german uni guide: mensa

so you’ve survived your first day in Germany. Now you’re hungry….what’s a student to do? You’re in luck – your campus Mensa is here to help!

mensa…the club for smart people? Nope, the Mensa is just the cafeteria.

a cafeteria? Yep! The food isn’t that different in quality from what you’d get at an American university, but the options are better than what I remember from my time as an undergrad.

do I need a meal plan? Not at my school. We load our student IDs with cash at the kiosks in the foyer and tap them on the cash registers to pay. Also, the school cafeteria is super affordable! If you get the vegan/vegetarian option, it often costs less than two Euros! Because of the low cost, you’ll often see professors and staff eating alongside students.

how does it work? I’m sure it varies from school to school. Here, you pay per item or per set meal. Want a piece of bread or a drink? It costs extra.

so I can eat all three meals there? Unfortunately, you can’t. Most campuses have small coffee bars and canteens where you can get baked goods for breakfast, but dinner is difficult to find on campus.

that’s not great. what about Saturday and Sunday? The cafeteria is closed on weekends. But at least you have a kitchenette in your dorm room!

german uni guide: wohnheim

I’m starting a new series about surviving at a German university. I did my undergrad in the US, so that’s my perspective for this. If you’re from a different European country, I imagine that a lot of what I have to say is pretty basic. However, we press on! Everything you know now was new to you once.

what is it? The Wohnheim, or dormitory, is a place you can choose to live in. They’re really popular with international students because they’re furnished and located close to campus. Unlike in the US, the Wohnheim does not belong directly to the university. Instead, the local Studentenwerk manages the dorms and the campus cafeterias.

eww….a dorm? It’s not what you’re thinking. You won’t have to share a room with a stranger. (Sharing a dorm room with a stranger is insane when you stop to think about it.) You can get a single with a kitchenette and bathroom, or there are a variety of shared options. Some are more like a traditional US dorm where many people share a kitchen and bathroom, while others are more like tiny apartments. My current living situation is in a dorm with one roommate. We both have private entrances to our side of the apartment with a jack-and-jill kitchenette and bathroom in the middle.

what if something goes wrong? Then the Hausmeister is your best friend. The Hausmeister (custodian) is in charge of making sure thing work properly in the building. A burner on our stove kept flipping the breaker every time we turned it on, so my roommate went to see the Hausmeister. One day later, we had a new burner! You’ll meet the Hausmeister when you move in and collect your key. Make sure to note his or her hours – their office is not always open!

dorms are expensive…. Not in Germany! I’m paying about EUR 215 per month including internet and utilities for my place. Not a bad deal! It would cost less if I had more roommates. (It should be noted that this is about what I’d pay for a normal apartment room. My city’s just cheap. But in other cities, the Wohnheim is a great and affordable option.)

what is provided? A great question! My room came with shelves, a desk and chair, bed and mattress, coat hanger, blinds, and a massive wardrobe. The kitchen had a sink, shelves, and two burners. The bathroom had a shower, toilet, sink, and mirror. You need to bring all other appliances and linens yourself, just like in the US. I made a few IKEA runs after arriving, and now my dorm room is a cheerful home!

So far I love my new dorm life. The worst part was definitely telling people back home that I was moving back into a dorm! It’s safe, clean, and comfortable – exactly what a student needs to thrive!

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Photo by Nguyen Dang Hoang Nhu on Unsplash

doctor, doctor!

I found a doctor today, and I’m so proud of myself for not giving up. The part of Germany where I live (and the country in general) has a severe shortage of doctors. I first discovered this fact after I tried calling a doctor’s office last week and the receptionist told me they weren’t taking new customers. I then called five more offices and was told the same thing.

At this point I became very concerned that my very good but still imperfect German was the problem here. Luckily, there’s an office here at the university that helps out international students with this sort of advice, so I sent her a quick email. The response? The doctors in this city are all overbooked; the only way you’ll get an appointment would be to go in person.

So begins part three of my saga: the office visits. I went to three offices and was told no three times. At the third office, I desperately asked the receptionist if she knew of someone who was still taking patients. She told me she didn’t know, maybe upstairs. So I went upstairs.

By this point, my hope had pretty much died out. I was worried that I would never find a doctor and would have to learn to live without any sort of medication for the rest of my life. However, I was wrong! The receptionist there just asked me my name and address to make sure I was a resident of the neighborhood. My appointment is next week. Hooray for healthcare!