Author: Rowan

My time at Phillips Universität Marburg has been an incredible learning experience. After only four months, this trip is nearing its end, and so I thought that it would be a good time to give some tips to any students considering the International Undergraduate Study Program.

Internet

Although the IUSP website says that almost all dorms have Internet (but that you must be prepared for the possibility of not having it), less than half of our students actually had access to wireless or Ethernet. As a group, we quickly adjusted to this, but it was a challenge for the first few weeks. In order to get online, you have three options:

1. Get an Internet stick. These sticks are USB devices which will connect your computer to the Internet, for a limited amount of data, usually on a per-month basis. I have found Internet sticks to be extremely helpful in the past, especially as they can be brought on weekend trips to give you Internet on-the-go. However, the plans in Germany are very expensive, and some members of our group had sticks that didn’t work. For this reason, I don’t recommend this option.

2. Buy WiFi from a neighbour.As IUSP students are in Marburg for a year or less, buying a Wireless contract is not feasible. Other students have these contracts, though, and will likely let you use their wireless for a small monthly cost. You can leave a note on your fridge if you are looking.

3. Use the wireless elsewhere.In my building, there was no Internet, but a nearby student building had wireless in the entrance area. This is what I used to get online most of the time, as it was both convenient and free. All academic buildings also have wireless Internet, so you can spend the day at the cafeteria or outside a classroom if you prefer. Depending on where you live, this should be relatively straightforward.

Practicing German

During the first 6 weeks in Germany, you will have German classes every day, and these will be hugely beneficial. Afterwards, though, you only have conversation practice twice a week. For this reason, it is necessary to make efforts to practice on your own time.

Get a tandem partner. The university will set you up with a native German-speaker who wants to learn English, and you can practice your German (usually for about an hour a week) with them. I was not aware of this program for a long time, but you can request a tandem partner at any time during your semester abroad. One of the challenges with this system is that many of the German students are already very advanced in English, so it is easy to forget to practice your German. Make sure you set aside some time in which you will speak only English, and some in which you will speak only German.

Note: This doesn’t only work with German! Some of my friends have used tandem partners to practice or learn other languages, too. And you can help a student learn any language in which you have native fluency!

Eating in Marburg

I have talked about this before, but I think that it is very important to know where to get food in Marburg. Our group quickly discovered that there are döner and falafel stands all over town – these provide quick and easy meals, and are open most of the night. However, the best street for finding more varied restaurants is probably Elisabethstraße, the street leading up to the language and international centres. Here, you can find a sushi buffet, Italian food, Indian food, and more. There is also a small Asian Market where you can pick up snacks, curries and other food that you won’t find elsewhere. It looks like a gift shop from the outside, but check it out anyway – you won’t be disappointed.

For basic supplies, any of the local grocery stores will do. Many IUSP students like Edeka, as it is cheaper than the larger REWE, but you will find that REWE has greater variety. In any case, there are stores near the student buildings and all major academic buildings – this is helpful, as you will likely find yourself buying the basics every few days rather than shopping in bulk. The most important piece of advice on this front : plan for Sunday. Absolutely every grocery store will be closed, and while certain restaurants remain open for those of us who forgot to shop on Saturday, you will want to have food at your place. This means planning ahead before you leave for weekend trips.

I definitely recommend the IUSP program to anyone looking to study abroad and learn German at the same time. The atmosphere is great, and the organizers will help you out with anything you need. I will certainly miss my time in Marburg.

As a member of the International Undergraduate Study Program (IUSP) in Marburg, Germany, I am taking part, for eight weeks, in two classes open to all students at the university. The courses I chose to participate in are called “Little Boxes in American Suburbia” and “The Age of Illusion: Visiting the Harry Potter Universe”.

IUSP Students in Marburg

As an IUSP student, we are in Germany only until December, so are unable to finish the courses we are taking, which all run until March. As a result, we are provided with weekly tutorials where we meet with grad students (in groups of one to six undergraduates) to discuss the themes covered in class, as well as to cover the topics that we will be missing later in the year. This is especially useful for students who are taking classes held in German, as these can be very difficult to follow, especially for relative beginners. There are both English and German course options to make study easier for those of us with no previous German background. Courses available to IUSP students include a small selection from each of the following subject areas: American Studies, Business Administration and Economics, Education, English Studies, German Studies, History, Linguistics and Language Technologies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, and Sociology.

