ICS Germany
Filip Stempien (Filly)
Degree: Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) / Bachelor of Arts in International Studies
ICS University: Georg-August University, Goettingen, Germany
I choose International Studies because I wanted to add an international perspective to my degree and be fluent in German by the end of the year.
Filly completed his ICS in Germany in 2018
Q&A with Filly
What was the highlight of your ICS in Germany?
Summertime swims at the local lake were my highlight of ICS. Riding my bike there with all my new friends from all over the world. Cooking German sausages over a charcoal barbeque and washing it down with cold cola-orange Spezi!
How did your language and intercultural skills improve?
I started the year being quite afraid to speak German to Germans. Everything seemed very foreign and at first it felt very overwhelming. Even trips to the supermarket were frustrating. Now after almost of year of being here, I feel confident enough to use German when I need it. I have German friends who I can chat with.
What skills have you learned in the past year that you believe will benefit your personal life and future career?
Besides being able to communicate in German, I learnt a lot of new academic research skills this year. From how to write a comprehensive literature review to running effective and successful surveys. I also learnt a lot of general life skills like how to cook and how to deal with and overcome bureaucratic issues.
How did university life in Germany differ to Australia? How did you adjust, if needed?
It’s not really that different, to be honest. I suppose the language exams were harder so I had to study a bit more and actively practice my language skills.
How did you finance your ICS (e.g. scholarships, loans, budgeting)? Any advice?
I started saving for ICS when I found out I was accepted into the course. I worked multiple casual jobs and saved as much as I could. While my friends were spending money holidaying to Japan or Europe, I would just road-trip to Byron Bay or something like that. I supplemented my savings by taking out two Government OS-Help loans which are added to my HECS debt. While I did splurge a bit during my time on ICS, I saved a lot of money by learning how to cook and then just cooking at home instead of constantly going out.
What’s an assumption about your country that you found to be untrue?
That Deutsche Bahn trains are always on time haha. Besides that I really thought that no-one in Germany speaks English when it’s actually the opposite. It seems like everyone can speak English and sometimes even want to speak English whether it’s to practice or just make things easier. At the start of my exchange when my German must of had a strong accent, a lot of Germans would just reply to me in English. Now my German must have lost this accent because Germans no longer reply to me in English which is good because I want to practice and speak it as much as possible.
What was your research project and why did you choose it? What were the findings?
My project looked at how refugees are being represented in German media today, a few years after the European Refugee Crisis. I looked at online news articles published before, during and after the Chemnitz Protests and how young people responded to how refugees were presented. I found that German media has three archetypes: the criminal refugee, non-integrated refugee and the working refugee. Unfortunately, the majority of media coverage is negative but there are a few positive stories.
If you were going through a tough time (homesickness, university struggles), what support did you receive or access?
UTS staff have always been supportive. Our subject coordinator actually travelled to Germany and visited our cohort. Besides that, the internet has made it pretty easy to video call my family and girlfriend at home.
If you could redo ICS, what are some things you would do differently?
Honestly I would have studied German a bit more back in Australia especially during the holiday between when the semester ends and before flying out. The better your language level is when you arrive, the more you can advance, especially when you don’t have to fall back on English.
Also, I would have visited more theatre plays. I knew my city had a special card I could have applied for and visited multiple plays for a cheaper price but I never put in the effort to apply for it. There was also another card which gives students a 10% discount off in selected stores (like supermarkets, book stores, etc.) and I only found out about it three weeks before my departure date.
Why should International Studies students choose Germany for their ICS?
International Studies students should choose Germany because it's a fascinating place to be. The language is similar to English so it's pretty easy to learn. The people are super nice and are really happy to meet people who are learning their language. German history is really interesting and it’s also an interesting culture to study. It’s the powerhouse of the EU - many other Europeans learn German and travel to Germany to work. Within Germany, it's so easy to travel with the fast trains, plus its central location in Europe means everything is close by.
Blog #1 - Moving to Germany
Guten Tag! My name is Filip but most of my friends call me Filly. I'm currently living in Germany, in a little town called Goettingen which is located smack-bang in the middle of Germany.
I'm studying at the Georg-August Goettingen University working on my International Studies and Journalism double degree. Fun fact; Georg-August is the same university the Grimm Brothers taught at.
I chose to study in Germany for a number of reasons. First of all Germany is the powerhouse of the EU and one of the strongest economies in the world. It has a fascinating and at times very dark history while recent events have made it one of most interesting places in the world to be.
I came to Germany to not only learn the language but to also see places I’ve read about in history books and experience the German way of life.
