Hi, my name is Kate and I’m about to finish up my semester in Germany! I pulled together some pics that I feel are a good representation of my time here.
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Pics 1 and 2 – These are from my time in Leipzig, where I chose to take my language course. Through it, I got to meet lots of people from all over the world and explore the city and the area from the perspective of a city native. If you ever find yourself in Leipzig, I highly recommend the zoo – it’s huge, there’s lots of opportunities to pet the animals, and students get in at a discount!
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Pics 3, 4, and 5 – Bremen! I loved the city and the campus. The schoolwork was tough for a non native German speaker, but as long as you stay organized, you’ll have lots of time to explore the city and make friends. Almost all museums here are free to students, so I spent a lot of time in the Kunsthalle. The 5th picture is from a soccer game I went to with other Dickinson and Uni Bremen students!
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Pics 6 and 7 – I got lots of chances to travel by myself ! I visited family and friends all over Europe, and made tons of lasting memories. Europe’s train system and the student travel pass make it super easy and pretty inexpensive to get around. Pic 7 is the view of a canal in Amsterdam, my favorite of all the places I visited.
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Pics 8 – I was also able to travel with my fellow Dickinson students on organized group outings. Most of the outings were in Bremen – German-American Mayors Conference, Literature Festival, etc – but I particularly loved the excursion to Berlin! My favorite part of the trip was getting to meet the playwright B. K. Tragelehn and hearing about his life.
My name is Grear and I was an economics student at Vanderbilt University until the Spring of 2025. I was blessed to be able to participate in the Durden Dickinson in Bremen program in Sommersemester 2024, where I took two German Studies equivalent classes and two economics classes at Uni Bremen. I was pleased to find that the economics department at Uni Bremen offered a wide variety of courses, both core and elective, in both English and German. Typically, the core courses were more so offered in German and elective courses more so in English, although there were exceptions. If you feel your German ability is sufficient to take a core economics class in German, I would highly recommend it as I believe it would make a significant and positive addition to the immersion aspect of the program at large.
Personally, my German skills were not quite sufficient to be able to do this, and I took Environmental Macroeconomics with Professor Klarl and International Public Finance with Professor Heinemann. Both professors were approachable, despite English being their second languages, and passionate about their respective subjects, especially Prof. Klarl, who has extensive publications in the field of environmental economics. I was particularly impressed, and even moved by his obvious passion for environmental protection and his emphasis on how environmentalism and economic viability are not mutually exclusive.
In contrast to typical American course structure, economics coursework at Uni Bremen are largely independent, with lectures meeting only on a weekly basis and graded homework being virtually nonexistent. That said, you will be solely responsible for mastering course concepts both in preparation for final papers (Hausarbeit) and for the general advancement of your education. Initially, that seemed to me to be slightly intimidating, but, after having experienced this system, I now consider it to be rather empowering. After all, absorption of personal responsibility in this manner is, in my opinion, what an immersive study abroad program like this one is all about. It serves to transform children into personally responsible adults! Just kidding, but only kind of. Really, these courses do serve you in becoming a stronger, more independent person. And that is truly reflected in the structure of these economics courses.
That said, you will not be without support, should you feel you need some. In my experience, Professors Klarl and Heinemann were happy to schedule meetings or speak after class about any questions or concerns you may have about course materials or Hausarbeit. Aside from that, you will always have the opportunity to connect with your peers, as many of them are also international students, likely with the same or similar concerns as you may have. So be sure to take advantage of that resource.
Lastly, a final note of appreciation for these courses that I might add would be the European perspective applied to the field of economics. I often found that, in the United States, the teaching of economics revolves around American economic history, United States (US) central banking and the Federal Reserve. Put simply, I learned economics in the US with “America as the center of the world”, if you will. My point is, I found it mind opening to view global trade, supply chains, taxation/public finance, etc., from the perspective of the European Union and with the US as a foreign entity.
As a Biology major, I pursued multiple laboratory science courses during my time abroad. These were often my most challenging classes, due to the complexity of the vocabulary. In the fall, I took a Vertebrate Biology course, which involved three-hour dissection labs every week, during which time I dissected a mouse, goldfish, and part of a preserved dogfish shark. The labs were supposed to teach us to focus on certain aspects of what we had learned in class. We looked at organs in terms of an evolutionary continuum, except for the shark dissection, which focused on sensory exploration.
In the fall semester (Vertebrates), there were about 40 students in the labs, overseen by one professor and about four teaching assistants. This structure was a much larger class than I would have been used to in the US, and with less supervision and group work for the lab procedures than I expected as well. The lab procedures were more broadly structured and less rigidly paced, as students were expected to follow a written procedure with minimal overview and help. In my American lab experience, the final product of the lab on which we would be graded would be a written report with observations, or possibly showing our dissection work for an anatomy lab. However, both my vertebrate class in the fall and my animal diversity class in the spring, which focused on invertebrates, required us to submit notated drawings and diagrams of the structures we were dissecting and observing, with minimal forehand guidance of what we were looking for: just a list of parts that we would need to label.
