MEET STEPHANIE.
Stephanie studied abroad in Munich, Germany during the Summer of 2017.
IF NOTHING ELSE, DON’T FORGET TO PACK: Passport, CASH, backpack, laptop, towels/toiletries, snacks for early mornings, swimsuit, a light jacket.
ON SECOND THOUGHT, YOU CAN LEAVE AT HOME: Stress.
WHERE TO LIVE: I lived in a hostel with the rest of the students in my program but would recommend an apartment if given the choice. I enjoyed living next to the other students, but the hostel we stayed at wasn’t the best…
BEST PLACES TO EAT: Hofbrauhaus, Hirschgarten, Brenner Operngrill, Vapiano (Italian).
FAVORITE CULTURAL ACTIVITY: Heading to the Englischer Garten for swimming, relaxing, and hanging out at the beer garden by the Chinese Tower.
BEST PERSONAL HIDEOUT: Nymphenburg Palace garden.
FAVORITE PLACE TO STUDY: Technical University of Munich or McDonald’s for the free wifi; I studied for my finals at the Englischer Garten (with books) and had a pleasant experience.
MUST-TRY LOCAL DISH: Schnitzel and the gigantic pretzels.
BEST PHOTO OP: Englischer Garten, Odeonsplatz, Nymphenburg Palace gardens, Max-Joseph-Platz, Olympic Stadium.
BIGGEST FAIL: While visiting the Deutsches Museum, I was locked inside of the storage room below the mine exhibit which is very far down… My friends were taking too many photos in the exhibit so I decided to go on by myself and immediately got trapped for 45 minutes.
BEST PURCHASE: Throughout the trip, I was able to buy a lot of nice jewelry for cheaper prices than in the US. I also love the traditional German steins that I bought for my family!
MOST INTERESTING CLASS: Nanotechnology lectures were very interesting to me, but I specifically liked the research project at the end of the semester. My group researched and presented on the characterization and fabrication of 2D nanomaterials and learned a lot from it, which helped us for the final.
BEST PART OF THE PROGRAM: Meeting people from around the world and having the opportunity to study with them and travel every weekend as a group. Also, there were a lot of karaoke bars around so we made sure to go to them in our free time, which we had a lot of. Class-wise I like how classes were split up and seemed to be the right length; a portion of our grade was dedicated to networking, writing your CV/cover letters, and visiting companies like BMW, Infineon, Walter-Schottky Institute…
MOST MEMORABLE TRIP: Hiking in the Austrian Alps or visiting Prague with my closer friends in the program.
BEST LOCAL EVENT/HOLIDAY: There was a music festival and beer garden set up on one of our school’s campuses. After dinner during the first week, everyone in my program would walk over to the event and had a blast listening to live music, dancing, and socializing.
FAVORITE LOCAL WORD/SLANG: I used the word “Entschuldigung” on a daily basis throughout the trip…
IF I COULD DO IT OVER AGAIN… As a freshman, I was hesitant about going on this trip and ended up being the only freshman in the program. However, I had the most amazing experience last summer and wouldn’t trade it for the world; I met some of my closest friends, traveled around Europe with friends, and immersed myself in German culture while learning about nanotechnology through lectures and research.