Today was our final company visit, and the most important to me, as I am assigned to GROB for our company analysis. Dr. Feick touched on how culturally GROB is different from the other companies we have seen, but this didn’t hit me fully until we were inside their complex. You could tell right away…
Author: International Programs Alumni
Day 9 – ON TOP OF THE WORLD
With only a few days left on the trip, today really hit me, that weird mix of emotions when you realize how fast everything’s gone. We started off visiting Hoerbiger, and honestly, it stood out compared to the other companies we’ve seen. The presentations were a bit long, but I was actually into it. I…
Leaving, but Taking it All With Me
Day 11 Today was definitely more laid-back after all the adventures from the past few days. We still woke up at our usual time, and right after breakfast, we painted the ceramic pots we made earlier in the trip. Our instructor actually cut a piece of Maddie’s hair so we could use it to make…
Free Day in Austria!
On our final day of the program, we had the chance to do whatever we wanted. We could go to another country or another city in Germany with the approval of our mentors, and we could do laundry or go to the zoo, or pack. My friends and I initially were dead set on Zurich….
Day 11 – Presentations
On this fine Wednesday, it was the day of our final presentations. My group worked hard to split up the tasks given on the syllabus and present our findings about Audi. I loved that I got the company Audi because the site visit was especially interesting and the brand itself is innovative and has a…
Afloat With Possibilities: Floating Farms of the Netherlands
For the twelfth, and last proper day within the Netherlands, our Plus3 Group went to the world’s first and only Floating Farm. During this visit, we learned about the various products produced by the Floating Farm’s cows. The process revolves around circular design; every piece of produce gets used. One example regards the reuse of…
Departing Ecuador: The Return to the States
After our return from the Waorani Nation, we didn’t have much planned for the rest of the time that we had down in Ecuador. The main thing on the agenda was finishing up our presentations on chocolate in Ecuador and creating an ad for Ecuador. Once we had breakfast, our group met up to start…
Last few days : Day 11, 12, 13
Today was a chill day. We woke at 7:30 as usual for breakfast at 8:00. Straight after breakfast, we started our presentations on Bio’s chocolate factory. My teammates are Maddie, Mark, and Kayhaan. We went to our rooms and sat outside working on our presentation. Afterwards, we chilled in our rooms for a few hours…
Day 7, 8, 9, 10 in Equador
Starting off our day, we at breakfast in the lodge. After breakfast, we had chocolate making and tasting. We peeled, ground, and then boiled the cocoa beans. The chocolate was mixed with leaves and sugar to add flavor. The chocolate was still very bitter for me, though. After that, we went directly to the river…
Day 3, 4, 5, 6 in Equador
Beginning day 3, we set out to visit a rose greenhouse. We learned about care for roses, customer demand, and the different types of roses. We were also gifted beautiful roses. Afterward, we headed back to the lodge for lunch. After lunch, we went to a building where we learned a bit about Moncayo’s culture…
Final thoughts | Augsburg Reflection
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…
Remember your passports kids | Augsburg Day 12
Today was the day built into our schedule for us to conduct our own travel, wherever we could reach in a few hours by train. Myself, Ashlyn, and Kayla decided to travel the 2 and a half hours to Salzburg, Austria. We left for our 8 am train, and realized on the way that Kayla…
Saying good-bye | Augsburg Day 11
Today was the final day of all of us being able to spend time together during the program. We had to present our final projects with our company groups and then we had a farewell dinner with everyone in the program and their groupmates. Our days started out slower than usual, as we didn’t need…
Day 5, 6, & 7: from River hikes to chocolate tastings
After a good night’s sleep in the hotel in Otavalo, we set out for our lodge in the Amazon rainforest. We had a good night’s sleep and were ready to tackle the long bus ride that was ahead. we left around 9 in the morning to start our trip. Skip and Rick decided it would…
Turning the Page, The End of My Time in Ecuador
My Plus3 Ecuador trip is finally coming to an end. First of all, I want to thank my professors Rick and Skip. They led us through a flexible Plus3 program and did it so well. They had everything planned and controlled, even if things needed to be planned last minute. I also appreciate how they…
Guernica – Day 1 (9)
Today we left Bilbao due to the Copa Europa Final between Manchester United and Tottenham. Our hotel got too expensive as it the the partnered hotel with the match. On the way to our new destination, Guernica, we stopped in the mountains to visit a company called Tekniker. They specialize in taking people’s dreams to…
Bilbao – Day 8
Today we started off by visiting bioengineering labs in the school of engineering. We met a PhD student who was working on the AI development of Orika and how it can be used to understand how different people balance in different ways. He showed us a jumpsuit that was used on a person to map…
Grow With the Flow: The Natural Irrigation of Rotterdam
For the eleventh day of the Plus3 Netherlands trip, our group toured the city of Rotterdam’s natural infrastructure to understand how urban designers accounted for sustainable flood prevention. Holland heavily emphasizes floodwater control due to the elevation of the Netherlands mostly remaining below sea level causing floods to occur often. As part of the guided…
Day 11, 12, & 13: Leaving Ecuador with a filled heart!
On day 11, we hung around at the Iyarina lodge. We painted our post that we had crafted earlier in the week. We used the rest of the afternoon to work on our projects for the next day and to rest. We then took canoes from the lodge over to Misahulli, a nearby town. We…
Final Day in Spain
Todays the day we’ve all been dreading! It’s our last day in Spain and I think we can all agree we’re so upset. We started our day at the Bilbao School of Engineering for the last time. We were given some interesting presentations to wrap up the trip. We then had our last lunch at…