Combination Course Berlin-Constance: Learn German in Two Cities21. September 2022

Students in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin

Our student Beatriz is currently experiencing the combined course “Berlin-Constance”. She first started her German course at the Humboldt-Institut in Berlin-Mitte, and meanwhile attends our residential language school in Constance. In this blog post, she gives us some insights into her experience so far.

My name is Betty, I am 21 years old, and I am from Mexico. I have been a student at the Humboldt-Institut since April 2022. I started at the location in Berlin-Mitte and moved to Constance at the end of June in order to learn even more about Germany and its culture.

„ The students come from all parts of the world. You make friends with people and you can practice German together.

Before I came to Germany, I could only speak my native language Spanish, as well as English, and a little bit of German. I had wanted to learn German for a long time, but had never taken the time to do so. Now that I have the opportunity to study industrial design in Germany, the time has finally come to learn German. Since starting the course at the Humboldt-Institut in April, I have been able to improve my German to the point where I am now taking a B2 class. However, the language not only helps me for my future university studies, but I also enjoy being able to talk with people from different parts of the world. That’s why I’m even thinking about learning a fourth language in addition to German.

I think that the Humboldt-Institut is a wonderful place to learn German at because the atmosphere in the institute is really international. The students come from all parts of the world. You make friends with people who speak a different native language and with whom you can practice German together. Everyone supports each other. It’s also great to be right in Germany and experience everyday German life after class. For example, when you go into the city, you can talk to other people in German in the stores. That is also a very good and authentic way to learn a language.

Students from five different countries in front of our language school in Constance

 

I became aware of Humboldt through a cousin who studied here eight years ago. She told me about her German course, and I was eager to have the same experience. As a result, I contacted the Humboldt-Institut and the enrollment process started rolling. Since I am Mexican and would like to stay in Germany for longer than 3 months, I needed a visa. The visa application took about 6 months to process because the German embassy gave fewer appointments due to Covid and everything took longer. When I finally got my visa, I flew to Germany with my mother. During my first week in Berlin, I took many walks with my mom to get to know the city a bit and enjoy the time with her before I had to say goodbye to her for several months.

I arrived in Berlin just as the cold was leaving. After only two weeks, I could hang the jackets I had with me in the closet because it was getting warmer and warmer. My first days at the Humboldt-Institut were strange for me because I didn’t know anyone in the city, and it was the first time I was away from my whole family. Although I had traveled outside of Mexico before, it was never without my twin sister.

However, I quickly met other students and made friends with people from different countries, such as Ireland, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, China, Venezuela, etc. This was possible so quickly because the Humboldt-Institut plans daily activities to have fun together while putting German into practice. For example, museum visits, bike tours, scooter rides, and beach volleyball. These activities are planned by the counselors, but the students can also make suggestions for activities. This is done in all Humboldt-Institut sites, but the activities also depend a bit on the city. For example, in Constance, the activities are often outdoors in nature (e.g. swimming, hiking)

Student at the shores of Lake Constance

 

In Berlin, the activities are often more cultural (e.g. museum visits, walks through different neighborhoods of the city). The counselors are like older siblings for us students, with whom you can talk about everything and with whom you have a good relationship. They help you in all areas, be it personal things or matters related to Humboldt and the classes.

I hope to complete level C1 soon so that I can start my studies at university in the summer semester of 2023. At the moment, I’m still taking classes on level B2, but I hope that everything works out the way I want it to. Then I’m going to Mexico for a while in January to spend time with my family and rest before I start studying in Germany.

Thanks for reading this blog!

Betty

 


You find more information on both schools, the course dates, accommodation, and activities on the respective pages for Berlin-Mitte and Constance. For any questions you might have, please feel free to use our contact form.