Our time in Augsburg was eventful, to say the least. It is astonishing how quickly people can become friends, when forced to spend almost every day together for two weeks straight. When I came to Germany the first time, my program was spread out over the course of four months, and I still felt like I hadn’t had enough time to do everything I wanted to. In only two weeks, it was shocking how much we actually completed. It likely had to do with the fact that my previous program had been almost completely open, for us to travel and exist in Heidelberg at our own pace. This program was an opportunity to cram a great deal of new experiences into a very short period of time.

I believe sleeping on the bus every day kept us from killing each other, whether due to self-inflicted sleep deprivation or simply exhaustion from the packed schedule. Regardless, it was a blessing, even if we were often in business casual as we conducted these naps. I believe my personal favorite excursions that we experienced were the historical tour of Nuremberg, the castle tour of Neuschwanstein, and the cable car trip in the Alps. Each of these were experiences I had not done when I was in Germany the first time, but they were absolutely on my bucket list. The group we were with only enhanced the experience. My favorite company tours were Audi and Grob, due to their high quality of technology and the speed at which they were able to adapt to change. Though Audi was the end product of the car process and Grob was somewhere close to the beginning, they were each very impressive in the cohesiveness of their business models and the work environment.

I am very excited for the Augsburg students to come study at Pitt in the fall. It was so much fun getting to know them both within and outside of the scheduled events. I believe they will enjoy coming to Pittsburgh, and I love that this program allows them to make friends before they make that journey. I know it would have alleviated a lot of my concerns about going abroad if I had known someone where I was going. Each of the people we met here, whether it was those in our groups, those that will be coming to Pittsburgh, or those that won’t, they were all amazing people to get to know. I look forward to keeping in touch with them, and maybe convincing those that aren’t coming to Pittsburgh to consider a visit.