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Learning A Third Language in My Second on My Year Abroad: First Impressions
By Miranda Dreisin, (Universität Leipzig, Germany) I grew up only speaking English in an area where a lot of other people spoke another language fluently at home, and I distinctly remember from childhood wishing I were able to do the same. I was put in a German class in Year 7, and really enjoyed it, and by the time I was 16, being able to be proficient in another language was very important to me. I thus chose A-Level German, and at 18, decided to carry that passion through to degree level. Three years later, I am now studying in Germany, where having learnt another language from scratch is hardly…
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Returning to the Bloc: Student Life in One of Leipzig’s GDR Plattenbaus
By Miranda Dreisin, (Universität Leipzig, Germany) Living in Leipzig means living among history – and in my case, inside it – in an apartment block defined by the housing policies of communist East Germany. My block belongs to a type of housing called Plattenbau, roughly translating to a prefabricated building or an industrial apartment block. For decades, Leipzig stood on the eastern side of the Iron Curtain, shaped by the socialist policies of the German Democratic Republic. When I chose to spend my year abroad here, it was a choice influenced by my desire to better understand the history that is strongly written into the city. Leipzig’s Communist Past From…
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Prague in Winter: The Best Things to See and Do
By Miranda Dreisin (Universität Leipzig, Germany) One of the best things about living in Central Europe is how easy it is to travel – often on a whim, and usually without much hassle. Last month, I planned myself a very last minute weekend trip to Prague, which is only around 3 hours drive from Leipzig, Germany where I am currently studying. I took a cheap FlixBus before sunrise, and woke up having already arrived in the Czech Republic. I’d only visited Prague once before, and that was in summer, so I was curious to see how to make the most of a winter visit in just two days. I unfortunately…
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A Great Start to My Year Abroad in Leipzig, Germany
By Miranda Dreisin (Universität Leipzig, Germany) Like many language students, I had eagerly anticipated my year abroad since the start of my degree, and it was a key reason as to why I decided to study a language at University. However, with the end of second year, and the progression of summer, I quickly became daunted by the prospect of moving to a city where I had never been before, where I didn’t know anyone, and where I was to be studying a degree in a different language. The main thing that significantly reduced my stress was the bureaucratic preparation I did in advance and it allowed me a much…
A study abroad journal by students, for students.
