Going into the trip, I didn’t expect Germany to have that many English speaking people. Almost everybody we met knew English, which made communication much easier. I also really enjoyed getting to see the inside of these auto-parts manufacturing companies. Initially, I had imagined that car companies produced everything in-house, which, in hindsight, isn’t efficient or practical. I also loved learning about the various innovations in the auto industry aimed at making automobiles more sustainable. Additionally, it was interesting to see how the German auto industry is striving to sustain its market share against the rising competition from China’s electric vehicles (EVs).

One thing that really stood out to me was how developed their public transit system is and how behind on that and sustainability America is. For example, they have trams, trains, and buses (even electric ones that run on these cables in the air). I saw a picture online that showed the difference in passenger train routes between America and Europe, which exemplifies how they’re able to visit places so quickly and cheaply. In America, we can only fly or drive (or take a train, but it’s such a hassle), making travel more expensive.

My favorite parts of the trip were the company visits and being able to interact with the local students. I would love for there to be more chances to interact with the German students that we were working on for our group presentation. I think it’s always really interesting to talk to students that come from vastly different backgrounds, whether culture or ethnicity. It makes sense, but I was surprised to learn how studying abroad is really encouraged and emphasized within Europe — within the German students we were working with, there was one from Italy and one from Greece. Another German student was planning on doing a study abroad semester in Japan! Part of the reason why they’re also able to do so many study abroad trips is because they’re being funded by the university. The German students mentioned that they only need to pay around 300 Euros per semester, which is incomprehensible to the American mind. However, the trade off is that they need to pay around a 48% income tax (but that also helps pay for their healthcare system).

One thing I would change is incorporating more free time to explore the cities on our own. While the structured activities were informative, having more unstructured time would have allowed for personal discoveries and a deeper connection with the places we visited. I did like how we were able to learn and explore so much of Germany, but I would have appreciated more time to ourselves. The rigid structure, especially during week one, helped a lot with jetlag and adjusting to the new time zone. Although a 6-hour time difference isn’t too bad, I think my experience with a 12-hour difference when visiting Asia made it easier to adapt.