Geographically Germany is located in the heart of Europe making it the perfect home-base for travelling around the continent. Goettingen’s proximity to Frankfurt, Hannover and Bremen makes it super easy (and cheap!) to catch a plane to almost anywhere in Europe.
I’ve already done a little bit of travelling. I visited my grandparents in neighbouring Poland for Easter and besides eating traditional Easter dishes all weekend, I explored the old town square in Wroclaw with my cousins.
A few days later I flew to London to meet up with some of my friends. Together we travelled to the seaside town of Brighton which is regarded as the most hipster place in the world (sorry Newtown you just don’t compare to the winding alleyways of Brighton’s North Lane).
In-Country Study isn’t only about travelling though. I spent my first month in Germany taking part in an intensive language course. It refreshed my German a lot but my favourite part of the program was getting to meet other international students from all around the globe. The program organised extra-curricular activities such as sports competitions, movie nights, karaoke and day trips to historic Kassel and the beautiful Harz Mountains. Being students we also organise our own “extra-curricular” activities with something to do every night - whether it’s a house party, spring night BBQ or even a board-games night.
By the time you are reading this, I’ll probably be on a plane to Lisbon to see Eurovision so I’ll talk to you next month! Viele Grüβe
Blog #2 - Making the most of a European summer
Moin Moin!
Have you ever visited a foreign city and it feels completely different to anything you’ve ever experienced before? That’s exactly how I felt about Lisbon, Portugal. Honestly, I fell in love with this city the moment I saw its red rooftops from my plane window.
There is nothing better than having a delicious Portuguese tart and some ‘Bika’ coffee to start a long day exploring the winding alleyways and hilltop castles. We were in Lisbon for this year’s Eurovision and the city was alive with fans of the biggest singing competition in the world. Everywhere in the streets were fans wearing flags and singing the hit songs. The happy atmosphere was infectious and we were dancing in the streets on our way back to the hostel way past midnight most nights.
Returning back to my home-base in Goettingen, it was time to sit down and write the second ICS assignment which was a literature review of a chosen topic. It was a lot of reading, gathering notes, comparing and finally writing. I felt a great sense of accomplishment when I hit submit on Turnitin.
With the assignment out of the way, it was time to unwind and have some fun! Summer has come to party in Goettingen with some lovely warm days of about 30 degrees. I found an awesome local swimming pool that is designed to be like a lake. After a full day of swimming, we throw some wurst on the grill and have a huge feed. Then go to one of the many events local students organise.
Bis bald!
Blog #3 - My ICS research project
You may have read a few of these blogs and thought to yourself ‘wow all these guys do is travel’. I wish it was all we did!
The start of July brought us beautiful weather as well as the pointy end of the semester. Which meant it was time to buckle down and do some serious study.
What I like most about UTS assignments is, that they always have a lot of freedom in choosing a subject matter and the ICS ones are no different. You choose a topic that interests you and you do your research in what way you want.
During my in-country study, I’ve done research on the experience refugees have had living in Germany and in particular their dealings with German bureaucracy. So for my methodology assignment, I chose to expand that topic and look at how German media portrays asylum seekers and refugees.
I’m not gonna lie, it was hard work and in the end I analysed over 80 articles. It was all worth it though when I opened an email from my teacher which had the two letters every student wants to see; HD.
With that out of the way and my lovely girlfriend coming all the way to Göttingen from Australia, it was time to begin my European summer adventures.
Tschuss
Blog #4 - Let me introduce you to Gottingen
Hej!
It’s like suddenly everyone has come out of their homes and is flooding every single old town square. The sun is shining bright, gelato is only a Euro and flowers are blooming everywhere.
My summer adventures began in Frankfurt, picking up my girlfriend from the airport and then showing her around my little German town. You probably haven’t heard of Gottingen before so let me introduce you to it a little.
Imagine a small old German town, with an old stone town hall and church in the centre and surrounding it are cuter old wooden/stone German apartments. Surrounding this old town ring is a ring of new modern houses and apartments.
To the west lays the Bahnhof (Train station) and further west across a small river is the industrial area of Grone where there is also an awesome outdoor swimming pool.
To the north of the old town are the central university campus, hospital and my home. To the south is the new town hall and past that are farming fields and Baggersee, a deep natural lake perfect for a Summertime BBQ and a dip.
To the east are the rolling hills that eventually turn into the Harz Mountains which is the highest mountain range in Northern Germany. In the hills is an animal reserve for wild pigs and deers. My girlfriend and I spent all day at the reserve which is located deep in the forest, feeding the deers and searching for Bambi.
On the highest point of these hills and overlooking Gottingen is Bismarckturm, a stone tower named in the honour of Germany’s first Chancellor Bismarck (need to check this). It looks like Rapunzel's tower and I would say it inspired the Grimm Brothers except for the fact it was built after the Brothers had published their collection of Folklore so perhaps the Rapunzel story inspired the design of the tower.
