Finally! Today was the day that we all had been working towards for the past two weeks: presentation day. We were all meeting at one in the afternoon to begin presentations, so we were on our own the entire morning. I got up, ate breakfast, and met with my group at 10am at the University to do a final run through of our presentation and to make sure everything was finalized. After our meeting, we ate a quick lunch at the Mensa, although we were all too stressed to finish our food. Jess and I got lasagna, and I thought that it was just spinach lasagna, but it turned out that there was some kind of fish in it too. I am not the biggest fan of seafood, so it was not the best meal, but the chocolate mousse was delicious!
One o’clock eventually rolled around, and my group went first because Alicia (one of the German girls in my group) had to leave right after the presentation. I think that our presentation went well, and I am happy with how our hard work paid off. All of the other groups also did a great job; everything went smoothly. The presentations lasted from about three and a half hours, and everyone was very tired by the end. It was hard to believe that the main focus of the program was officially over. All the site visits, information about the automotive industry, and group meetings culminated in these final presentations. As I watched everyone’s presentations, I realized how much I had learned in two short weeks. At the beginning of the trip, during the first presentations, I barely knew anything about my company, Faurecia, let alone anyone else’s. Now, I can talk about any of the five companies and explain what they do and what the future of the company looks like.
After we wrapped up the presentations, we had a couple hours of free time before the free dinner, so Sahana and I decided to get a snack at Ihle, a bakery in Königsplatz. Then we went to buy chocolate for our friends and family (and ourselves of course) at a grocery store. Luckily, we ran into Justin on the street, and he helped us translate so that we knew what we were buying. The German grocery stores seem very similar to American grocery stores. I think that most of the products are the same, but the brands are different.
We had our farewell dinner at the Ratskeller in the basement of the Town Hall with all the German students. The restaurant was very cool, especially the basement, and I liked the cozy atmosphere. Jess, Jeff, Reid, and I presented our gifts to Noemi and Laura, and they were very happy that we brought them gifts, and they gave us chocolate in return, which was so thoughtful of them. There were so many of us that everyone was very spread out, and I ended up having a chance to talk to some of the German students who I did not know very well, which was nice. For my meal, I had to get the schnitzel one last time, as did many others. It was delicious, and I am going to miss it when I am back home.
After dinner, all of us gathered at the back of the Town Hall to take one big group picture. It was bittersweet, as I am so glad to have gotten to know the German students and to have worked with some of them, but I am sad that we only have two full days left here.
We are going to Neuschwanstein tomorrow, which is the day that I have been looking forward to the most on this entire trip, so there will be much more to write about tomorrow (and lots of pictures)!