I’ve been home for about 3 days, and I already miss this trip so much. If you asked me two weeks ago, I would have said I was nervous and I had no idea what to expect. Coming home from this trip, I cannot express how grateful I am to have had this opportunity, and for getting to meet so many amazing people. I have spent the last few days going through all the photos, and it is so unbelievable, that I got to experience these things with my own eyes. This program is something that I have talked about non-stop for the past three weeks, and it is something that I will remember both culturally and academically for the rest of my life. I have learned so much about myself, about my classmates, and about the business industry as a whole. Being the youngest one on this trip, I think I had a slightly different perspective than the other Pitt students. This is also my first time being abroad, so I definitely relied on some of my friends to help me. That being said, I came into the program without knowing anybody, and I left knowing some amazing people who I am so thankful for, who I hope I am able to keep in touch with.

Observation: The first couple days were a little bit difficult but by the third day I was completely immersed and adjusted. I am very grateful for all the German students for helping us out so much, and I am very excited to do the same when they get to Pittsburgh. I wanted to start out my reflection by comparing some of the biggest differences I noticed. Starting with the University, the University of Augsburg seems to be much more calm. It is located outside of the city, so the campus isn’t as chaotic as Pitt’s campus is. Augsburg’s campus is gorgeous, and peaceful, and a place only used for school, where Pitt has restaurants, clubs, hang out spots, living spaces, etc. One of the main things I noticed about the campus and about Germany in general is how clean it is. There are very few trashcans, yet there was almost no litter. The citizens have a lot more respect for their living environment, and they aim to keep it clean. There were also fewer cars. When we went out to dinner, you couldn’t hear the engines of cars, or any honking. Everything was walkable, or had quiet public transportation that could take you anywhere you needed to go. This goes for Augsburg and all of the towns we visited. Everyone seemed very respectful of the places they visited and, in the best way possible, everyone minded their own business. Everyone did their own things, and stayed respectful to those people around them. Academically, the company visits were almost exactly how I imaged them to be. I had high expectations, and the factory tours, and company information sessions met these expectations. I truly loved getting to visit Audi especially, and watch the full process of how a car gets put together. Moving on, I have to say that my favorite parts of the day was the time when we were either eating breakfast and about to start our day, or getting back from the daily adventures. I loved waking up each day, knowing what we were doing, but not knowing what to expect from it. It made each day so exciting and I was constantly eager to figure out what we were going to do next. I also loved the 30 minutes to an hour after we had finished all our scheduled activities, and before we went back out for the day. This time allowed me to absorb everything we did that day, and it gave me time to appreciate where I was, and how lucky I am. My favorite days in general was the Audi day, and the sightseeing days. Things such as Neuschwanstein’s Castle is something that I never would have expected to be able to see in real life. I still can’t believe we got to see it. I also loved seeing The Alps, both on our programmed trip to The Alps, and when we were in Austria. The last thing I really loved were the towns themselves. Each town or city was colorful, bright and happy. Even when it was raining, the colors counteracted the gloomy rain, and it made the towns and cities look more alive.

Reflection: The point of this trip was to learn about automobiles, and the business approach used within the companies we visited. Although I learned so much about this, I learned more from the people I was surrounded with. I expected to learn a little bit about the culture and different business tactics. But I also learned from my peers, the German students, the professors, and the TA’s. This trip has completely changed my mind set for the better. I have learned to be more understanding, I’ve learned independence and most importantly, I’ve learned that everybody is different, so it’s okay to have different opinions. The German students, have a very different way of looking at situations. From what I have noticed, they don’t gossip as much as American students do, and they focus a lot more on healthy, strong bonds with a smaller group of people, rather than having weaker relationships with a lot of different people. When talking with some of the German students they said that forming these types of relationships allows them to be more authentic, and trustworthy to the people who matter most to them. This is definitely something that I want to incorporate in my everyday life. Academically, the amount of work we did was in line with the amount of work an average Pitt course would be. We worked with the German students to put together presentations, and we learned about methods of production in the automotive industry. I was definitely most excited about Audi, and through these company tours we were able to observe the production line and the supply chain, and to visibly watch a car come together to physically drive off the lot. It was really interesting to follow some of the parts through the Tier 1 suppliers all the way to the OEM. I also noticed how each company focused on a work-life balance. Audi even had a day-care section for parents who worked there. Each company prioritized their workers life, just as much as they valued productivity which was super cool to learn about. These company visits took me by surprise, they were much more and depth and well-rounded than I expected them to be. They approached all aspects of the car, the workers and the future to create a stable company, which explains the loyalty these workers have to their company.

The best part of the trip was getting thrown into a different culture. Our group got really lucky, and we had some amazing students to help us figure out what we were doing. I loved trying all the new foods, navigating public transportation, and living locally for the time we were there. This trip certainly tested me in several different ways. From never being alone, to always being understanding, this trip also expanded my people skills. These types of things are only learned through experiences, and I can’t thank my classmates, and the people in charge who helped this trip come together. The support system we had was amazing, and gave us a safe place, even if we didn’t need it. Germany was truly an amazing experience, and I can’t wait to see these people again in the fall.

Feedback: There are very few things I would change about this trip. The only real suggestion I have would be finding more time to spend with the German students outside of working on our presentations. We formed a more academic relationship with them, and we only got to actually hang out with them toward the end of the trip. I also think, for next year, that it is important to mention that students should bring their laptops on the first trip to university. None of the American students brought them, and we had to sit there while the German students did all of the work for us, which led to more issues when we were doing our final presentations. We weren’t given the opportunity to work on any of the more serious topics, since we were initially unprepared. It was also unfortunate that our Wi-Fi wasn’t working, so even though we wanted to, we still couldn’t help as much as we would have liked. Besides that I think the program was well planned. I like that the early days were packed, I was so excited to get going, so I loved the busy days. Although, I would suggest to put Forvia and Grob on two separate days next time, and give us the space to explore Augsburg a little bit more. Since we were so packed in the beginning, by the time I figured out Augsburg, we were about to leave. I loved the days that were half academic and half sight-seeing. Towards the end of the trip, we were mainly shopping, which is always fun. But I loved being able to be productive in the beginning of the day, and then have fun, so my days felt more balanced. Another thing I loved, was how the whole group was forced to spend time together towards the beginning, so we really got to know each other, which made the rest of the trip much more enjoyable once you knew everyone you were with.