For most students, a semester abroad is filled with new friendships, inspiring lectures, weekend travel and a deep dive into a foreign country and culture. Nevertheless, everyone who was able to study abroad this semester had to have a new mindset and set of goals. While spending a semester abroad has gotten a lot more complicated since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been a few exceptions.

From August, we were able to enter Germany vaccinated, and explore neighboring countries as well. Still, Europe was taking many precautionary measures that we needed to adjust to if we wanted to do anything indoors. In terms of health and safety restrictions, Germany required medical masks. Some areas only allowed the FFP2 masks, which added another step when we wanted to travel. It has become second nature to ask or Google what COVID-19 restrictions are wherever we go. Everywhere in Germany, and especially on campus, the 3G rule was required. Besides contact tracing that was used in almost every public and campus building, restaurant, museum, etc., people who wanted to go out or take part in class had to be vaccinated, tested or recovered. (The 3Gs: vaccinated, recovered or tested — geimpft, genesen, getestet).

The most interesting aspect was that it also applied to the university campus, where professors would be shown our 3G before being allowed in. Courses and seminars required wearing a mask inside with some exceptions and keeping class sizes small and having students sit 1.5 meters apart at desks was a new normal. There were still many people who wore masks outside as well, as it was basically the standard. Looking at the States, it will be interesting to continue to compare the mask rules from each country, especially since many universities are not requiring them indoors.

Another perk to being in Germany was the windows always being kept open. The pandemic, in general, allowed for more frequent window opening periods to air out the room, but it made for a nice brain break. With a lot to get used to, I had a semester to figure it out, and coming back I feel like it will just be muscle memory.

Still, pandemic or not, I am very grateful for the opportunity to experience a semester abroad at all during COVID-19 and to be able to take so many positive experiences home with me despite the restrictions. After all, a semester abroad means learning about a new culture, meeting new people and dealing with unfamiliar situations. I would say that I particularly learned the latter during my time. My goals for the semester changed to challenging myself to adapt to unfamiliar situations and daily updates. Another major thought I kept in mind was to try and not stand out as a foreigner. In a time where everyone talks mainly about the pandemic taking place, it was easy to be targeted in conversation that tried to get you to talk down on the States for how they are handling the pandemic. Staying neutral in many situations was hard, and this was tough given many people think that their country is the one taking the best measures to slow the pandemic.

Now at the end of my semester, I have definitely broadened my perspectives and learned more about the “how and why” countries have handled the pandemic differently. Even though our study abroad experience is going to be very different from previous students and we may not have been able to explore other countries toward the end of our semester, I believe we still had a great opportunity to become immersed in the German culture. In this respect, my semester abroad with IUSP was certainly anything but normal! But what has been “normal” during COVID-19 times? Nevertheless, being able to come to Germany for this semester was definitely a valuable experience, academically and personally, that I would not replace. Hopefully, others will be able to continue traveling and studying abroad in the upcoming semesters as we still have new COVID-19 updates to deal with.