When departing for my semester abroad, I
thought six months was a long time…. Today I am two months into my adventure
and it has gone by in a blink of an eye.
I truly feel sad when I think about the fact that I will have to leave soon. Before departure, I was nothing but excited.
This was it! The thing I strived to do since 10th grade. And with
excitement came a lot of research and preparation. I cannot say there has been
a lot that has surprised me, which is the absolute miracle of living in the 21st
century I guess. But my preparation in
no way meant that everything was smooth sailing or that my life in Mannheim is
somehow boring. I think any student abroad is bound to run into some sort of
problems, especially at the start. Everything
is literally foreign, and leaning to navigate a new country is a feat. But I remind myself that countless students
have survived before me and so can I!
 |
| Marktplatz in Mannheim |
 |
| View from my window during sunrish |
Everyday
Life in Manhheim
If you plan to attend Mannheim, you will
hear “it is not the prettiest of cities” A LOT!
Thus, I anticipated it. And while
Mannheim is not as picturesque as the neighboring town of Heidelberg, for
example, I found it to be a suitable place to live and study. It is a very college student friendly
atmosphere, and therefore people are willing to help and there are a lot of
people to meet. Surprisingly, I adjusted
fairly quickly and instead of driving 40 minutes to school, my norm became
walking 20 minutes to class. Instead of
driving for groceries, I now walk down the street with a backpack full of them.
I live in the city center so everything is within walking distance, although
for those who live further there is plenty of public transportation to help you
get around. When it comes to school,
University of Mannheim is primarily a business school. By that I mean, 98% of
people I meet are in the business school. I am however in the Humanities and
Social Sciences, both departments are very small. I heard that students skip
class a lot to travel and professors do not take attendance. Well, that is mostly true of business
lectures with hundreds of people. All of my classes are small seminars, where
the attendance policies are stricter than those at UNCG. So be careful when making travel plans;
confirm your class policies. A big
difference between Mannheim and UNCG, is that the university plans a TON of
parties and social events (especially for exchange students). Currently, no joke, there is a party
happening every single night of the week.
It is hard to be lonely or bored.
 |
| I god to school in a castle!!! |
Every-weekend
life in Europe
I cannot recommend Germany enough as a
study abroad destination. It is such a fascinating and diverse country. In
addition, it is centrally located. It is
ideal to travel to any place in Europe. Because classes take place once a week,
not only do I not have Friday classes, but I also don’t have Thursday
classes. This means four day weekends
every weekend. It is the ideal time to
travel, which is what a lot of students are doing. You can always find a travel
buddy should you want one. Today I will
be departing on my fourth weekend trip in a row. And even as an avid
adventurer, I have to admit it is exhausting. Thus far my big trips include
Prague, Brussels, and Berlin. And when I
travel I have the need to see everything. I don’t take it easy. So getting back
I am always exhausted, but instead of resting I have a pile of reading, work,
and chores to do. So I would definitely
recommend that you find your own, manageable pace when it comes to traveling,
otherwise you will drive yourself insane.
 |
| At Brandenburg Gate |
When traveling my best advice is to see
everything J You will regret
it later if you were near a museum or monument and you didn’t see it. Eat all
the food, you can be skinny when you’re dead. Be safe, be smart; things can
happen to anyone, but take precautions. Climb all the stairs, the best views
are at the top. Take pictures, but also see it with your eyes. Enjoy the once in a lifetime experience.
 | ||
| Climb the stairs! The best views are always at the top (Speyer, Germany) |
Anastasia Shymanovich
University of Mannheim
Mannheim, Germany