These differences were challenging but provided a practical way for us to learn structures. Making us try to find structures as we dissected, and then draw them as we found them, was a good way for us to show what we were learning, and to show that we had captured the context of the body parts we identified.
In the spring semester (Animal Diversity), there was an even bigger class of at least sixty students in each lab group. Rather than dissecting, we observed whole samples of arthropods and invertebrates preserved in alcohol. This was easier in some ways than following a delicate dissection procedure, but labelling microscopic structures was its own challenge, as well as identifying the samples by species through use of a dichotomous key (in German!). One assignment I struggled with particularly was when I tried to draw sections of bumblebee wings so I could label them. On the other hand, I enjoyed making the drawings and occasionally received compliments on them, which helped to build my confidence. While I was familiar enough with using dichotomous keys to be mostly effective, I draw the line at beetles. The known beetle species comprise 25% of all known animal species—there are too many for an amateur to meaningfully differentiate with so blunt a tool as a dichotomous key!
It was hard when we did field work at an outdoor nature preserve, because I didn’t have my computer with me for looking up words; I could sometimes identify an animal by its English name without knowing what it was called in German.
One of the last Biology projects for my year in Bremen was a trip with my Animal Diversity class to the Übersee (Oversea) Museum, which is a sort of natural history museum. A group of about 30 of us went into a back room and got to handle some of the artifacts that had been collected from around the world, including ancient wasps that had been preserved in amber. My group made dichotomous keys to identify specimens of squid and octopi. I was amazed to learn that Germans don’t have differentiated commonly used words for squid, octopus, and cuttlefish: they were all called by the same name in German, “Tintenfisch”!
Conducting the labs in German provided an extra layer of challenge, but I am glad I was able to familiarize myself with a new category of German vocabulary. I communicated with my lab partners in German but did find myself looking up quite a few words in my German-English dictionary.
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year from us to all of you!
We concluded the year with our annual Christmas Celebrations, during which we packed Christmas bags as part of the Christmas bag campaign by Stiftung Solidarität Ukraine (Solidarity Ukraine Foundation) for children in Ukraine, decorated a ginger bread house and drank and ate lots of punsch, ginger bread and Christmas cookies.
We are looking forward to all the things the new year will bring and are wishing a Merry Christmas to everyone that is celebrating, as well as a great winter break and a Happy New Year to all of you!
Or, as we say in German: “Einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr!” (literally meaning “A good slip/ slide into the New Year”). This is how we are wishing a Happy New Year before Midnight on the 31st of December – you will hear people saying this already as early as mid December, usually in combination with Merry Christmas then, and especially between Christmas and New Years Eve.
After midnight on the 31st of December, once it is already January 1st, we say “Frohes Neues” (“Happy New Year”).
Our trip to Berlin was packed with a mosaic of different experiences. We traveled through different periods of German history in an immersive way: from visits to museums, amazing conversations, to, not least, simply moving through the unique metropolitan atmosphere only to be found in Berlin. And, naturally, to fit all of these experiences into just five days (well, really only four in Berlin, but more to this later), we had to use every moment to our advantage. In other words, we were busy!
To describe all that we did on our trip in detail would, I think, be a challenge to read through. So, I hope to instead share about a select day’s worth of experiences that I found to be particularly special. On our second day, Friday, we delved extensively into the topic of the state surveillance in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), the former authoritarian-socialist which existed in East Germany from 1949-1991.
We visited the former Stasi (Staats Sicherheit or “State Security”) headquarters which, today, has been converted into a museum detailing the role this powerful instrument played in monitoring and exerting control over East German citizens. We even had the very special opportunity to enter the archives where detailed files pertaining to East German citizens are kept. Ranging from the most mundane to highly private, enough information was collected by official and unofficial Stasi workers regarding suspected regime critics or dissidents during the GDR to span around 60 kilometers if the files were to be aligned side by side, as if placed on one single continuous shelf. The most interesting part of the day, however, was still to come.
After visiting the Stasi museum, we traveled to a former prison on the outskirts of East Berlin called Hohenschönhausen where detainees were held during the GDR. Likely some of very same people whose files we had just glimpsed in the archives. Today, the prison has similarly been converted into a museum, although that’s not to say that the drab, depressing interior of the cells have seen much improvement.
At Hohenschönhausen, we received a detailed guided tour from an older gentleman by the name of Friedemann Körner who described all elements of detention within the facility. What Herr Körner shared about the prison, however, came from personal experience. For three years during the GDR, he was detained as a prisoner in Hohenschönhausen. The tour was a mix of history lesson and biography. In between showing us different locations in the complex, Herr Körner sat us down from time to time and shared details about his life in East Germany, how he ended up in detention, his experiences in Hohenschönhausen, and his eventual release.
