Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg

How quickly the time would pass.

Heidelberg is a large university and university town, but there are also several international businesses in the area, so it has a very international feel, which at times was great and at times was not exactly what I wanted (English was very common, so it was up to me to make sure I was speaking German in my everyday encounters). It is a beautiful town, and a pretty good location to visit other parts of Germany and Europe.

The German university system is very different from the US system, especially in the professor-student relationship, and the work load (it was much lighter during my year in Germany). Within the German as a Foreign Language Department there were few classes that were more appropriate for short-term students, whose German was not at the fluency level. Also there was only a small number of computers with internet access available to students who did not have internet in their apartments.

Perhaps more intergration or at least interaction between foreign students and German students and a more focused program for short-time students (those students only there for a semester or a year).

At home housing is on campus and many of the expenses (telephone, and food) are included in the general room and board payment, which overall was a bit less then paying separately for everything in Germany. With travel, I do not travel much during the semester, however while I was in Europe I wanted to take advantage of quicker travel (shorter distances and more developed public transportation systems) in order to see as much as I could. Finally, at home I pay with the Dollar, which was (and still is)doing a bit poorly compared to the Euro so my expenses were a bit higher due to that factor.

I enjoy having a kitchen to cook in and the responsibility of renting an apartment. I enjoyed having a housemate but I am also willing to live alone.