Summary

Overall, I am extremely satisfied with my time studying abroad. I know plenty of people who wanted to study abroad but could not tear themselves away from their college in the U.S. I felt like I would miss out on a lot of things back at UMass, but I realized that I still have another year to catch up with friends and to make new friends. It was a bit difficult to adjust to German culture (mostly just the language and the fact that I couldn’t buy groceries on Sundays) but I found it to be a very valuable experience. I will miss many things that America lacks, such as beautiful parks everywhere, döner kebab, plenty of bakeries, and much more. The UMass/Baden-Württemberg program lasts a little longer than most study abroad programs, which sometimes makes me anxious to get home. However, I think that to really absorb a foreign culture and its surroundings, a person should try to spend as long as he/she can there, and I can say I am quite satisfied with my six months in Germany. I have made some good friends here (whom I would love to go visit in their respective home countries), I think I have improved my German (or at least thinking in German on the spot), and I have had the chance to travel around Europe and experience German culture. I am excited to go home, but it will also be strange to leave Freiburg after being here for so long.


(Note: This blog reads somewhat backwards, if you want to read from the beginning go to the last page.)

Herz-Jesu Kirche and Stühlinger Platz

Freiburg Bächle

downtown Freiburg, Bertoldsbrunnen