Notes

Outline

DARMSTADT 2003 Preparing For and Experiencing a Foreign Culture By Ben Kaun

Table of Contents Germany Darmstadt Preparation Housing TUD Culture Travel Budget Conclusion

GERMANY Population: 82,398,326 Type of Government:  Federal Republic Capital:  Berlin Administrative Divisions:  16 States Currency:  Euro Religions: Protestant 34%, Catholic 34%,     Muslim 3.7%, or Other 28.3% Ethnic Divisions:  German 91.5%, Turkish                  2.4%, Other 6.1%, Climate:  Temperate and marine; cool,   cloudy, wet winters and summers;        occasional warm foehn wind Natural Resources: Iron ore, coal, potash,                   timber, lignite, uranium,                   copper, natural gas, salt,                   nickel, arable land. Resource: CIA WORLD FACTBOOK http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gm.html

About Darmstadt Darmstadt is a city of 138,000 and located in southern Hessen approximately 20 miles south of Frankfurt am Main, a huge transportation and business city with over 600,000 residents and one of Europe’s only skyscraper skylines.  Darmstadt is its own city, rather than just a suburb of Frankfurt.  It is a headquarters of Merck pharmaceuticals and a center for culture for the whole region, with several summer festivals capable of drawing hundreds of thousands from surrounding areas over a single weekend.  As the seat of the former Darmstadt-Hessen duchy, Darmstadt also has a number of beautiful parks and royal architecture.

Preparation Because I had three months between Fall semester and leaving for Europe in March, I had plenty of time to mentally and organizationally prepare for my trip.  Especially with traveling, I strongly recommend reserving lodging and flights far in advance to get the lowest prices and make the trip less stressful.  As far as deciding what to bring and how to prepare for Darmstadt, I kept in close contact with the North American Programs advisor there, and I downloaded a couple study abroad checklists.  However, I of course forgot some little things that I could easily buy in Germany.  Paperwork and visa requirements were definitely the most important things to keep track of.  Of all the visa “financial options”, I would strongly advise anyone to get a notarized form proving parents’/guardians’ financial responsibility, instead of opening an extra bank account or any other option.

Tons of Paperwork! Anyone who studies abroad in Germany, and probably many other countries, should be mentally prepared to handle the mounds of paperwork associated with a visa.  Luckily, I left for Germany ready to do everything on my own, and with plenty of time to read up on requirements.  People who did not, had some extra problems.  It seemed like the first two weeks I was in Darmstadt, everyday there was something to sign and deliver, or a fee to pay.  There is also a specific order in which everything needs to be done, and the strangest office hours I’ve ever come in contact with.  It was a very confusing situation last, but while we were there, we revised the entire preparation packet from TUD, so it should be more clear in the future.

Housing Most year and semester exchange students will live at the Karlshof Studentenwohnheim.  About 1000 students live in these four massive, rather homely, apartment buildings.  Each apartment (Wohngemeinschaft or WG) houses 4 to 5 students with a kitchen/living room and 2 bathrooms.  There is a really nice bar/restaurant within the complex that is a great place to meet other students.

My Living Situation I lived on the top (6th) floor of Karlshof, which is really the 12th floor because each apartment is 2 stories.  The view was incredible!  I could see the Frankfurt skyline to the north, the hills of the Rhine to the northwest, the Odenwald to the south and west, and all the towers of Darmstadt.  I lived with 3 other international students, one Russian, one from Iceland, and one from Cyprus.  The most shocking fact when I arrived was the large age difference between them and me.  Their ages ranged from 26 to 28, which is completely normal for those working toward bachelor’s or master’s equivalent.  Due to the difference in age, we may have had some trouble relating to one another, but overall, the experience was at least enriching and pleasant.

The TUD The Technische Universität Darmstadt is a top-rated technical university with around 16,000 students and offers degrees in many technical and a few non-technical fields.  The school is divided into 2 campuses, the Stadtmitte (downtown) and the Lichtwiese.  Most engineering classes take place at the Lichtwiese.  Architecture on campus ranges from 17th Century to modern, including a castle in which lectures are held.

TUD Administration The organization of the Technische Universität Darmstadt is somewhat poor and incomparable to that of the University of Illinois.  There is no electronic, centralized registration, and the communication between departments and offices is almost nonexistent.  Registration for most classes consists of signing up for a final exam a few weeks before the end of the semester.  Transcripts must be compiled by the North American Programs office, because the TUD does not put one together for its students.  Usually students receive a letter statement (Schein) from each professor, which they deliver to their respective departmental offices.

