Hello! My name is Jeremy Gallego, and I am a Junior studying International Business and German at the College of Charleston.

In just over a month from now, I will be departing for my exchange program with the Otto-Friedrich-Universität in Bamberg, Germany. The main factors in choosing this program were academic ones, due to German being one of my two majors, however, I would also like to learn the language so I can one day work in Austria or Switzerland. However, compared to the other exchanges offered in Germany such as Tübingen or the summer internship program, Bamberg stood out due to its proximity to Poland and Austria, where I have friends who I would like to visit when I am not studying. The main goal I have while studying abroad is to become fluent in German, however I do also want to immerse myself in as much German culture as I can. I would like to try as many new foods as possible, and possibly see a Bundesliga game or catch one or two concerts from native German musicians. Due to the fact that this will be my first time traveling outside of the United States, most of the research I have done on Germany is related to the requirements for traveling, such as visa rules and Covid/ quarantine restrictions. I also studied the city I’ll be staying in on google maps, to get an idea of important places nearby, where I might be staying, and to get an idea of the best ways to get around my new city. Lastly, once I found out where I was staying on campus, I prepared some things to send to my new address ahead of time through UPS, that way once I arrive in Germany I will have necessary items waiting for me, without having to worry about baggage fees with airlines.