Michael Babik

B.S. Mechanical Engineering June 2001

Hochschule Bremen


Michael Babik R13rd from left with his group on a trip to Hamburg.

 

Program and Preparation for Study Abroad

1. Where and when did you study abroad? (Which program ?)

I studied in the Uni Bremen Sommersprachkurs program from July 16, 2001 until August 10, 2001.

2. How much German did you know before you left for Europe?

I had studied German for two years (Elementary & Intermediate German) at Northwestern during my sophomore and junior years.

3. What was your major and how did German fit in with your overall academic plans?

Although my major is Civil Engineering, I have always been interested in international business and the prospects of working abroad.  Germany is a dynamic country not only with culture and history, but also the third strongest economy in the world.  The company I am currently employed with is owned by a German parent company, so I hope to work in Germany sometime in the future. 

4. What foreign contacts did you have before studying abroad?

I met many students from Spain, Italy, and the rest of Europe.  We are planning to meet again sometime soon and still stay in contact with e-mail.


5. Which courses do you wish you had taken before leaving for Europe?

I wish I had taken Intermediate Grammar and Composition.  When I began the summer program, it had been over a year since I had formally studied German. 

6. How do you feel you could better have prepared yourself for your study abroad experience?

I should have reviewed some more German before starting the summer program.  I would have gotten more out of it that way.

Program Description

1. How would you describe and evaluate this study abroad program and the opportunities it provided for learning German? How many students in a class? How many students in the entire program? Teachers? Special features? Positive aspects? Negative aspects?

The study abroad program was very good.  There was only one student (out of over 100) who was from the USA, so I was forced to speak German constantly, which was very good.  I was in the Grundstufe III class with about 15 other students.  In the entire program there were about 115 students I believe.  The teaching was very good.  My teacher was very easy going and understanding which was good for a summer course but probably not for a semester long course.  There were many organized extracurricular activities, including a city tour and several local museum tours during the week.  On the weekend there were bus tours to some of the surrounding cities, a concentration camp, and the North Sea.  These tours were free and an excellent way to spend time with the other students.  The only negative aspect was that there were large groups of students from Italy, Spain, and Korea.  They tended to stick together and speak their native languages instead of German.

2. What were the strongest aspects of the program?

The strongest aspect of the program was that it fostered much social interaction amongst the students.  I learned most German not in the classroom but through conversations with the other students outside of the classroom.

3. Where do you feel the study abroad program needs improvement?

I don’t.  I thought the program was very well organized and well run.

4. How would you describe the housing? (Where did you live? Who else lived there? Were there cooking facilities or a meeting room with T.V? Was there much opportunity to practice German?

I chose to live in a dormitory (Studentenwohnheim) thinking that I would be assigned a roommate and have many opportunities to practice German.  I really ended up living in a small single apartment close to the university, but not very close to the city center.  The apartment (which included a bathroom, small kitchen, and bedroom, but no TV) was very nice and clean…but I met no one in the building.  Many students decided to live with German host families.  This is a better option, I believe.  It is much more spacious this way and puts you in the middle of German life.


5. Describe a memorable experience where you made effective use of your German.

It was the last day of the trip and I was packing up some of my things in the hostel.  A German student who was sharing the room with me came in and we started speaking German.  It was not until he left that I realized that I was able to speak German smoothly with a native speaker without really thinking about it. It was a good feeling.

6. What do you wish you had done while studying abroad?

I wish I had allotted more time to travel in Germany…especially south Germany and Switzerland.

Location

What were the advantages or disadvantages of the town or city where the program is based?

Bremen is a wonderful city to live in for a month.  It is the perfect size (about 500,000 people), big enough to always stay exciting, but small enough to get used to and feel at home.  There is a lot to do in the city and many beautiful sights (Cuxhaven, Lubeck) in the vicinity.  The only disadvantage is the weather, which is supposedly cool and rainy in the summer.  When I was there, however, it hardly rained at all (with the exception of the last weekend) and was a great escape from the hot and humid summer weather of Chicago.


Travel

1. What were the most memorable and valuable trips which you took during your stay abroad?

The most valuable trip, I took was to Berlin (about 3 hours from Bremen).  Now is a great time to visit Berlin.  With the moving of the capital to Berlin in 1999, the city is vibrant and just getting back on its feet again after the wall.  There is so much to see and do in Berlin.  It never gets old!


Back at Northwestern

1. Which courses did you take or do you plan to take to complement or expand on what you have done in Europe?

Not applicable.


2. How did you get credit for the academic work you did in Europe?

I did not get any credit.  It was just for fun.


3. How did your academic plans change, if at all, after you returned to Northwestern?

Not applicable.


4. What advice would you have for students contemplating study abroad?

Do it at all costs.  It is something you will never forget.

Budget

1. Please provide a basic budget for prospective students. What is the minimum needed to participate in the program?

Program Costs

$340

Housing

$200

Food

$400

Flight to Europe

$800

Transportation in town

$400

Books and materials

$15

Incidental expenses

$200

TOTAL

$2355


2. How did you find the cost of living in Europe? What financial advice would you give prospective participants?

I found the cost of living in Germany to be very reasonable.  The dollar is very strong now and at the peak of the summer one dollar was equivalent to DM 2.3.  It was as though everything was about half the cost of that in the US.  The one exception is the Deutsche Bahn, which is just as expensive, if not more than the trains in the US.  I highly recommend buying a student rail pass before leaving the US.  They are considerably cheaper if you plan on doing a lot of travel and they can only be purchased in the US.


Practical Advice

1. List the three most important things that you wish someone had told you before leaving.

  1. Keep a travel journal.
  2. Brush up on your German before leaving.
  3. Buy enough rail passes to cover your whole stay and travel as much as you possibly can.


2. What special things did you discover during your stay that other students might profit from knowing?

I learned that traveling alone really is a great thing to do.  There are many young people in Europe traveling alone…so it is not hard to make friends on the road.  It forces you to be more sociable with strangers and you really end up learning a lot more about other cultures and people than you would if you traveled with someone you knew.

3. Why would you encourage another student to consider studying abroad?

It is an eye opening experience and I think that no college career is complete without some study abroad experience.  There are so many scholarships available to American students that it can become fairly inexpensive to study abroad.  Never in your life will it be this easy and cheap to travel through Europe.

4. Why do you think that so few American students (Northwestern Students) study abroad and what could the German Department or Study Abroad Office do to encourage students to study abroad.

I don’t know.  It’s very hard to understand how important the study abroad experience is unless you actually do it.  I think many students think they don’t have the time to study abroad or are unwilling to take the risk of being alone in a foreign land.  The risk, however, is well worth it.

5. Did you find any work or internship opportunities during your stay in Germany?

No, but I was not looking.