By sdemetry
Hallo Alle!
The time for my first blog post has finally arrived. As my departure draws near, I can't help but feel more and more anxious to get to Berlin and start this year-long adventure. It seems surreal that in a few days I will be revisiting those first-day-of-school jitters. It's a little disconcerting to think of going back to a stage in which I know no one, have no bearings in or first-hand knowledge of my surroundings, and feel a general sense of nervous uncertainty regarding my future.
Luckily, all of that uncertainty is pretty consistently being overshadowed by anticipation.
But enough of that- the point of this post is to tell you all about what my time abroad will be focused around: the IES Berlin Language and Area Studies Program and an independent internship with The Nature Conservancy.
I chose the IES program for two main reasons:
Firstly, the program offers direct credit transfer. IES is affiliated with GW, meaning that all of my classes will count as credits. With a double-major in Criminal Justice and German, I have the extra perk of working with two departments who are seemingly lenient with course approval and very understanding about the benefits of both studying abroad AND graduating on time. Lucky me.
Secondly, the program is based in Berlin, a giant international hub- perfect for a study abroad experience, but also perfect for my academic interests. Ultimately, I would like to be involved with international law, preferably environmental. Germany is one of the greenest countries in the world, Berlin is one of the greenest cities, and it's also one of the most diverse and internationally connected.
As there are no other programs with direct credit transfer in Berlin, it was a pretty easy decision for me.
I will be taking all of my classes in German (save one International Criminal Justice course that I am currently working on getting approved), living with a host family in the middle of the city, and I hope to fully matriculate at the Humboldt Universität during my second semester. For the first, I am obligated to take at least 3 courses at the IES headquarters with other program participants.
That's all I know about the program at this point. I've been given a roster with the participants names, but until I'm actually there, I can't offer much more information on all of the perks (or non-perks!) that they have to offer.
In addition to my courses, I will be interning 15 hours/week with the Nature Conservancy's European Headquarters. The position requires me to do research on climate change while learning German and familiarizing myself with international environmental law. After a DC-based legal internship with the Nature Conservancy's American headquarters last Spring, I was able to finagle myself another position, but this time it is more heavily involved with the research that has to happen before a law can be proposed. I'll be taking a step back from the legalities that TNC deals with, and getting a more hands-on, research-oriented experience. Again, I won't really know what information I will be looking into until I've arrived, but I will share any and all important developments over the course of the semester.
That's really all I can say so far! I try not to overshare, but I don't want to leave anyone with burning questions and unfulfilled promises. Please let me know if I left out any important information, and feel free to ask for additional facts or clarity on any of my existing statements.
Until next time,
SD