Students study in Germany

he class was taught by a third-party organization in Berlin, Germany, with exchange students from various countries including South Korea, Australia and China. The teacher spoke very little English.

"We took a five-week, three-hour-a-day, five-days-a-week German course that began two days after arriving there," said Brent Gardner, a Norwich architecture major.

"It was better to learn the language from people who didn't speak English as their first language," he said. "You learn it in class and you literally have to apply it as soon as you walk out the door."

Gardner, a 22-year-old from Little Hanover, Maine, recently returned from studying abroad this past fall and is one of many students who have taken part in the Norwich School of Architecture and Art study abroad program in Berlin, Germany.

Lexia Study Abroad Programs, an organization that offers study abroad opportunities in 15 countries worldwide, made Gardner's trip possible.

"I now have a wider view of the world, broader knowledge of the world," he said. "It was so interesting to experience a whole new system of life."

His experience is exactly what Lexia and Norwich wanted to accomplish with this study abroad programs.

"Delving into the local culture through independent projects brings you new opportunities outside of the classroom that you cannot replicate at home," said Lexia's executive director on the organization's website.

Arthur Schaller, associate professor of architecture at Norwich, said the program started five years ago.

"We started it because it was a long-term goal of the school of architecture to allow students the opportunity to study abroad," he said. Being in Berlin provides balance to being in a remote area for college, he said, and helps the students become "global citizens."

Schaller explained that all the courses taken through the program are Norwich courses, and that students' scholarships travel with them. Students from other colleges can also participate.

Norwich students can go either in the spring of their third year, or either semester of their fourth year. About 60 percent of the upperclass students have participated, Schaller said.

Students take 17 credits, including six credits of German language.

"Every class was like what we do in the studio, practical application," Gardner said. "If we weren't in class we were traveling around the area seeing architecture in person."

Gardner had never experienced being in a big city for an extended period and said he now feels comfortable "navigating a big city, and enjoying it."

Not only was his experience beneficial, but the trip itself posed no required costs other than his Norwich tuition for a semester.

"I worked over the summer to raise somewhere between two and three grand for the weeklong trip and to pay for clothes, gifts, etc.," said Gardner.

The Politi Grant, a resource available specifically to Norwich students studying abroad, covered the cost of the round-trip airfare, said Gardner.

For 21-year-old Dustin Fleming, who also made the study abroad trip during the fall of 2010, "going to Germany made a lasting impression."

"After this trip I felt comfortable going to any foreign city, picking up a map, and just going," he said.

Unlike Gardner, who chose to live in apartments, the Bridport, Vt., native decided to live with a host family.

"I loved living with a host family, it was a great experience," said Fleming, "It was in the perfect location, five-minute walk from studio, and 10 minutes from the subway station."

Fleming and the other students would begin each day with either "sightseeing tours, work in the studio, or language class," he said.

According to Gardner, the trip does not cause any problems with academics once back at Norwich. "They've hammered out all the problems, they make it so all the courses you take go right in line with the architecture curriculum so when you come back you'rr on track to graduate," he said.

For one week, as a class, the group had the opportunity to visit Weimar, Dassow and Prague in the Czech Republic.

During some time off from school, Fleming traveled on his own. "I went to Paris for a week, and then Copenhagen for a weekend," he said. "I had a connection there (Paris) with a family, but it wasn't my favorite place, too expensive."

Aaron Cayer, from Rumford, Maine, chose to take part in the program unaware of what he would gain from traveling overseas.

"I really didn't know what to expect; honestly, I went over there not really wanting to learn the language, or to immerse myself in the culture, but I found myself really enjoying it," he said.

The 21-year-old senior had known about the opportunity for a number of years before making the decision to go.

"When I first visited Norwich it was one of the prominent things about the architecture program, it seemed very established," he said.

Cayer, who went to Berlin during the spring semester of his junior year, said that "school wise I have a greater breath of architectural knowledge, but culturally I'm more open and accepting of different cultures."

Cayer also lived with a host family near the studio. "It was awesome, I had a little host brother who didn't speak any English so it was a fun challenge to communicate with him," he said.

Cayer said that energy conservation was a big concern of his hosts.

"My family was very energy conservative," said Fleming. "My family didn't have a washer or dryer; they didn't have a freezer, just really conscious and a lot less wasteful than we are."

Students studying abroad should be encouraged to live with a host family, said Cayer.

"There should be a bigger push to live with a host family because you get much more out of it," he said. "It always gives you the option of having someone to stay with if you go back."

Cayer made connections with others in addition to his host family. "In my German class I met people from South Korea, Australia and China, and I'm still in contact with all of them," he said.

According to Gardner, there was too little time to complete the application process. "We didn't get the paperwork until mid February and it was due in March, not giving too much time to complete it," he said.

Cayer knows the individual in charge of the architecture study abroad program.

"The architecture representative for Lexia (Matt Giffin) is a Norwich graduate, and he graduated our freshman year," Cayer said.

Gardner said that he was never aware of any big issues with the program. "At times the Lexia organization was unorganized, with breakdowns in communication, but nothing major," he said.

Fleming recommends that students study abroad. "Just do it," he said. "You are going to be nervous at first but it turns out to be a great experience, just go with a positive attitude."

Cayer said, "Don't hold back, try to live like they live and you will get more out of it, don't shelter yourself and explore everything you can."

The trip has inspired Fleming to travel more. "Now I just want to do more, I can't wait to go back to Europe, to travel to other places around the United States," he said.

Cayer had such a positive experience that he will be going back to Germany this summer for an internship he received from BauWerke, a design and architecture firm in Berlin.