Class Organization in Germany

The German education system is divided into various modules which students must complete to finish their degrees. These modules transfer as credit points, and can be fulfilled by any of a variety of different course offerings. Because of this system, different people in the same class are often taking different modules, and actually require different numbers of credit points from the same class. As a result, requirements for completion of each class vary by student, and in my course “Little Boxes in American Suburbia”, each student is given a different type of project to complete for their grade. This might be a presentation, an oral report, a research paper, or a written response. Such a complex system has resulted in significant confusion in class, and we spent the first hour and a half of class time attempting to account for everyone’s credit points. It didn’t help that because caps in class sizes aren’t required, almost half the class was sitting on windowsills around the too-small classroom.

Visiting the Harry Potter Universe

In my course on Harry Potter, we were required to pass a test just to remain in the class. Since Harry Potter is such a popular series, the professor wanted to ensure that the entire cohort had a strong understanding of the books, and hadn’t only seen the movies, thus allowing for assumptions about the base level of knowledge in the group. The test was something similar to a Facebook quiz on Harry Potter minutiae, except that it wasn’t multiple choice and so was very difficult to complete. Our professor even had to lower the pass threshold to 15/35 questions in order to have enough students left in the class! And class discussion is definitely very interesting. We’re currently covering how the series fits within the fantasy genre, and will move on to discuss narrative techniques, the role of magic, and the series’ cultural legacy. In our tutorials, we cover such additional topics as animal symbolism in the series and the differences between Harry Potter and the fan-made parody A Very Potter Musical.

As part of the International Undergraduate Studies Program at Philipps Universität Marburg, Germany, we were given the opportunity to spend a long weekend in Berlin. Leaving on Thursday, October 2 and returning on Sunday, October 5, we had two group tours and plenty of time to explore the city and enjoy the Berlin atmosphere.

Day of German Unity

The reason that we were able to leave class early and spend three days in Berlin was the public holiday, the Day of German Unity, on October 3. This holiday celebrates the reunification of Germany in 1990, at the end of the Cold War. As our tour guide told us, the day most people actually remember is November 9^th, 1989, when the Berlin Wall came down, but this unfortunately occurred on the anniversary of a much more sinister German historical event: Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, in 1938. Because of this, they chose instead to celebrate the day reunification was officially completed. This did not prevent us from spending hours that day touring memorial sites of the Berlin Wall, of course.

The German Bundestag

Perhaps our biggest discovery in Berlin was our visit to the Bundestag. Having been to Berlin twice before, including spending a week there this summer studying the memorialization of the Holocaust, this is one of the few major landmarks I hadn’t been inside. The entrance security feels a bit like a US airport, but the atmosphere once inside is actually very relaxed. I was especially interested in decades-old graffiti left on the walls in Russian – while some of the more aggressive language was removed, the government decided to keep what they could of the graffiti for art’s and history’s sake. I can’t imagine such a thing happening at the Parliament in Victoria! We also got to sit inside the main debate room of the Lower House, complete with giant eagle model. The experience was a bit surreal.

Touring Berlin on bicycle

Something I never thought I’d do in Berlin was rent a bicycle and ride around aimlessly for seven hours, but that’s how many of us spent the afternoon after our city tour. I was shocked that helmets weren’t even available, but the woman renting us our bikes said we “wouldn’t need one” because of the holiday. I failed to see the connection between the two things, but luckily, there were no injuries in our group. By bike, it’s possible to see everything you could want to see in Berlin in one afternoon, and we rode by the Cathedral of Berlin, the main university buildings, the Spree River, the Bebelplatz book-burning memorial, the East Side Gallery, the Brandenburg Gate, and much more. We also stopped for incredible Vietnamese food along the way. If you’re looking for a variety of ethnic foods that more or less compares with Vancouver in Germany, Berlin is the place to be.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been adjusting to life in Marburg. With my language and culture courses nearing a close, and the regular semester beginning in just two weeks, I thought I’d talk a little bit more about life in Marburg and with the International Undergraduate Study Programme.

