EUASA Conference

Posted on January 28, 2022 by

by Dr. Janine Ludwig

As part of the EUASA Conference Committee, it gives me great pleasure to announce that the 2022 EUASA conference will take place on February 10th and 11th, via Zoom. Please join the European Association for Study Abroad, for a virtual conference intended for study abroad professionals based in Europe (although anyone is welcome to join us!). More details and free registration information can be found through the link below. We look forward to seeing you there!

Conference Website: https://www.euasa.org/

Mini course on German topics for Dickinson alumni and others

Posted on January 21, 2022 by

Dr. Ludwig is offering a 4-class course titled “Peeks Into the German Psyche: What Germans Think About…”

This Global Experiences course explores some specific peculiarities of the historical German mindset on…

Feb. 15: America, Land of Capitalism
Feb. 22: The Environment
Mar. 1: Current Politics (i.e., the 2021 election)
Mar. 8: A Personal Stasi Story From Someone on Trial in the Former GDR

New article by Dr. Janine Ludwig: “Study abroad is back, but has it changed post-COVID?”

Posted on January 10, 2022 by

Dr. Janine Ludwig, our program’s academic director, just published a new article at University World News in which she discusses the future of international student exchange in light of the pandemic.

You can find the article here: https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20220107151037200

Thanksgiving Dinner 2021

Posted on December 23, 2021 by

Even though Christmas is just around the corner, we still wanted to share some photos from our Thanksgiving Dinner this year, organized by the Carl-Schurz Deutsch-Amerikanischer Club!

Every year, the Carl-Schurz DAC hosts a traditional American Thanksgiving Dinner here in Bremen – this year we got to enjoy our dinner at the Maritim Hotel.

It was a lovely evening filled with yummy food, good music, challenging trivia quizzes and nice conversations.

Thanks again @ CSDAC for inviting us!

But now the Dickinson-in-Bremen team wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Hapy New Year – see you in 2022!

Photos: © Carl-Schuz Deutsch-Amerikanischer Club e.V. / TeiCon

Christian Wulff Speech

Posted on December 15, 2021 by

On November 15th, 2021, Brendan Harlan ’22 and Dr. Janine Ludwig had the opportunity to attend a speech by Christian Wulff, the 10th President of the Federal Republic of Germany (2010-2012), on the topic “Streitunkultur als Gefahr für die Demokratie” (Discussion non-culture as a danger to the democracy). The event was organized by the political foundation Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Bremen.

The talk was followed by a panel discussion in which, among other things, it was explained to what extent argument culture has changed in recent years. Afterwards, Dr. Ludwig and Brendan had the chance to briefly talk to Christian Wulff himself.

For more information visit: https://www.kas.de/en/web/bremen/veranstaltungsberichte/detail/-/content/streitunkultur-als-gefahr-fuer-die-demokratie

Photos: © Marcus Schmidt, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung

Going to a Werder Bremen Game

Posted on December 6, 2021 by

by Brendan Harlan ’22

A while ago, before the COVID numbers were spiking, I was lucky enough to see a Werder Bremen soccer match.

Going to a Werder Bremen game was on my bucket list of things to do while in Bremen and I’m incredibly glad that I got the opportunity to see Werder play. Words cannot describe how crazy experiencing a Werder game was for me. I’ve been to Red Sox – Yankees games before, where there’s a certain level of excitement and tension amongst the fans, but the atmosphere at Weserstadion and the experience of being amongst diehard Fußball fans was incomparable.

Video credit: Durden Dickinson Bremen Program

Bremen Christmas Markets

Posted on December 1, 2021 by

by Kathryn Baker ’23

I’ve already visited the Bremen Christmas markets twice, and it’s amazing. It is absolutely gorgeous at night and it always smells delicious. I would highly recommend trying the Schmalzkuchen and the Apfeltaschen!

Free Webinar – “A Most Unusual Election: How the German Party System Works, and How it Led to the Results of the September Federal Elections – the First of the Post-Merkel Era”

Posted on November 18, 2021 by

by Dr. Janine Ludwig

In this webinar, Professor Janine Ludwig will explain the German party system and its complicated voting system. She’ll discuss what the parties stand for, which coalitions they normally prefer—conservative-liberal, red-green or grand. Then she’ll recall the thrilling events of a rollercoaster election campaign, in which three chancellor candidates and their parties gained and lost up to 10 percentage points in the polls, following severe mishaps. Finally, she’ll analyze the election results and why, for quite a while, it was not certain at all who would govern the country in the future. The only thing everyone was sure of was that it would be a new kind of coalition that had never been tried before and that, for the first time, the smaller parties would dictate who would become chancellor.

The webinar will take place on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 at 10 a.m. Eastern time (16 Uhr/4 p.m. in Germany).

Our New Scholarship Flyer is Here!

Posted on November 11, 2021 by

University of Bremen students listen up: Our new scholarship flyer for the academic year 2022-23 has arrived!

The flyer provides you with all the necessary information about our scholarship programs between Uni Bremen and Dickinson College.

You can download the flyer here.

We are looking forward to your application!

The WG Search

Posted on November 3, 2021 by

by Brendan Harlan ’22

Ever since I started planning to study abroad in Bremen, I wanted to live in a Wohngemeinschaft (WG). WG’s are shared apartments. From info sessions, professors, and conversations with other students who had or were studying in Bremen, I heard about the benefits to living in a WG. Mainly, your roommates can help you with learning German and immersing yourself in the local Bremen and Uni communities (if you choose to live with fellow students).

If you’re a student interested in studying abroad in Bremen, you will receive resources in the lead up to your time here to help you find a WG. However, another great resource in the meantime is another post here by Liam Pauli ’21. I hadn’t actually read Liam’s blog post before coming to Germany, yet somehow I actually found myself living on the same street that he did during his time in Bremen. I also used wg-gesucht to find a WG with a specific focus on finding a WG with a furnished room and fellow students living there.

I don’t know if it was just the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic or the fact that I’m only here for a semester or if it’s just normal, but I had a challenging time finding a WG. I applied to roughly 20-25 WG’s, received 8 responses, was invited to interview twice, and was finally offered a room in one of the WG’s who I interviewed with. It was an admittedly frustrating and time-consuming process, but I am quite happy with the WG I found and glad I put the effort into finding it.

Located in the Studentenwohnheim on Vorstraße, I’m just a 15 minute walk from the Uni campus and 5-10 minutes away from two different tram stops that can get me into the city center. I’m subletting from a Uni Bremen student that is currently on their own study abroad trip and I have three flatmates that are also students. Our current “thing” is watching the German TV show Tatort every Sunday.

Echoing what Liam wrote in his post and what other past Dickinson-in-Bremen students have said, I would wholeheartedly recommend living in a WG here. The search can be frustrating, but the results are worth it.

Photo credit: Durden Dickinson Bremen Program