Student Blogs/Rachael in Germany Guten Tag and welcome to my blog! I’m Rachael Janzen, a fourth- year Accounting Commerce student at Carleton University in Ottawa. In two weeks I’m heading to Germany to study at the Berlin School of Economics and Law (BSEL). A few interesting things to note about this school is that (1) this is the first year Carleton has sent a student to this particular school, (2) while most of the classes are taught in German, they provide an Business Management stream taught in English, and (3) the term at BSEL starts in October and lasts six months.
Even though my term doesn’t officially start until the beginning of October, BSEL provides exchange students with an opportunity to participate in an intensive German class beginning September 17. I do not speak German very well, so this two-week crash course should be very beneficial. Unlike BIB, the BCOM program does not require intensive language courses, so I have only taken one German language course since I have started the program.
During my preparations to move overseas, I have run into a few roadblocks that I would like to share:
Due to these roadblocks, I have not been able to apply for my visa while in Canada and will be doing so once I arrive in Berlin.
From September until February, I will be living in a Studentenwerk, which is a student residence affiliated with BSEL and located off-campus. Right about now you are going to stop me and say “Hey, don’t your classes end in March?” That is correct, however, the contracts given for students in these residences typically last between 5-6 months with a possibility of extension. But if I don’t get an extension, hostels are the next big way for students to live short term in different cities in Germany and through most of Europe.
Now this blog post is a little different than how I plan to do them up in the future. I’m planning to create more of a photo-based blog, using photos taken with my Canon Rebel T3i. Each month I’d like to do a larger photo project organized around themes related to my exchange, as well as any suggestions from readers.
During the next couple of weeks before departing, I will be spending a lot of time with my family and friends back in Hamilton. I’m sure all the goodbyes won’t end until I’m on the plane. So, well wishes to the other exchangers and safe travels! Can’t wait to share with you more once I get to Berlin. Tschüs!