If I was told when I applied how much I would learn when I was abroad in the Plus3, I would not have believed you. Stepping off the plane May 5th bright and early started what would become one of the best trips of my life so far. My initial observations about Augsburg was the way of life. In America we are using to doing multiple things at once as quick as possible. This culture was not the same when I was abroad. People value deep connection is all aspects of life (work, friends, or just going to dinner). I really enjoyed how they would take a step back and smell the roses. This was one of the largest initial lessons that I learned right away. Getting things to-go is not as common.
To start off with the companies we visited- I want to thank everyone involved in organizing the tours and providing us with great resources. It was interesting to see how companies change and mold constantly to stay afloat. Hearing about how Hoerbiger had to change products or Faurecia was investing in hydrogen was very interesting. GROB, unlike the others, had a unique edge in the car manufacturing business. I am interested to see how their business changes with the industry. Lastly, visiting Audi was awesome. The timing of the robots and the automation was unmatched. Everything was planned so that all different types of cars can be produced on the line.
All the people we met from the University were very inviting and open. Right away, they were super inviting and wanted us to join them. I really appreciate them teaching us the ropes of the town and the best places to go. If we ever had a question, concern, or just general German language help they were there for us. I am so grateful that they were willing to help us navigate this new country. I would say that is definitely one part of the trip I will miss the most- the people! Sometimes, which was expected, there was a language barrier between us and the Germans. We would need to use some German, translate, or just use other communication techniques in order to have conversation. This was a skill that got better as we spent more time there.
The University of Augsburg looked different than Pitt for sure. It was much more green and open. Walking to/from the business building to the mensa (their dining hall) was filled with greenery. I really appreciated the care they had for their campus in keeping it clean and inviting. Augsburg and the other cities that we visited were amazing. They all had great food, architecture, and stores. Neuschwanstein and Fussen were two of my favorites. Obviously the castle is a bit more touristy than other locations we visted it was amazing. Seeing the size and detail in all parts of the castle was truly amazing. They also had some great donuts! Fussen had a lot of shops and great gelato stands. Overall, I loved all the towns/cities that we visited.To highlight some things that were a bit unusual or surprising to me, I first want to highlight that overtime these things became ~more~ natural for me and were all part of acclimating to a new country. The first thing that stood out to me was paying for the bathroom. Sometimes we would need to pay 50 cents or a euro to use. Oftentimes it was nicely kept, but some bathrooms were not managed and just had a turnstile where you pay. Another thing, which I am used to in America, is constantly drinking water. The culture in Germany is to sit and eat/drink then go on with your day. A lot of them do not carry around a big water bottle.
The class itself taught me so much! The professor emphasized how currently this was the perfect time to study the industry and he was not wrong. The addition of electric vehicles alongside government intervention made each tour very unique and interesting on many levels. Hearing how each firm is changing business to stay afloat was cool in itself. The level of automation at each level was fascinating. Although things were very automatic, the firms also invested in checks. This happened at Hoerbiger for the parts of a transmission all the way to safety checks at Audi. Another large part of the study abroad was learning how to work with other people. Eight people all having different ideas for what should happen in a presentation is tough to navigate, but very realistic. Even more so in a world that is becoming more connected globally!
My own personal growth is something that I wanted to highlight in my time abroad. In the start, things were tough as breaking the ice with new people can sometimes be intimidating or burdensome. Especially so when the people are new students from another University. I want to again shout out the other students for breaking this ice and inviting me to stuff. One thing that I was nervous was going to affect me on my time abroad was the time it took me to settle. I sometimes need a day or two just to get acclimated. Despite this need, our schedule was jam packed right from the start and I needed to get out of my comfort zone. I think the trip, despite being jam packed from the start, was worth the hustle. In such a short time we visited so many cities, businesses, and historical sites. I always had something to look forward to in the day and was never bored. A skill that my peers and I definitely had down was sleeping on the bus! You have to make the most of the time you have. There would not be much that I would change about the trip. I would love to see another company or two during my time, as there is so many located in Germany!
I would like to give a special shoutout to all the students, professors, and others we met on our trip. The help we received in navigating Europe is appreciated deeply. I hope you all enjoyed my blogs throughout my time in Germany.
Hail to Pitt!
-Eric Zissman