Courses Due to the lack of a registration process and absence of complete and accurate course listings, it was necessary to pick my classes “on the fly”.  Not even administrators or professors necessarily know if a class will be offered until shortly before the start of the semester.  Only about one-half of the courses I had approved in the fall were actually offered in the spring.  Also, actual course meeting times and rooms may change after the first meeting of the class.  For this reason, it is important to stay in contact with your professors and TA’s throughout the semester.  I tried 6 different courses at the start of the semester.  I dropped “History of the Adrian Alps” after I found out it was grad-level with 1/3 of the class middle-aged doctorates (not mentioned in the coursebook).  About 5 weeks into the semester I also dropped my mechanics course (equiv. TAM221) due to language/ teaching style difficulties, and “The Cannibal Other”, a course taught in english that had very few redeeming qualities.

Courses (Cont.) I ultimately stuck with 3 courses for the entire semester: a german language course, Macroeconomics, and Intro to Finance, all instructed in German.  The latter two especially, were very good experiences.  The concepts and vocabulary transferred between them, which made understanding the lectures manageable.  The finance course was taught by Bert Rürup, one of Germany’s top financial policy advisors, and was very interesting.  Besides the language course, there was no out-of-class work other than studying and keeping up with reading.  It is not common for German university students to work on much homework during the semester.

Exams My Macroeconomics and Finance finals were both oral and in German, which is pretty standard for non-engineering classes.  The oral finals are generally done in small groups with the professor and an assistant who writes.  An interesting experience, but not something I’d want to do for important classes in my major.  These tests, in my case, counted for 100% of my total grade in the course.  Anything learned in the course can be tested.  For the finance final, I was in the room with 5 other germans and asked only 3 questions which determined my grade for the whole course and lasted only 5-10 minutes per person.  I took the Macroeconomics final with only one other American, but it lasted a full hour, so duration is highly variable.  The longer final was less stressful.

Students at the University I met students from all over the world in Darmstadt, including many from Eastern Europe, whom I rarely come in contact with at the U of I.  German universities attract more students from lower income countries due to their almost nonexistent tuition.  It was truly amazing to be in contact with so many new people and learn about the countries they grew up in.  Though we all had different origins, we could all communicate through German or English.  It was not uncommon to meet students who could speak 4 or 5 languages actually.  The things that I learned about my own culture and others, the similarities and the differences, I am sure will be invaluable to me in my development and my career.

German Culture Germany is unique among Western European countries because it is a very young country, only having been unified since 1989.  Thus, cultures have developed somewhat independently.  Each region has a distinct flavor and attitude.  Hard-working Lutherans in Hamburg often have difficulty relating to the laid-back Catholics in Bavaria.  However, it is obvious that things are changing rapidly with globalization.  German culture is melting into European culture.  From what I experienced, the majority of (educated) Germans consider themselves Western Europeans first, Germans second, especially since the adoption of a common currency.  They feel they have more in common with the French and Benelux countries than with the United States.  It was not uncommon for me to get bombarded with political debate from a “coalition” of different country representatives.

Anti-Americanism Due to recent decision of the United States to go “over the head” of the UN and the EU and attack Iraq alone, most Europeans have grown sour with American politics, especially with the Bush administration.  As a result, especially at the university level, international students want to debate politics (almost constantly).  This may make American students abroad feel very uncomfortable, especially since the average European knows more about American politics than the average American.  It took a little while, but I eventually became comfortable with this and realized that both they and I could learn a lot from these discussions.  Don’t allow your emotions to get the best of you!  There are also a few people who stopped and insulted or yelled at us in public situations, but these people did not represent the majority.  For the most part, I tried to speak German in public and dress a little European, as not to give away my nationality immediately.

Festivals One of the most interesting aspects of German culture was the festival.  If you are in Germany, especially during the summer, there is most likely a festival within 50 kilometers of you.  Darmstadt had a major festival every couple of weeks from May through July, including a music festival, Schlossgrabenfest, which attracted 60 bands and 250,000 people.  One obvious similarity between all festivals was the ubiquity of alcohol, namely beer.  Some festivals are put on by local breweries for the purpose of distributing their wares.  Overall, the festivals are my best memories of German culture, a time when seemingly introverted people become very friendly and sociable.

The Beer Garden Beer gardens are a pervasive aspect of medieval German culture.  Beer gardens have always been a place for families to get together after Sunday church in Catholic Bavaria or a place to relax with colleagues after the workday ended.  Beer gardens are still in style, and its very common for university students to meet there and socialize.  Some of the best conversations I had were in one of Darmstadt’s two beer gardens.

How important is knowing the language? Required level of German competency depends greatly on the goals and purposes of being abroad.  I found that I had the choice of whether or not I wanted to speak German with other students.  Most every educated person speaks English.  However, I found I was given more respect when I spoke German.  The pervasive stereotype regarding Americans is that we do not know anything about foreign cultures or foreign languages.  I tried to prove that stereotype incorrect as best I could, even though I realize it is mostly true.  Tourists can get by with English, but in my opinion, all residents should know some level of German.  I felt that speaking German allowed me to (almost) fully integrate myself into society.

