After a while looking back on this wonderful experience, I have compiled the highlights, observations, feedback on the trip, and my personal reflection.
Observations: Something I observed about Germany as a whole is that it is more like the U.S. than I imagined. I have visited numerous countries, and this was the first time I never struggled with a language barrier. I only came across 1-2 people that didn’t speak any English. Also their ways of life are more similar to ours. For example, most people commonly work an equivalent of a 9-5. They have cafeterias in their workplaces. They stay at work all day, whereas in some other European countries, they have a longer break or leave and then come back. They also have more gyms than I expected!
Something I found unusual was that the German students told us they don’t really do presentations as part of their education. In America, presentations are usually worth a big portion of the grade, and yet for them they rarely do them.
Highlights: It’s truly so hard to pick my favorite singular moment of the trip, but I definitely can put together some favorites. I greatly enjoyed Neushwanstein Castle. This was such an incredible experience and from every angle, inside and outside, I could not believe my eyes. Everything about it was truly breathtaking. I am also so glad we got to visit Dachau. Though a terribly sad experience, I think it taught me so much about World War II, Hitler, the concentration camp system, etc. that I would’ve never known without visiting. This is such an important part of history and I am thankful I got to experience it. I also just loved exploring Augsburg and meeting so many incredible people along the way. I loved all the interactions I had with people I would have never connected with if I hadn’t gone on this trip. From fellow classmates to German students to the people I would meet on our tours, it was so lovely to meet so many different people. Also, just walking around Augsburg was so relaxing and brought me so much joy. It’s truly such a beautiful city, and I felt very content walking through the streets.
Reflection: In this class, I learned a lot about sustainability and innovation, as well as cross-cultural communication. I learned how increasingly important that sustainability is becoming, and was pleased to see that Germany is taking it more seriously than the U.S., which is something I think we can learn from. Also, how this is such an exciting time in the automotive industry, especially as we have only had ICE vehicles for decades. So many advancements are being made, and so many companies are competing to make the breakthrough. As for cross-cultural communication, I learned so much about German life in general and their perceptions of the U.S. (and our perceptions of them). This overall expanded my horizons to different ways of life, thinking, and how Germany may do some things better than us, in my opinion.
Something I found particularly worthwhile on this trip were the moments I took just for me. I’m the type of person to try and do everything, see everything, you name it. But I learned to just take it easy at times, and know when I needed a break. At these times, I would go get coffee by myself or go for a lovely walk, which I found just as rewarding as “doing it all”. This is something I learned about myself: that I need to take a deep breath at times. I had to reconcile with not being able to do absolutely everything, and that that is okay. Something I learned about my classmates is that everyone handles things in their own ways and acts accordingly. Not everyone will want to do the same thing, and that is okay. Everyone handles situations different, and that is also okay. Of course, these are somewhat obvious observations but I really put this thinking to the test on this trip.
Feedback: The best overarching part about the trip was the balance. There was a perfect amount of time allotted towards working on the class, and a perfect amount of time to do fun day trips and sight-seeing. I didn’t feel too overwhelmed with either of the two. Something I might consider changing about this trip is the amount of group lunches/dinners; I loved doing stuff on my own but a few more dinners would’ve allowed for more team bonding.
So with all that being said, I want to say a HUGE thank you to Mr. Feick and Claire! They were so amazing and helpful on this trip, and the trip would be nothing without them. Thank you for all you do and allowing us to make incredible memories. Ciao Bayern!
