Intercalated Year in Munich 2013­14 I begun at Warwick with the intention of doing an intercalated year in my third year. This was in part motivated by the fact that I had just gone on an interrail trip around western Europe. Much of this trip took place within Germany. I had an amazing time and met a wide variety of fascinating people from all around the world. Upon finding out about the opportunity to study abroad for a year I instantly knew it was something that I was interested in. I joined the World at Warwick society and became the buddy of a german exchange student from the University of Constance. I saw what a wonderful time she had at our university experiencing a new culture. With this in mind and considering the German language skills I had picked up, I had my mind set on travelling to Germany. I first arrived in Munich on the 2nd of September. I had signed up to a preparatory language course before term. This was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The classes were both educative and a brilliant way to make new friends. Many of the people I met during this month remained my friends for the rest of the year. My German improved hugely and I got to know my way around the city before the term had even begun. I was settled in with a good network of acquaintances by the time of my first maths lectures. I also had the privilege of experiencing Oktoberfest for the first time during this month. My birthday, which falls on the 23rd of September, was a fantastic bavarian celebration in a beer tent with my friends from all round the continent. Perhaps it was the best Birthday I have ever had. When the month ended I moved from my accommodation in the Olympic village which came with the language course, to the south of the city. The flat in Klinikum Grosshadern was provided by a organisation called Studentenwerk and was offered to some foreign students such as myself through the University. The location was quite far from the centre of the Munich, however it was within reach of the U­Bahn. Many student had to find there own private flats during this period in early October. This was both stressful for them and more expensive than the Studentenwerk accommodation. For this reason I am very grateful to LMU for setting me up with a cheap place to live. Beginning lectures was a very difficult period for me. I had a buddy and a study coordinator. However, nobody seemed to be able to give me advice about which modules to take or how to select them. As a consequence, the modules I chose were done so with an element of randomness. I didn’t know any other Erasmus students doing mathematics and so at first I had a feeling of aloneness during my time in classes. Ultimately a met some kind people who were able to help guide me in my studies. I also made friends with a Spanish Erasmus student in a similar situation to myself. This helped greatly in making things easier from this point onward. The classes were, somewhat unsurprisingly, in German. This caused me a little trouble for the first few weeks where understanding became a matter of decoding my notes at home at day’s end. Later on I became accustomed to the various handwritings and speaking styles of my lecturers. To be honest I had expected the language to have been more of a barrier than it transpired to be. Each time I found myself confused or stuck, people around me were happy to translate. I also discovered that some of the more advanced courses for masters students were in English. I decided to take an advanced Differential Manifolds lecture for this reason. During the first Semester I took another language course for credit. The other modules I took were an Algebra module covering Galois theory and the aforementioned Differentiable Manifolds course. The manifolds course was far beyond the level of module I should have been attempting. I was far too late in realising this. It hadn’t been made aware to me that there was a prerequisite course that was at a much more suitable level. As a consequence I invested many hours of time into something which I was ultimately unable to pass. This left me in a terrible situation for the second term since i had far less than half of the ECTS that I wished to attain for the entire year. Second semester for me became a matter of catch­up to some extent. Life in Munich during this first Semester, despite various academic woes, was wonderful. Aside from Octoberfest I got to experience a German Christmas. There was a huge Christmas market selling traditional food and hot Gluehwein to combat the cold. This helped me to keep happy and active despite the snow and darkening days. I was also able to buy my family some lovely Christmas presents in preparation for my first trip home. We also took some trips to bavarian villages in the south and took a few hikes in the stunning lakes and mountains in the region. After Christmas I had a little bit of time before my first semester exams. This was true of all the other Erasmus students throughout the various faculties. Consequently this period was characterised by a bit of a scramble where people attempted to make up for their former lackadaisicality. A few students failed to salvage the situation. However most students achieved their desired grades. Generally there was a healthy balance between work and play in the international community. I think I have learnt better from them how to prioritise and manage my time. Unfortunately many of my Erasmus friends were only in Munich for one semester. As a consequence this revision and exam period had a slight shadow hanging over it. We were aware that within a few weeks many of us, who had grown very close, would never see each other again. We made sure to spend as much of our remaining time together. There were a great many parties in the holiday after the exams as we said goodbye to our friends one by one. Those of us who were to remain for the second semester grew much closer during this time. The long break between the semesters was also a perfect time to explore the continent or to go home. Many of my friends did road trips into the balkans, Iberia and Italy. I did a tour of some german cities in the North. This included meeting an old friend in Cologne for the crazy Cologne Carnival. The carnival is famous for it’s free atmosphere and it’s counterculture. In this sense it differs greatly from the more conservative