At the top of the tower you can see all the parts of Gottingen as well as its scenic surroundings. It’s a town where everything isn’t further than a 20 minute bike ride and once you settle in you don’t want to leave this happy little town.
Of course we had to leave it soon, we had the rest of the continent to explore. A major benefit of Europe is the close proximity of other countries. A few hours by train and we were in Amsterdam, exploring its canals and galleries. Then a few more hours travel and we were in Berlin, taking selfies at the Brandenburg Tor and eating Kartoffelsalat.
Europe in Summer is just the place to be.
Blog #5 - My travel tips
What do you do when you have almost three months off uni during Summer in Europe? Travel everywhere.
A weekend in the rainy Netherlands, then two weeks exploring beautiful Gdańsk, Warsaw and Krakow in Poland. Followed by lounging on the beaches of Deniá in between exploring Madrid and Barcelona in Spain. Then eating red sauce Pasta in Venice, Margherita Pizza in Napoli and Caprese Salad in Capri Italy. White water rafting in Split and hiking in the Krka National Park Croatia. Finishing up in Greece, relaxing on its mind-blowingly beautiful islands after an intense yet wonderful two months.
Yeah, I’ve had a pretty good summer and if you’re considering ICS I want you to have a good one too so here’s some tips from my travels.
Germany is the perfect starting point with international airports dotted all over the country and speedy trains connecting them together. Just keep in mind, 10 years ago you could set your watch to the Deutsche Bahn trains arriving on time but now they’re often delayed, late or worse broken down. Either way the Deutsche Bahn app is fantastic and has all the train info you need for the whole country. While Berlin is naturally a must see for its history and culture, I’m also a big fan of Hamburg.
On the topic of trains, I can’t stress enough how important it is to buy train tickets in advance. European trains aren’t like Sydney Trains where you can travel to Newcastle for five bucks. Travelling the equivalent distance in Europe could set you back 80 Euros if not more if you buy the ticket on the day. A great alternative to trains are buses, in particular, Flixbus, a German company that is spread all over Europe with its iconic green buses. Just don’t leave your wallet on the bus like I did but that’s a story for another time.
Research, planning and booking ahead is key to any successful travels in my opinion. Sure you lose the flexibility and free spirit of making it up as you go but it’s cheaper, stress-free and you’ll be saving a lot of time. I’ve found it's important to make a list of things you want to see, do and eat for each city. You don’t have to make a strict hour by hour itinerary but it's good to have a to-do list so you don’t waste time each day frantically looking up what to do.
Lastly, don’t get scammed! Don’t accept flowers, don’t accept any bracelets or any gifts of any kind! Nothing is free and there are many hustlers out there looking to make a quick buck off some tourists. Be smart and trust your gut, if something is suspicious then it’s probably no good.
Safe travels friends, Ciao!
Blog #6 - Exploring the wilderness
Goodbye Summer! I spent the last few weeks of September on the Greek island Kefalonia where it was still warm so when I got off the plane in Berlin and it was raining, it was a very rude shock.
It’s cold! So suddenly it became so rainy and the temperatures literally dropped. Returning to Gottingen in summer clothes wasn’t very fun.
October also meant the start of the Winter Semester as well as submitting the project proposal for UTS. Personally I always struggle at the beginning of the semester, I get too used to lazing around during the break. So I decided this time to implement a routine as quick as possible to get over the lazy period.
As it’s getting quite cold outside, I decided to sign up for the gym (which I had to do all in German). Managing time isn’t one of my strong points but it is a German value and this semester I hope to learn some time management skills from the locals.
I spent most of the weekends using the last of the nice weather to explore the local Harz mountains. Hiking is a very popular past time in Germany and most German towns are empty on Sunday’s as everyone is out exploring nature.
Forests in Germany are absolutely covered in hiking trails and are often very well signposted, way better than back at home. I have to say they’re also very different. At home bushwalks are often narrow and wild, giving a true sense of being in the bush. Here, the footpaths are all gravel and at least two metres wide. What bewilders me the most is you could be in the middle of forest and randomly stumble upon a mountain lodge selling beer and Bratwurst. Sure it’s convenient but I prefer the peaceful serenity of the Australian. I guess I’m just used wild nature of the bush, having no mobile reception and not seeing any human interference for kilometres.
It’s interesting how connected German’s are to the forest. The forests themselves are dark, beautiful and quite mystical. The forest is also rooted deep into their cultural psyche and is regularly featured as a metaphor in German stories and culture. For example, the Grimm Brothers stories which always feature a witch or princess living deep in within the Forest or the modern German Netflix series Dark which has endless aerial shots, flying over magnificent green pine trees.