Public Transportation Public Transportation in Darmstadt and the rest of Germany is both the best and the worst.  No other country has such an organized and far-reaching system as Germany.  You can go from practically any point to anywhere else in Germany only using public transportation, in theory.  However, the public transportation and the Deutsche Bahn (train monopoly) are not what they once were.  Currently trains are very expensive, often late, and the Deutsche Bahn is continually changing its pricing plans.  However, trains are usually the best way to travel within Germany.  For longer trips, there are two options, the Interail and Eurail pass, which allow you travel anywhere for a certain number of days within a time period, or flying with Ryanair, a budget airline that flies to many European destinations, including one near Darmstadt.  I chose Ryanair, because in a semester, I was worried I wouldn’t travel enough to have Eurail pay for itself.

Ryanair Ryanair allowed me to travel more than I ever imagined affordably, and sometimes unbelievably cheap.  It is a point-to-point airline, meaning all flights are purchased one-way.  Prices are based on supply-and-demand and time purchased, so they fluctuate constantly, and low demand flights can be purchased for extremely low prices, if you are willing to search and be patient.  Before I started school in the spring, I traveled for a month, which included 4 flights to get from Germany to UK to Ireland to UK to Germany, and flights only cost me about $130, including tax.  A flight from Dublin to London cost about $12.  Without Ryanair flies out of Frankfurt-Hahn airport, which is kind of misleading because its about 120 kilometers west of Frankfurt.  Nonetheless, it is accessible by a Ryanair shuttle bus.  There are a number of possibilities out of this airport, including Rome, Barcelona, London, and Stockholm.

European Travel

Local Travel The area surrounding Darmstadt is packed full of daytrip destinations.  Frankfurt am Main, the romantic Rhine river valley, and Heidelberg are all within an hour by train.  Northern Bavarian cities like Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bamberg, and Würzburg are still close enough for a daytrip.  With enrollment at the TUD, we received a SemesterTicket, which entitled us to free train, streetcar, and bus travel within most of Hessen.  When outside of Hessen, up to 5 people can travel together on RB or RE trains for about 30 Euro for an entire Saturday or Sunday.  Also, a year-long subscription BahnCard can be useful and save a fixed percentage on every ticket.  I won’t explain any further, because BahnCard has been experimenting with new plans lately.

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main is the most dense and richest city in Germany.  It’s not the prettiest city in the area, but it does have a lively nightlife and tons of museum in Sachsenhausen, on the south side of the Main River.  Unfortunately, the last S-Bahn leaves for Darmstadt around midnight, so the nightlife wasn’t so accessible to us.  Skyscrapers dominate the skyline, and the Römer (upper right) is one of the only reminders of how the city once looked.

Rhine Towns The small towns of Bingen, Bacharach, and St. Goar exemplify the romanticized medieval Germany with high town walls and a castle almost always in sight.  It’s a nice, relaxing daytrip to take a train from Darmstadt (via Mainz) and stop at different towns along the way.  It’s great to do with visiting friends or family, or when just arriving because it’s so stereotypical, but after awhile, the tourist track may get annoying.  Overall very hard to avoid because of its proximity.

Heidelberg Heidelberg is another beautiful (and touristy) city.  It is the home of Germany’s oldest university, founded in 1386.  Many students from Darmstadt go down to visit on weekends because of the university’s over 30,000 students and vibrant nightlife.  Also, there are always other U of I students studying there to visit.  Also home to the world’s largest wine vat, which holds 220,000 liters.

My Program Budget Airfare:$550 (-$550 fellowship) =$0 Food: $250 /month X 5= $1250 Travel: $3000 Program Fees: $600 Housing: $250/month X 4= $1000 Insurance: $130 (CISI) +$60/month X 4 (German)= $370 Miscellaneous: $500 Stipends: -$1500 (UIUC) + - $500/month X 4 (TUD)= -$3500 Total Cost: $3220 * Costs are estimates and sensitive to fluctuations in exchange rates.

Conclusion The choice to study abroad was one of the best decisions I have ever made.  I come back with a broad understanding of international cultures and political systems.   Not only did I learn more about other cultures, but I’ve come to understand my own better as well.  It has given me a ability to look introspectively at our political system and suggest improvement.  I had a wonderful time in Darmstadt and traveling around Europe, and I met a lot of amazing people.  Every day was exciting, no matter what I was doing.  Being in countries in which I don’t speak the language also taught me a new level of patience.  I’ll never forget the experiences I’ve had or the way that they have affected my thinking.