Going to Germany for two weeks is an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. It is very difficult to sum up everything we did and experienced in Germany with one blog post, however, I will give a brief summary of some of the highlights.

To start off, this trip allowed me to put myself in a new and foreign environment for one of the first times in my life. Being from Pittsburgh I do not have to travel far at all for school, I am basically at home! Germany however is all the way across the world and is a place where I do not have access to see my family whenever desired. I think this trip really allowed me to grow not only intellectually but as a person.

I thought that the city of Augsburg was awesome! I loved how the city was big enough, but not too big. Everywhere I went I felt extremely safe, which was so nice. I thought that the city was super cool as well. Augsburg has a lot to offer from its beautiful buildings to its diverse food, and even to its history. Augsburg is definitely a place that is special in my heart.

I thought that the schedule format was great. I loved touring different towns and cities throughout Bavaria which allowed me to really get a good feel of the country. My favorite places that we went to during the days were Munich, Schwangau, and Oberammergau. I thought that the scenery in Germany was super beautiful, and I enjoyed being able to hike in the mountains.

When talking about the University of Augsburg there is one thing that stood out to me, which were the students. I thought that the students at Augsburg were great. They were all super welcoming and friendly. They welcomed all of us with open arms, which I know that we all greatly appreciate.

Even on the first night when we got to Augsburg two of the German students that I haven’t even met yet asked some of us to go out with them that night. They gave us a personal tour and took us to play pool. That night was the start of my great friendships with some of the German students. Almost every night I would hang out with them touring the city and meeting their friends. They were really awesome and made the trip super special! I am extremely excited for them to come to the US next semester in the fall. I cannot wait to see them again and return the favor.

The campus itself was nice. I liked the layout of the campus and the feel that it had. The campus had an American College like feeling which is something different than most European countries. The biggest surprise to me about the campus was that the campus grass was super high!

I would say that the one of the biggest surprises for me in Germany was how much some German students follow American politics. I thought that was super interesting. I felt like some of these students knew more about American politics than I did. Another big surprise to me was that in almost every public bathroom in Germany you had to pay. I never knew that before going to Germany, and it was my first time paying for any bathroom in my life. I guess that is one way to keep them nice!

When it comes to the class portion of the trip, I feel like I learned a lot. I never knew how much detail are in some sorts of cars part. From the gear rings from Hoerbiger and the Porsche mufflers from Forvia. Another thing that I learned and thought that was interesting is the development of hydrogen powered cars. Right now, in the world there are barely any hydrogen cars, which makes sense due to its complexity. I thought it was super cool learning about this new trend in the market.

Going to several different companies was super cool. It was really neat being able to see workers work together with automations. It was the first time in my life that I was actually able to see things created on assembly lines. Watching a car be created from start to finish at Audi was super cool.

I will leave you with some of my final thoughts about the overall structure of the trip. I thought that the schedule was really nice. I liked having structure throughout the week that allowed me to go to different places in Germany, and really be able to experience the country. I also liked that this program allows students from the US and Germany to work and collaborate together. I think that it is really powerful to get other perspectives from people throughout the world. If there is anything that I would change maybe switch up a company or too. I think that seeing another German automotive company would be super cool like BMW or Mercedes. I thought that the Audi tour was super engaging and really allowed me to learn and grasp ideas.

Overall, this trip to Germany has been one of the best times in my life. I have created new memories and friendships that will last with me for a lifetime. I want to give a special thanks to everyone that contributed to making this trip really special! And of course, special thanks to our very own Professor!

Below are some of my favorite pictures from the trip!