A brief final reflection based on guidelines in the course syllabus: I had a pretty good idea of what to expect going into the South Korea trip in terms of the organization of cultural and professional visits and the assignments that would be due, and my expectations were correct. For this, I have to commend…
Day 12: Politics Seem Normal Here?
Today was our last day in the Netherlands, and we took a day trip to the Hague. The Hague is not the capital of the Netherlands (that title belongs to Amsterdam) but it does house the Dutch government, parliament, and royal family, and it serves as the global center for international law and justice. We…
Day 11: Farms and Cafes High in the Sky!
Today, we started the day off with breakfast, where I made the Dutch sprinkle bread that Enno had told us about yesterday as a treat. Then, we took the metro to the city center of Rotterdam, which was very rainy today. We did a waking tour of Rotterdam, and it was really interesting to see…
Day 10: Water Control AND Water Slides!
Today, we rose early for an all-day trip to Deltaworks. We took a private bus to the area, and the Deltaworks facility kindly provided us with traditional Dutch pastries called Zeeuwse bolus. They were like cinnamon rolls but thinner, and with the sweet spice mix rubbed all over the bread, rather than just in the…
Day 4 – Off to the Races!
BMW day! I have been looking forward to this day for months, so although the wakeup was early, I knew it would be worth it. We drove to Munich, which ended up being longer than expected because of the morning traffic. The headquarters and museum were so uniquely designed that it was like nothing I’ve…
Day 9: Cows Can Float?
Today, we woke up in Rotterdam for the first time. Our hotel room (including the bathroom) was decorated with prints of tarsiers with bright orange eyes, which were a little scary while showering. We hopped on the Rotterdam metro and made our way to our first stop of the day, a floating farm. We attended…
The People and Not The Place
Now that my time in Morocco is over, I can’t help but look back on it fondly. Yes, we did the site visits, saw amazing companies, walked through the souks, tried incredible food, and learned about entrepreneurship, culture, and business. But when I think about the photo that best represents my time here, it is…
Day 6: My New Favorite View
One of my most anticipated days of the trip, today we visited the Neuschwanstein Castle and I can confidently say it lived up to all the expectations!! I’m not going to lie, the bus ride was rough and I experienced some brutal motion sickness… but I bounced back quickly and was ready to go. We…
Day 1: New Planes, New Places, New Perspectives
This trip has already unfolded in ways that are very different from any trip I have taken before. I have never traveled outside of the country, and I have also never been away for this long without some sort of family around me. Usually when I travel, it feels familiar and routine, but this experience…
Day 8: Reflections from Dachau
Waking up today, I knew it would be a heavy day emotionally as we were visiting Dachau, the first regular Nazi concentration camp. We got off the bus and began our tour through the Dachau concentration camp. We began walking and immediately, I felt sick at the sight of how small the camp was. When…
Bird Watching and Community Organization: Preventing Overtourism
Today we went to Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, a Quaker owned private park, and to The Monteverde Institute, a non-profit edcational organization. At Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, we took the Heart of the Forest trail, looking for birds and monkeys. As we walked, we were asked to consider how restricted this reserve was compared to…
Day 7: A day in Munich!
The day in Munich was such a fun experience. I couldn’t contain my excitement as we left Augsburg and made our way to Munich! Getting off the train, I immediately noticed the change in atmosphere. Everyone in the train station seemed to be busy and in a rush. This was the kind of city atmosphere…
Somewhere Under the Rainbow
Today we went to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and the Monteverde Institute. In the Cloud Forest, we hiked on the Heart of the Forest trail, seeing wildlife unique to this terrain. We learned about the distinctions between a cloud forest and a rain forest and about the sustainability efforts the reserve has been implementing….
Feeling: like I never want to leave!
On day six, we had a lot of free time to wander around Augsburg before we had a guest talk at the University of Augsburg. Might I add, this was the first night I got a full night’s rest, so I was ready to conquer the day! We went to Schaezlerpalais, a 18th century mansion…
Day 6: Where is Cinderella?
It’s the day I have been looking forward to the entire trip!! It is time to hike up to Neuschwanstein, a 19th century castle built by King Ludwig II as a personal retreat. Leading up to this day, we had talked about the amazing views that would come with visiting the castle, but there is…
Day 10: Learning History Where It Happened
Today was a super exciting day! We drove to Nuremberg, where we toured MAN Truck & Bus. For safety reasons, we got to wear some super stylish safety vests before walking onto the factory floor. We toured the facility, where they primarily manufacture battery packs and diesel engines for trucks and buses. Similar to what…
Day 9: A Place We Must Never Forget
Today was a somber yet deeply powerful trip to the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. Dachau was the first concentration camp established by the Nazi Party and served as a model for many of the camps that followed. While it was primarily a labor camp rather than an extermination camp, more than 41,500 people lost…
AUMOVIO and Regensburg: Tuesday
AUMOVIO as a company is hard to explain, but in short they are an extension of Continental AG and focus on two business units: Safety and Motion, and Architecture and Network Solutions. The sensors in and around your car are probably made by Aumovio. Hearing about the process and then actually seeing it play out…
Day 10: Consulate, Cultural Immersion, and Waterbus Tour
As the last day of real classes and immersion, I was starting to feel the melancholy that comes with knowing that you are about to leave a place that holds so much emotion and memory of a trip that fostered new relationships and connections. I feel like the reason that this trip holds so much…