are also expensive. A monthly ticket Frankfurt-Wiesbaden costs around €170 (the distance is approximately 35 km). In Frankfurt I loved the beautiful parks where at night there are free concerts. Don’t miss them!
The thing I miss the most from Frankfurt are my friends from all over the world. In Germany I not only learned German but also Spanish because there were many students from Spain and South America. I miss my classes, going out with friends and traveling. I also miss the efficiency and hospitality which I encountered in all situations. To summarize, I think that this course is truly a big privilege and I am very grateful to DAAD for helping me be a part of this fantastic program on which I learned so much. Words are not enough to express how happy I am to have experienced Germany this way. I consider that there is room for professional development especially in economics. Because of that, I would love to go to Germany again so that I can better my city and country with the knowledge that can be acquired there. The school
Parks in Frankfurt
The Frankfurt Stock Exchange
Heidelberg
Munich
Wiesbaden