As I take a moment to reflect on my trip to Germany, I am filled with amazement, pride, and most importantly gratitude. This experience was unforgettable and I recognize how lucky I am to be given the opportunity to travel. I am also proud of myself for earning this opportunity and for stepping outside of my comfort zone. This is my final blog post to reflect on my trip as a whole and to share some of my observations and feedback.

Observations: All of the German students, as well as other people we met, were very genuine. They are also pretty understanding if you know little to no German. Before and during the trip, I used Duolingo to pick up some basic terms and sentences because I don’t like the feeling of being completely clueless. I could tell people appreciated when you tried to speak in German instead of defaulting to English. The University of Augsburg was very different from the University of Pittsburgh. Not just by appearance, but also functionality. Most buildings had a connected with nature look. (Also, I want the German windows in my home here in the states.) When talking to the German students I learned a lot about how their school system works, costs, and expectations.

Another thing that really stuck to me was the fact that Europe is much more environmentally conscious compared to the United States. Most of the plastic water bottles had caps that were attached and you had to pay a .25€ fee to use them. You could get the .25€ back if you take it to a grocery store. It is also much less common to get food or drinks to go. I think Europeans much more value the time spent to sit and eat with friends and family uninterrupted.

As far as the company visits, I have never been on any in the states, so I do not have anything to compare it to. However, the companies are very welcoming and accommodating, which I did not expect. I did notice it seems as though they value a good work-life balance. Especially in the city of Augsburg most businesses close much earlier than that in the states and many are simply not open on Sundays.

The highlights of the trip for me definitely include the castle and Audi visits and the connections made with the students in Germany.

Reflection: Coming into this trip I expected to learn a lot, but it definitely exceeded my expectations. We were given so much information about the automobile industry, Augsburg and Germany as a whole. I think the company visits at different level tiers were very beneficial to see a holistic view of the process that goes into making a car. Also, when I first signed up for this trip, I didn’t expect to see so much of Germany. I’m very happy we had the chance to explore other cities close to Augsburg and learn about the history of those places. I also knew there could be a language barrier but I did not expect the slight cultural barrier. Even thought most for he people we interacted with spoken English, there were times I could tell there was a miscommunication. I think it boils down to being raised in a country with different expectations and social norms.

One thing I have learned about myself is that in a stressful group situation I can stay levelheaded. I also realized I prefer to travel with people I know more about beforehand. That was one of the most difficult challenges, but I think most of us navigated that relatively well. I learned a lot from this experience not just academically and culturally, but about myself and peers. I think overall the trip gave me more awareness and the confidence I need to be able to someday travel to new countries by myself, something that has always been a goal of mine.

Feedback: I think the set up of the trip was great when it comes to the organization of days. We had a good amount of time for exploring the new cities and connecting with the Augsburg students. While in the moment I was definitely a bit tired from the full itinerary, looking back it was all so worth it. I learned so much more than I have on any other trip I’ve been on, academic or not. I have grown greatly as a student and individual, gaining some new skills I can utilize in my future endeavors.

Thank you to Pitt Business and the University of Augsburg for this amazing experience!