Hello again! Day 2 in Augsburg has come and gone, and it was even better than the first. Still feeling the effects of jetlag, getting up to an alarm this morning was somewhat difficult, but manageable. The delicious breakfast, or frühstück, turned it around and will make getting up even earlier tomorrow much easier. I was surprised to see that German breakfast consists of many cured meats, such as salami and black forest ham, cheeses, and pretzels in addition to the typical eggs, waffles, and yogurt. Also, the blueberry juice was amazing; I highly recommend it.
After breakfast, we journeyed to the University of Augsburg and began our educational experience with the German students. We were separated into groups (half American students and half German students), given our car company of focus for the trip, and instructed to make a presentation describing the basics of the company within an hour. Having already known that we were doing this, I was very nervous, as per usual. Presentations always give me anxiety, but this one did even more, because I hadn’t met those specific students the night before. However, just like the students I met the night before, their English was great, and we were able to get right to work easily. I must say, I was very impressed with how my group worked together. Usually, in group work, one person takes charge and makes many of the decisions. However, we all seemed to discuss the slides together and offer information and ideas for slides that we were not presenting individually. I was very unsure as to how we would all approach collaborative work while not knowing each other and having cultural differences, but I am pleased with how the presentation turned out. This experience taught me that, provided that you can communicate, you really can successfully work together with anyone (no matter if they are a stranger or are part of a whole different culture) by offering your opinions and listening to and implementing their opinions.
Later on, we began our city scavenger hunt, which started at the beautiful campus of the university. Their campus is much less urban than Pitt’s and has so much to offer, including a small lake, tons of greenspace, and even a campus cat that just roams around. (Unfortunately, there is no way Pitt could have a campus cat with its urban nature.) Two German students, who are planning to study at Pitt during the upcoming fall semester, were in charge of our scavenger hunt and took us throughout the city. While I was expecting them to be just chaperones, they got comfortable with us quickly and freely shared a lot of information about Germany and their experiences. Whenever I had a question about pronunciation or the city in general, I really felt like I was talking to a friend rather than just a source of help. They encouraged us to ask German citizens for specific answers to the scavenger hunt questions and therefore practice our language skills. We even gave them recommendations on what to do and where to eat when they come to Pitt in the fall. I’m extremely grateful that we did this scavenger hunt. They helped me get adjusted to the city and feel welcomed more than they know. Overall, today consisted of many wonderful, informative experiences. And hey, my group even won the scavenger hunt and received a half-liter glass and gummy bears as a prize! Bis morgen!