It’s not surprising Germans spend all their Sunday’s exploring the wilderness, If I could I would be in there too.
Bis später.
Blog #7 - Living like a local
Moin Moin! Wie gehts? Ich bin gut.
Going on exchange to another country and living there for a whole year is the most unique part of ICS. Most other universities only do a six-month program and in reality, the exchange could be as short as four months. What’s the benefit of doing one year overseas over six months? Two words; culture shock.
Imagine culture shock as a big U. We start on the top left-hand side of the U with phase one; “tourist time”. During this very early phase, everything is new and fascinating, like on holidays. There’s so much to see and do, and suddenly it starts snowing! Everything is awesome!
After a few weeks comes the second phase; “the reality hits hard era”. Fact is there’s a lot of work to do in the beginning. Setting up a bank account, renting somewhere to live, buying a sim-card and lots of research to make sure each one of these decisions are the best ones. Quickly conflicts with the host society arise. Paperwork problems at the bank, the landlord is mad cause she can’t take the rent money from the bank account and for some unknown reason, the sim-card isn’t working. There are worse problems to come.
At the very bottom of U is phase 3; “the this sucks season”. Conflicts with the host society have either been resolved or escalated. For me, the worse was the realisation that my language skills weren’t improving as rapidly as I imagined. Whereat first everything was new and interesting is now foreign and confusing. Even a grocery trip can’t be done without the help of Google Translate. With the pressure of assignments and stress of living alone in a foreign country, you can’t help but feel a little down and homesick. Perhaps even a bit disillusioned by the experience of exchange but it gets better.
And it always does. Phase 4; “perhaps this isn’t too bad period”. After a while, you analyse the situation and find solutions to your conflicts. You meet new people from around the world, you discover your new favourite cafes and begin to understand the cultural norms and unspoken rules (which Germany has a lot of by the way). Google Translate gets used less and less and more things become clearer and clearer.
The last phase brings us to the top right of the U; “like a local”. It’s easier to understand and there are less and fewer misunderstandings. You have a routine, friends and plans for the weekend. Everything is great again.
If you were doing a 6-month exchange it would be at this point that suddenly you have to say goodbye to everyone and go home. After so many months of building up understanding and settling in, you throw it all away and return to normal life at home. During 6 months you may not even reach this last phase and that’s why a year is better. Just some thoughts from recent conversations with friends. This month I also visited the beautiful mountain town Goslar, so enjoy some pictures from there.
Bis Dezember meine Freunde!
Blog #8 - Christmas in Germany
Fröhliche Weihnachten!
There is no better place to be in December than in a German Christmas Market. I was worried that being away from home for Christmas would mean it wouldn’t “feel” like Christmas but wow did the markets put me into the festive spirit.
German Christmas markets are renowned around the world and the Germans put a lot of effort in, even in smaller towns like Göttingen. The market in the mountain town Goslar, near Hannover, was a highlight for me. They had this section there, where they created a forest out of Christmas trees and pruned the bottom-half and decorated the top half with fairy lights. So it feels like your walking through a magical forest.
On the cold winter nights, nothing warms you up better than a cup of the traditional Christmas Glϋhwein, hot mulled wine. Paired with a Bratwurst or Bayern Doner, and a gingerbread Lebenkuchen for dessert. Christmas in Germany is truly magically.
The markets were the perfect place to unwind after finishing the big ICS project. This project is basically the culmination of a year of work, as every assignment beforehand builds up your research skills and content. For this last assignment, you use two different methodologies to approach a research question about the local society.
This assignment is interesting because one of the requirements is that it has to be something that you couldn’t do in Sydney. So you have to talk to locals and engage with the host society. Easier said than done! I actually really enjoyed this aspect. One of the methodologies I chose to do, was a survey and the results really surprised me.
During the Christmas break, I got a chance to do some more travelling and I visited the beautiful Prague, cultural Vienna and historical Munich. The highlight of Prague for me was all the beautiful street art and surreal sculptures by David Černý. In Vienna, it was the Natural Historical Museum which is one of the largest collections in the world. Since I am a bit of a car guy, the BMW museum was naturally the highlight of Munich for me. If you’re into cars, Germany is the place to be.
I’m lucky because my family lives in neighbouring Poland so I got to spend Christmas and New Year with my grandparents, uncles, aunties and cousins. It was a great time with lots of yummy Polish cuisine.
Bis Januar
More information about ICS
- Read about the Bachelor of Arts in International Studies
- Read about In-country study in the UTS Handbook
