Today we were thrown into the fire along with University of Augsburg students to make a presentation on our company (I am part of the Continental group) in only one hour. This was a difficult task for a few reasons. First, that is a very short amount of time to make a presentation that should be 8-10 minutes long. Second, this was the first time meeting some of the German students! However, it ended up being a fantastic learning/bonding experience. Since we were given this task and a very short time to get it done, we had to work together effectively despite any barriers in the way. This allowed for an interesting mix of cultures to take place. For example, the German students were very forward and upfront with their thoughts. One student told the other that his slide looked “terrible” and needed to delete it. The student did not even get offended, he just accepted it and moved on. The honesty was not taken harshly, rather it is almost expected. I can get used to that. Overall my experience with the German students far exceeded any prior expectations that I had. They were understanding and actually had a very similar humor to the American students. It’s amazing to me that cultures so far apart can be so similar in many different ways, while having subtle differences.
The presentation went smoothly and we were able to talk about everything that we wanted to within the allotted time. We were able to work well with each other despite that we live so far apart. Being thrown into the fire alongside of the other students also helped me get to know them better and appreciate their skills.
After the presentation, we got lunch at the University of Augsburg restaurant. I got chicken in some type of sauce (split pea?), pasta, and mashed potatoes. All of the food was delicious and I really enjoyed it. Actually, throughout all of my meals so far, I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I have enjoyed the food. After lunch, we began a scavenger hunt throughout Augsburg with the help of Masters students at the University of Augsburg. This was exciting to me as I was really able to see more of the city and appreciate all it has to offer. We visited places all over the city during the scavenger hunt. These visits helped me understand the culture behind Augsburg and it also allowed for us to meet some of the locals who assisted us in answering some of the questions. To end the scavenger hunt we went to a (non-alcoholic) beer tasting at Riegele, one of the breweries in Augsburg. I personally liked the taste of the IPA more than the wheat beer. It was cool to be able to try locally made beer in one of the best countries for beer.
Finally, we got dinner at an Italian restaurant. Here is where I learned a very important lesson. I ordered a pizza which was listed to have sausage, mushrooms, and pepperoni. However, pepperoni is not pepperoni in Germany. Instead, in Germany, “sausage” refers to pepperoni while “pepperoni” actually refers to some type of yellow peppers. I did not mind this as it is part of the learning experience, and I really still enjoyed the pizza. It is quite different from New York pizza in that the crust is thinner and it came uncut. But the flavor was very good and I would love to try it again since I am a huge pizza enthusiast.