Through the German curriculum at Dickinson, I had already learned much about the GDR and I was, thus, captivated by Herr Körner‘s first-hand account. Nothing had ever emphasized the reality and currency of what, to me, was history quite like listening to him talk about his lived experience. If the readers of this blog are interested in learning more about Friedemann Körner‘s story, a biographical account was written by Irene Köß and published under the Titel “Sänger hinter Gittern” (Singer behind bars), a reference to Herr Körner’s career as a professional vocalist. As we departed Hohenschönhausen for our alumni meet-and-greet, I was deep in thought, considering all that we had learned and seen that day. Although the day wasn’t filled with happy stories, I felt thankful and reassured: I knew I had made the right decision to learn German and study abroad, allowing me to connect with people and places in a way that would have been impossible through translations and textbooks.
The whole trip was so much fun but my favorite part by far was the afternoon chat our group had with B.K. Tragelehn. He was so cool to speak with and such an interesting person. It was also great getting the chance to meet/catch up with alumni of the program! We had tons of events planned for us, but still had free time built into the schedule; I used mine to get some souvenirs of the city and see a few museums. by Kate Elmes ’27
I absolutely loved our group excursion to Berlin. I had a wonderful time getting to immerse myself into the city with everyone. I was delighted to get the chance to see alumni that had previously done the Dickinson in Germany program. My favorite activity was most definitely Monsterkabinett! The music and animatronics were so uniquely Berlin, I was really glad to have gotten to experience it. Learning about the history of Berlin was also really important to me, so getting to visit a new museum every day didn’t disappoint! I’d love to revisit the city, and I’m very excited for future excursions within the program! by Haley Henderson ’27
No pictures were allowed inside the facilities, but here is a picture of some of the postcards we bought afterwards.
The Dinner took place in the Havana Lounge in Bremen. After welcome speeches by Club President Ulf-Brün Drechsel and special guest Prof. Dr. Wiebke Ahrndt (Director of the Overseas Museum in Bremen), it was time to cut the turkey.
From October 27 to November 2, 2025, Bremen’s renowned annual international Festival for Border-Crossing Literature called Globale took place. We had the honor of being invited to the opening night, a festive event in the Town Hall.
Afterwards, we listened to a reading of excerpts from David Safier’s book Die Liebe sucht in Zimmer (Love in Search for a Room) by the famous actress Anna Thalbach, intermingled with Uni Bremen’s Prof. Dr. Karen Struve interviewing the author to explain the complex and captivating story of his book. Our students were able to obtain a signed copy afterwards.
During the subsequent festive reception, our Dickinson students met several interesting people, including a group of Ukrainian students from Odesa, who were attending a research week at the Research Centre for East European Studies at the University of Bremen and who invited our students for a joint dinner the next evening.
Many fascinating events, readings, and talks followed throughout the week, including, on Oct 29, a talk by Dr. Oxana Matiychuk with the title “Literature in/From the War: A Report from Chernivtsi,” which was introduced by Prof. Dr. Susanne Schattenberg, head of the Research Center for Eastern Europe.
On Nov 1, a discussion was held between Heike Paul and Marcel Dirsus (author of How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations Survive) on: “Looking West: On the Current Situation in the United States.”
Marcel Dirsus (left), interviewed by Heike Paul
The same day, a reading (with interview) of Dmitrij Kapitelman’s Russische Spezialitäten (Russian Specialties) explored the heartbreaking attempt of a Ukrainian German from Kyiv, who grew up in Leipzig, to convince his own mother—who lives safely in Germany and has been taken in by Russian propaganda—that it is Putin who is attacking Ukraine, not the other way around.
German Ukrainian author Dmitrij Kapitelman (right), interviewed by Klaas Anders
This wonderful literature festival has been founded and run for a long time by Libuše Černa. Last year, she handed over to a young team, led by Tatjana Vogel and Daniel Schmidt, who was an exchange student from the University of Bremen at Dickinson College a few years ago.
To complete my volunteer hours, I spent many Monday mornings in the Bremen Suppenengel with Nina. When you arrive, you are either asked to work in the kitchen making soup or to sit around a table and make Brötchen (sandwiches) to give out in the afternoon. My first day I worked in the kitchen, but found I preferred making the Brötchen instead.
Makayla preparing sandwiches for the Bremer Suppenengel
Working at the Suppenengel was a really fulfilling experience; the work wasn’t overwhelming, and it was a useful way to get more practice hearing everyday German, instead of the academic German I was getting used to. The people in charge were incredibly friendly, one of my favorite memories was everyone discussing the pronunciation of my name and playing “Michaela” by Bata Illic for me because I had never heard it. Everyone there made sure we felt comfortable and hydrated!
Overall, I found the Bremen Suppenengel to be a very achievable and meaningful way to give back to Bremen, even with a busy school semester.
