Hello! I have wanted to start a blog for the longest time, and finally decided it would worth doing right before going abroad. In exactly a week I will be embarking on an 8-hour flight to Frankfurt, Germany. From there, I will be taking a 2-hour train ride to Freiburg, Germany, where I will be studying for the next 4 months. I am extremely excited and anxious, yet also slightly frightened by the idea of complete immersion in another culture. As I am typing this, I know less than ten words of German (hopefully I will be able to increase this number over the next week). For the purpose of this entry, I wanted to delve into my reasoning for choosing to study with the IES European Union Program. Hopefully future Babson study abroad participants and others can learn from my experiences to make educated decisions on their own.
So here they are. My reasons for choosing the IES European Union Program:
1) Travel/European Studies- The farthest I have ever traveled in my life has been to Florida. I am hoping that my adventure to Germany will broaden my exposure to the world in a major way. If Germany doesn’t put me out of my comfort zone, then I am sure the mandatory field study trips to Brussels, Berlin, Paris, London and others will do the job. No other abroad program that I am aware of offers the integrated travel approach that this program does. For 21 days out of the semester, we will be somewhere other than Freiburg in order to back up classroom learning with real-world excursions. What do I mean? Well, what better way to learn about monetary policy in the EU than to visit the European Central Bank in Frankfurt and hear from policymakers? What better way to learn about global financial issues, than to visit the World Bank in Paris? This series of program enhancements sparked my interest in the IES European Union program more than anything else.
2) Safety- As much as I am jumping out of my comfort zone by studying thousands of miles away from home, I did consider just how much leeway I wanted to give in terms of peace of mind. Germany is currently the most stable country in Europe, financially and politically. Unlike those studying in Greece or Egypt, I will not have to avoid thousands of protesters on my way to class, nor will I have to worry about any extreme threats against Americans (at least for the time being).
3) Being the First- As my study abroad advisor at Babson, Samantha Stanley, likes to say, I am the “guinea pig” for this program. No Babson student has ever participated in the IES European Union Program before, seeing as how this is the first semester it is offered. And no, I will have no classmates joining me either. While it was tough at first seeing as how I had to have all my potential courses approved by Babson, I am realizing how thankful I am to the Babson Office of International Program for going out of their way to let me experience the opportunity of a lifetime. It is also quite exciting that I am leading the way for future Babson students to participate in the IES European Union program, and it is my hope that it will soon become the most sought after study abroad opportunity that Babson offers.
I would like to end my first entry with a quote from German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “If I accept you as you are, I will make you worse; however if I treat you as though you are what you are capable of becoming, I help you become that”
It is my sincere hope that more than anything else, this opportunity will open my eyes to a number of new perspectives. Like any path I take in life, I also hope to become a more educated and well-rounded individual because of it.
I will be busy over the next week preparing for Germany. So until then…
Auf Wiedersehen!
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