Munich. The whole journey was an immense experience and I thoroughly enjoyed observing the cultural and dialectic differences throughout the country. My family also came to visit soon after and I had the privilege of showing them around the wonderful city that had become my home. The second semester began in mellower circumstances than the first. Now fully settled in I developed a very good work ethic. This allowed to manage a large ECTS load without too much issue. I knew where everything was and how everything worked and it felt amazing. Shortly after I began to make friends with the new arrivals. In a sense I ended up with two Munich experiences in the end. Despite emotional peaks and troughs of making and losing friends, I feel that I had a more complex Erasmus experience that my one semester counterparts. I am very appreciative that I was able to stay for two semesters. The second semester was more relaxed than the first. As we moved through spring and into summer we began to change the way we chilled out. The old Erasmus of late­night clubbing and boozing was replaced by dinner parties and barbeques in the sunshine, with the occasional house party at the weekend. I worked during the day to keep on top of my work, swam regularly to keep fit and then socialised in the evening sun. I was comfortable and deeply contented in this rather blissful existence. One of the great advantages of Munich is the location. Other cities and sights are very close if you need a change of scenery. In particular there are the cities of Salzburg to the South, Prague to the east and Nuremberg to the North all of whom I visited during the year. There is all the ‘fairytale’ castle at Neuschwanstein and many of the largest and most scenic lakes in central Europe near the city. On the weekends we often took the train into the countryside and relaxed with some lunch and some beer by the lakeside. This journey was free with our student train tickets. Within Munich there is a gigantic park called the ‘Englischer Garten’. It is larger than New York’s Central Park and far safer too. During the summer months we cooled off by swimming in the Eisbach river that flows through between bouts of sun­bathing. There are also places to surf along the river and whilst I never tried it myself, it is both curious and exciting to see the surfers riding waves (and occasionally falling over) in the middle of landlocked Bavaria. One of the interesting things for which I was not entirely prepared was that the garden is used as a major site for nudists. Nudism, which is quite popular in Germany, has found a home in this park. At first it was quite a surprise to see but I continue to admire the feeling of freedom and security of the city’s residents. When the second exam period came around I was much more prepared than before. I revised at university in the library. I made sure that the evenings were clear so that we could watch the World Cup. England were out of the tournament right at the beginning but this came as no particular surprise. As a consequence we poured what remained of our hopes into Germany. Soon we were swept up in the hysteria as Germany convincingly dispatched each consecutive team. The city was alive with excitement and optimism. I will never forget the night of the Brazil vs Germany semi­final which ended a staggering 7­1 to Germany. I was sitting on the U­bahn when the driver of the train began announcing goals to the commuters. “Three­nil” and then “four­nil” and the agitation in the carriage became palpable. Then suddenly, all of the social barriers on the train came down. Strangers were talking with each other frantically and huddling behind phones to watch the drama unfold. People flocked together and ran to the Irish pub to catch the second half. The match was thrilling and everybody bonded together in the excitement. The atmosphere of the night was of unparalleled unity and goodwill amongst people of all backgrounds. It stands out as one of the best of the year. Ultimately, as we all know, Germany won the World Cup. It was a fantastic way to end the year. The mood of the city in that last month was at an all time high. The night of the victory Munich was simply one big spontaneous street party. Tens of thousands of people lined the streets, fireworks were going off in all directions and car horns could be heard echoing for miles. During the year, the Erasmus community had felt like an island of familiarity in a German sea where we could never truly belong. However the World cup changed that perspective. The Germans welcomed our support of their team and our inclusion in the celebrations. I left the city with a strong sense of solidarity for it’s people and no longer as an outsider. Ultimately I passed my exams and met up with my family to go hiking in the Alps before heading home in early August. The end was very tough. I had to say goodbye to my friends again and also to the city. I have since met up with some of them and I keep in contact with many of them using Facebook and mail. I now have connections in almost every country in Europe who I can visit whenever I wish. Time will not utterly erase the bonds formed on our year abroad and I’m sure one day there will be a large reunion. Perhaps at Oktoberfest. I have not mentioned everything that I did during my year abroad in this report. It’d probably be impossible to do that without writing a catalogue. I recommend going abroad to anybody I meet and to anybody who reads this. It was probably the best year of my life so far. As for advice on studying in Munich I can say just two things: Firstly, do a IUCM language course in September. Apply early and get a place. This is of utmost importance in settling in to Munich. As soon as you have friends then you will be supported in every other aspect of your life. Secondly, apply for accommodation for the year through the University. This will prevent a lot of the stress of trying to find somewhere to live when you arrive. You may potentially fail to get a place. However the September language course comes with guaranteed accommodation for September. If you are on this course you will then have the whole of month to find people in a similar situation and find a house for the rest of the year. As for everything else, don’t worry. People are usually reasonable, problems can be solved and your German will improve.