Bamberg Buddies

... make new friends?

... meet American and Canadian students? 

... learn something about American and Canadian cultures?

... see your own culture with fresh eyes?

At the American Studies section in Bamberg, we are happy that our university has strong connections to a great number of American and Canadian universities. This means that every semester, up to 30 American and Canadian students come to Bamberg to study for a semester or year - a great chance for all of us!

In order to help the incoming American and Canadian students to feel even more at home here, and to give German and other international students a chance to make American and Canadian friends, we have initiated the Bamberg Buddies Program.

Several times a year, we organize informal German-American events – including a Welcome Party at the beginning of each semester, a Thanksgiving Dinner in the fall, a Fourth of July Party in the summer, and occasional smaller activities in between – at which American, Canadian and Bamberg students can get to know each other as a group.

If you want to participate, please send an email to mareike.spychala(at)uni-bamberg.de, or just come to our next event.

For impressions and pictures of past events please click here.

...at once the most welcoming community of German speakers I had met, the most joyful and entertaining place to practice my German, and the richest well-spring of kind, funny, generous and easy-going people whom I later learned to call friends. ~Christian, USA

...gerade für mich als nicht-Anglistik-Studierende eine super Angelegenheit! Ich bin eher zufällig über eine Freundin beim Nikolaus-Event zur Gruppe gestoßen und wirklich sehr dankbar dafür! Eine kanadische Studentin hat sogar Weihnachten mit mir und meiner Familie verbracht. Mein Fazit zu Bamberg Buddies: Unbedingt hingehen! ~Karolin, Uni Bamberg

...I had the best experience visiting the Maria-Ward Schule! The class I visited asked so many great questions about life in the US, and we were able to laugh and wonder about all the differences and similarities between Germany and the US. ~Sarah, USA (assistant at the Maria-Ward Gymnasium in November 2017)

...not only did the Bamberg Buddies show me what fun things you can do in the city, but the program also put me in touch with amazing people who want to learn about my culture while teaching me more about theirs. The events were always fun and relaxed. Thanks! ~Alison, Canada

...My experience with the Bamberg buddies school project was an interesting look into the German education system. I visited a 9th grade class, and realized when talking to the students how close in age we really are, though the experiences we don’t share (an abroad year, for example) are considerable. I appreciated that the classroom visits were determined largely by the exchange students, whose schedules are often surprisingly busy. ~Elizabeth, USA (assistant at the Maria-Ward Gymnasium and the Eichendorff-Gymnasium in November and December 2017)

...I think it's great to have native speakers come to English lessons [at the Gymnasium]. We had a native speaker from the Bamberg Buddies program work with us on our project in school which was really awesome. With his help we were able to teach six and seven graders a play based on the movie Corpse Bride. ~Svenja, former high school student at the Franz-Ludwig-Gymnasium

...well organized and nicely structured...a must for everyone who is interested in Canada and the US, or who just wants to have fun with new and old friends! ~Alex, Uni Bamberg

...one of the highlights of my semester! I met so many new people, Germans, Americans and Canadians alike! In fact, I met one of the people I hung out with most here in Bamberg at one of the first Buddies events. Everything we've done in the program has been so much fun, and super useful. ~Stacie, USA