Culture classes

As a part of the IUSP program, I’ve been taking culture courses daily for the last two weeks, along with my morning language classes. The topics covered in these classes vary widely, and last Monday we had the opportunity to participate in a mock debate, a first for me. Split into partners, we represented the interests of particular countries in the 1990 2 + 4 agreement on the reunification of Germany. For this discussion, I got to represent the FRG, or West Germany, and argue for immediate unification and full sovereignty, against countries such as France and Great Britian, which were wary of Germany’s united power. In the end, we came to an agreement that differed greatly from the actual historical result, and through the process had many quiet side conversations and formed alliances. It was an exciting experience that made international politics all the more engaging.

Being vegetarian in Marburg

Recently, I made the decision to become pescatarian, which means that I eat fish, but not other meats. As a result, one of the first things I had to discover in Marburg was where to get food that I can eat. Meat is, of course, a major cultural staple in Germany, so this wasn’t immediately obvious. What I have discovered, though, is that as a university town, there are vegetarian options at almost every restaurant in Marburg, as well as major vegetarian aisles in grocery stores. I was able to find, for example, delicious veggie patties for a grill dinner hosted by my floor in residence. Perhaps my greatest discovery on this front, though, was a small vegan restaurant called Vegi Queen. Located just behind the main university cafeteria, this restaurant serves everything from vegan bratwurst to soy gyros, and is a great way to get a feel for the German food culture without actually eating meat. Other than this restaurant, veganism isn’t the easiest thing in Marburg, but being vegetarian certainly is no problem.

Social life

While keeping very busy with my hectic class schedule and other work, I have been able to explore some of the social aspects of Marburg as well. With student train passes for all of Hessen, there is more open to us than might be expected for such a small town, and my friends and I have explored options such as spending the night in Frankfurt for music festivals, going shopping in nearby Giessen, and roasting marshmallows just outside the Studentendorf dorms where there is a fire pit at the ready. The student residences are certainly a great place to be if you’re looking for parties, though less so if you’re hoping to sleep. My building is an international dorm, and so there is very little respect for quiet hours, even during the school week. People can be heard playing games, chatting loudly, and singing well into the night. I would recommend either getting a good pair of earplugs or, if you don’t have early classes, venturing into your residence kitchen to see what all the excitement is about. If nothing else, the multi-lingual conversation can be quite the experience.

Hello! I have been in Marburg, Germany for just under three weeks now, and am starting to get accustomed to life in yet another new city. As I get settled in my language classes, I thought it would be a good time to give you all an introduction to the International Undergraduate Studies Program (IUSP) at Phillips-Universität Marburg.

My arrival in Germany was nothing if not hectic. Because I had to go back to Oswiecim, Poland to pick up my luggage, my mom and I ended up driving all night to get to Germany for registration day. As we entered the city, though, we knew that everyone who had told us fantastic stories about Marburg were telling the truth – the whole city is visible on a sweeping landscape of hills, and looks like it was pulled directly from a period movie. As one of the only cities in Germany essentially untouched by World War II, the old German architecture is stunning, and makes for some interesting contrasts as you near the edges of new construction sites.

The registration process proved to be exceptionally well-organized. Despite assuring our group that they would not “hold our hands”, we were each given detailed schedules for the first two days, maps of the city, bus passes and more. We were led on a short walking tour, showing us where the most important stores were, and were told that we would go on a more substantial tour in the coming days. We were then brought to our various residence buildings, which are spread out on the edges of the small city and shown our rooms, kitchens, and laundry facilities. Compared to every move I’ve made before, this was by far the easiest.

The living situation itself is different for everyone, but I think what most worried the students upon our arrival was the unexpected lack of Internet. While there is wireless access for students in all school buildings, this is not true of all our dorms, and it has been a problem for some people in particular. While I am among those who doesn’t have Internet in my room, I am able to walk to a nearby residence with WiFi in the lobby, and have been doing so almost every day since I discovered it. While the lack of Internet originally seemed an inconvenience, it has forced me to get out of my room and meet people, which is after all the aim of the program. The community feeling is increased by the communal kitchens which (while not especially clean) are permanently full of neighbours from all over the world.

