Study Abroad -- France or Germany?

Applying to College
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<p>So I have to make a decision about where I want to study abroad next summer and the following year and I'm extremely torn. My choices are to study in Berlin for the summer and Mainz for a year-long exchange (my school offers a program that waives the foreign university's tuition) or in Paris for the summer and Montpellier for the year (same program). </p>

<p>I thought that when I decided between learning French and German that my choice would be obvious. The problem is that I am torn between which of these to learn first as well. =/ I definitely want to learn them both at some point in my life. I've always thought that French is the most beautiful language. But German is the most interesting. Also, one of my best friends is German and is now living in Germany again so outside of studying abroad, I'd probably travel there most.</p>

<p>So now I've decided to switch and figure out which place I'd rather stay in and then base my foreign language choice off of that. I know that no one can make any of these decisions for me, but any opinions, suggestions or experience about the particular cities, people, which language is more useful or harder, etc would be much appreciated...</p>

<p>Here's a little bit about myself that may be helpful in any advice-giving on the matter... I'm an English major planning on minoring in either film studies or economics. I'm not sure what my career goal is just yet, but I've thought about being an English teacher or something in publishing the most. I LOVE literature of all kinds. I'm super into photography and film (looking at/watching/learning about it and playing around with it myself) and I could look at any type of art all day. I love big, flashy cities but can also appreciate the more grungy and naturally beautiful ones as well. I'm a bit of a history lover and I love museums. Ummm...I love nice people and good food? (I've heard from others that the French can be a bit rude, especially to Americans. I apologize if this isn't accurate.) I'm not super into partying and clubbing, but could definitely be down to do so. I love music of all kinds besides country. And I would love to go to any type of festival or parade that would go down while I was there. I'd also love to travel as much as possible. (Prague, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Budapest, Vienna, Istanbul, Rome, etc) I don't know of anything else to write here, but if you have any questions, just let me know. (:</p>

<p>OH. And as far as academics go...In Berlin, the university would either be Humboldt or Freie and in Mainz would be Johannes Gutenberg (Mainz U). It would be Paul Valery in Montpellier and I'm not sure about Paris. So any information on whether the education at one would be significantly better than the other would be helpful as well.</p>

<p>Again, I know no one can make this decision for me, but any push in one direction or the other would be great. (: So if you were in my shoes, which would you choose? Paris and Montpellier or Berlin and Mainz? Thanks in advance!</p>

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<p>I did both languages, and I prefer German - we share the same language roots so technically it’s a bit easier than French.</p>

<p>I think you should closely research where the two universities are, like you say, even if the country’s nice you want to be in a vibrant area.</p>

<p>For travelling purposes, Germany is obviously in more central Europe, so that might be a consideration. (Although the distances compared to the US might not seem a lot)</p>

<p>I’d say Germany but I don’t know much about the individual unis/cities - you should look at that.
I hope there are some Germans or French who can shed more light on your choice. :)</p>

<p>And in my experience, both countries have good food.</p>

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<p>Presumably you will still pay fees to your college when you’re abroad? That’s such a bad deal - French and German universities are very cheap, not more than a few hundred dollars a year (even for international students).</p>

<p>There’s almost no point in going abroad for the purposes of language acquisition unless you’re already majoring in the language. Without at least two years of previous study the experience will be a waste of time. What’s more, you will very soon forget whatever you do learn unless you reinforce it with even more language study after you return (which as an English major, you won’t be able to do).</p>

<p>With that in mind, it hardly matters where you go - both France and Germany are beautiful, culturally diverse and interesting countries to visit. Are you sure the programme allows you to study at Paul Val</p>

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<p>@Dionysus58</p>

<p>Really? I didn’t know that at all. Hmm… I’ll have to look into that. </p>

<p>And yeah, the programs are for those universities. I actually made a mistake in my original post…it would be my junior year that I’d be abroad and I’m going into my freshman year now, so I will have had two years of whichever language before being there for a whole year plus a summer in Paris or Berlin. That’s why I’m trying to figure it out now because like I mentioned before, I am having a hard time deciding on which language to take as well. The summer programs are different from the year-long ones in Mainz and Montpellier, and most of the courses will be conducted in English by American professors. The year-long exchange will have all courses conducted in French or German. My apologies, I probably should have mentioned that before.</p>

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<p>That will be very tough, doing foreign literature at college level after just 2 years of the language…</p>

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<p>The pros and cons i see in both. </p>

<p>Germany-</p>

<p>Pros-
Mainz is definitely an awesome city with lots of students. The city is very walkable and is right there next to the rheine river. Also it’s next to weisbaden, which is a very nice city with beautiful buildings and thermalbads! </p>

<p>Berlin is very diverse and is considered one of the cheapest western european capitals to live in. There’s also a great amount of young people there, and of course lots to see and do. When I was there I actually came across alot of French people so perhaps you’ll have a chance to also exercise learning your French. </p>

<p>In my experience I’ve found Germany cheaper than France. Also, they’re friendler and most like to speak English.</p>

<p>Lots of great beer! :)</p>

<p>Cons-
Alot of people speak English so might be harder to practice since you’re not forced to speak German, but most will be happy to speak German with you. It will also definitely flatter them to show them that you’re interested in their language. </p>

<p>Since most German speakers can speak English, for me I see German not as useful as French because when you go to France, you will have to speak French most of the time as they aren’t many that are fluent in English like in Germany. </p>

<p>I’ve also heard from most people that German is verrry hard because of, i think, the structure. I’ve only heard that it was easy from one person! An American guy, who moved from Vermont, working at a currywurst in Berlin. </p>

<p>Can get very cold and gloomy during the winter. </p>

<p>France-</p>

<p>Pros-
If you learn French, I think you will use it more because, as I mentioned earlier, there’s not alot of people in France that are fluent in English. Also, the French will expect you to speak French in most cases. It will also be more of use because there are alot of places that you can speak French like the French islands, Corsica (sorry if i spelt that wrong), Montreal, Quebec, Lebanon, Morocco, etc. I think there’s around 29 countries where you can speak French. </p>

<p>Wine and cuisine! Vin chaud!</p>

<p>Good weather most of the time, warmer than Germany especially Berlin. </p>

<p>Cons-
Very expensive! Even compared with Germany. Paris alone will kill your wallet. The size of a beer I bought in Paris is almost half of a typically beer you get from a bar in Germany, but costed more than twice as much! My girlfriend’s brother lives in Paris and he doesnt party often because its sooo expensive to go out. If you dont party then this isnt a problem. Eating out is also more expensive though.</p>

<p>Also very hard to get an apartment in Paris, probably harder than getting a job. </p>

<p>I’ve heard Montpellier is quite expensive too.</p>

<p>-
I can only speak from experience as I’ve been to Mainz and Berlin, as well as Paris multiple times to catch flights out of France. I also have a very lovely and beautiful French girlfriend :). I’ve never been to Montpellier, but I had a good friend who went there last summer and he said it’s very nice and the weather is good. I think you’ll notice the southern dialect there. If you like pastis like i do, then you will probably like it there haha.</p>