Hello
everyone, Anyone who decides to spend a semester abroad in America should be aware that this is ALWAYS associated with high costs. So now we’re done with the bad news.
Flight
My stay abroad started on January 1st, 2014 in Frankfurt. I went on a direct flight to San Francisco with Lufthansa. Here is some very useful information: For all people who want to fly from Frankfurt with Lufthansa directly to SF, you should book this flight from COLOGNE / BONN! The background to this is that an additional ICE ticket from the DB from Cologne main station is booked in the ticket. Contrary to what is expected, the flight will NOT be more expensive but 100-200 € cheaper than if it is booked directly from Frankfurt! This has to do with the fact that Lufthansa has signed contracts with Deutsche Bahn and significantly subsidizes tickets if a DB ticket is included. So I can only advise everyone to check it out too!
When I arrived in SF, I made my way to my accommodation at Fisherman’s Wharf Hostel. A very nice place to stay with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge at breakfast, where new friends can be made very quickly. In addition, the price is very cheap. The hostel can be booked at: www.sfhostels.org/fishermans-wharf and the reservation canceled up to one day in advance. If, as in my case, no money was exchanged for the local currency in Germany, it makes a lot of sense to know that withdrawing means “withdraw” and then selecting the “credit” setting (for credit cards) (no one had told me beforehand either). It saves you from having to ask an American couple for help. 😉
CSUEB introduction
After two very nice days and nights, I went on to Hayward, CSU East Bay, with the bus and Bart. This was followed by a very detailed introduction to alcohol and earthquakes as well as everything else that is important. At this point, you can also get to know other international students! After the introductory session was over, I took the free shuttle back to Hayward and came to my rented apartment.
Flat
I had booked my apartment in advance on the Internet and, due to the fact that three people would visit me at the same time, I had taken it alone (website to look up: www.apartmentguide.com). In retrospect, it might not be the best decision. The reason for this is that not many foreign students arrive in the Wintequarter and the connection is not quite as easy as when a “shared room” is taken in one of the apartment complexes close to the university. So if you want to go on a trip with people as quickly as possible and arrive in the winter quarter, you should consider choosing a “shared room”. This solution is also usually much cheaper. For those people who, like me, think that they are very sociable people and that everything fits, I can reveal
That being said, I came into my apartment and assumed that the apartment was furnished with furniture. Unfortunately, this was not the case, although I selected “full furnished” when I was looking for an apartment, the monthly rent was $ 2000 and the pictures suggest otherwise. In any case, ask carefully to be sure about such things!
Course selection
When choosing a course, the following questions need to be answered: Do I want to do as little as possible and still usually only get “A’s”? Choose international courses.à choose normal university courses.àI would like to make contact with local students Think about diploma courses.àI want to spend as little money as possible
In my case I have 3 normal university courses and a workshop (1 unit) (CS 2360 Sec 02: Intro to Computer Science II, CS 3590 Sec 01: Data Commun & Networking, Econ 4895 Sec 01: Workshop in Economic Research, Econ 3551 Sec 02: Managerial Econ. & Bus. Strategy) selected. From my experience, I can only advise everyone against taking Data Communication & Networking, as the workload is immense there and I still only got a “B”. I have an A or B + in all other courses. Basically I can recommend “normal” courses to everyone who really wants to improve their English skills and who also accept a B. I gained a lot of new knowledge and I even enjoyed the courses. In addition, I have now made new American friends whom I can visit again.
Leisure time
In addition to the university, where I took courses on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I also had a lot of free time. And what did I do with it? Party, traveling, drinking.. and a lot of other nonsense. I’ve checked out San Diego, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Malibu, Los Angeles, and a lot more. I rented a Ford Mustang Convertible with a friend and drove down Route 1 from SF to LA with 600 hp and it was damn awesome. Everyone should be aware that it could be their last stay abroad for such a long time and enjoy the time accordingly. And that’s exactly what I did!
Car rental
When it comes to renting a car, I can only recommend everyone to be very smart. In my case I was under 25, so in America there is an “Under 25 fee” when renting a car, which is between $ 15-35 a day. After an eager search, Hertz offered the opportunity to take out a free gold membership and redeem a family coupon and thus avoid the fee. I can only advise everyone to do some research on this topic and save a whole lot of money.
For anyone who is on site for more than three months, according to educationvv, there is actually no way around buying a car and then selling it. highly recommended!…).àHere, too, there are countless possibilities (www.craiglist.org, auto auction of seized police cars Don’t be afraid of possible bureaucracy. That is very limited in America!
I could tell a lot more, but leave it with this information for now and am happy to answer further questions. I can guarantee everyone one more thing: It was an unforgettable, good time!