Shortly after our arrival, we returned to our classrooms to take our placement test – as it turned out, though, this wasn’t necessary for about 40% of the class. Like me, many of the other students are beginners in the German language, and we were split into two groups without having to take the test, based on whether we had any German experience at all. While I didn’t, I ended up in what’s known as the “advanced beginners” class, as my experience with other foreign languages helped me grasp concepts like grammatical gender and cases quickly. With three hours of classes a day and tests every Friday, all the classes move quickly, and everyone I’ve spoken to is thrilled to be learning so much (especially the beginners).

On Monday, we started our culture class, which promises political role plays, an introduction to German religions, and a visit to the local Dunkelcafé (“dark café”), where customers eat in absolute darkness and are served by blind staff. The class is sure to be filled with new experiences which I will comment on in my coming posts.

Rowan

Hello! I’m Rowan Meredith, and I’ve had the incredible opportunity to participate in three different programs overseas this year, and now to write about my adventures. I’ve been on the road for just under four months, and have another four to go. In May, I was a part of the 2014 I-witness Holocaust Field School with the Germanic Studies department at UVic, and spent three weeks exploring Germany, Austria and Poland in an effort to understand how the Holocaust is memorialized in Central Europe. I then stayed in Poland to work as an intern at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum for the remainder of the summer. I’ve just arrived in Marburg, Germany, where I will be studying the German language until December. My blog will mainly be centered around Marburg, but this introductory post will give you an idea of what I’ve been doing for the last four months (so forgive me if it’s long).

I-Witness: Observation, Experience, Understanding

In May, the I-Witness program began with a week of classes held on campus at UVic. Our group spent every day listening to survivor testimonies, discussing a broad range of readings, giving presentations about the very sites we were to see, and getting to know one another. We then flew off to Berlin, where we began our tour, visiting memorials, meeting with students from each of the countries we visited, and discussing our rapidly shifting opinions of the sites. The memorials in real life were very different from the images we had seen in our readings, and we experienced considerable emotion in examining them, often finding ourselves unable to process our thoughts for at least 24 hours after an experience. Our biases were exposed, especially in our encounters with other student groups, and our networks of belief began to break down. Inner conflict was often the theme of the day.

The understanding this experience gave our group about the Holocaust was by no means black and white, and was among the most meaningful “classroom” experiences possible. The program has inspired me to continue to work against present-day genocide and human rights violations, and is an experience I would recommend to anyone with a passion in these fields, regardless of background.

Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum: Participation

At the end of May, I left the I-witness group and moved to Oswiecim, Poland, to participate in an international co-op term at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. The feeling at the museum is in stark contrast to what I had experienced so far: instead of the wide range of emotions of discovering the Holocaust sites for the first time, the employees at the museum experienced never-ending curiosity, and worked to make the emotion real for camp visitors. Nevertheless, working at the museum could be extremely eerie at times, especially as volunteers are housed in the office of the former camp commandant Rudolph Höss. As a volunteer in the Collections department, I had a wide range of duties, from creating identification cards for newly retrieved artifacts, to transcribing videos of survivor testimonies, to scanning and photocopying historical documents. This program allowed me to become a participant in the memorialization process.

Unfortunately, complications with my visa arose which required me to leave my work term early and return to Canada. The Polish Embassy in Vancouver gave me mistaken information on several occasions, leading me to believe that I would not require a visa for my co-op term, even though I was to spend more than 90 days in Europe in total. When in Europe, it was impossible to obtain the needed visa, so I had to leave the country, only to return two weeks later and apply for a rush student visa in Germany. If you are going to be participating in a similar program lasting more than 90 days (including any travel time outside Poland), I highly recommend you get in contact with the Canadian embassy in Poland, or with another embassy in Europe, for more accurate information.

For prospective students looking to take part in a work term at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, I would certainly encourage you. The experience can be deeply satisfying, especially if you use your free time (as the workload at the museum is relatively light) to explore the nearby cities and immerse yourself in the Polish culture. Work at the museum is a deeply moving experience, and is likely to inspire your own research. Knowledge of either Polish or German would be valuable, as these are the primary languages spoken at the museum and documented in the archives, but I found that Russian was also helpful, and many people do speak English. Do not count on French as a back-up.