After being
home for a week I have some time to actually reflect on Germany. At the end of
the trip I was in need of rest and was ready to go home and start my summer.
However, after some rest and recovery, I would do anything to go back. The
adventures, experiences and ultimately the memories made cannot be compared to
those made in America. Yes there will be more memories and experiences in
America, simply because I live there. However in just two short weeks I
experienced a lot of what Germany has to offer, and would love to continue that
exploration. I made some friends I hope to meet sometime in the future and stay
in contact with in the meantime. All in all, first time to Europe: Huge
success, and can’t wait to go back.
May 20th, 2016: Day 13, Friday
Today was
our free day, which we decided would be spent in Augsburg. We got up at a
reasonable time, but definitely sleeping in compared to other days. We went to
a restaurant for breakfast, and by now I don’t need any more Bavarian food. Don’t
get me wrong it was great, but I’ve had a lot. We wondered around town, packed,
and relaxed which was much needed. We bought meats for grilling and went to a
local park for a barbecue, and we found a soccer ball and played soccer. We
bought a lot of food, and ate almost all of it. It was a good last time with
the German students, many of which I’ve become good friends with. Tomorrow I go
home. Crazy to think about, but there’s no doubt memories have been made.
May 19th, 2016: Day 12, Thursday
Today we went to the city of Ulm, about an hour by
train west. Breakfast by now is not as good as it once was. Eating the same thing
every day for breakfast is getting old. Either way Ulm was really cool, with
the best part being the climb of the Munster. There was 768 steps, 161 meters
in the air, with an incredible view. The whole way was a tight spiral staircase
which at the top was very scary. It was difficult for people who are scared of heights,
luckily I am not. We went to a pancake house for lunch, but these were no
ordinary pancakes. Basically it was a pizza with toppings, but instead of dough
it was pancake. The first few bites were great but once I was ¾ of the way done
it was a struggle. We took a train back for our goodbye dinner, where we
exchanged gifts and had dinner. On the train, German Patrick requested to be
featured in my blog, so that’s what this is. I hope he sees it… At night most
of the American and German students hung out for the second to last time.
May 18th, 2016: Day 11, Wednesday.
Today
the first thing that we had to do was presentations, at 5 pm. Lunch was
optional, but it was free so I decided to go. We woke up fairly early to get a
lot done on our project. By the time lunch rolled around, I was feeling very
confident about our presentation and didn’t see much that had to be done. Lunch
was at the Mensa at 12, and once again it was better and cheaper than market.
After lunch I got changed into my dress clothes for the presentation, and my
KUKA group and I practiced presenting many times. We had a 20 minute time
constraint, and there was never a practice run when we were under 20 minutes.
We couldn’t cut down because everything seemed very important and couldn’t be
skipped. When presentations rolled around at five, we were kind of nervous, but
being the second group going (alphabetical) we knew we could get it out of the
way quickly. I believe our group did very well. There were things we could have
improved on, and we did go over by two minutes. All five presentations took
over two and a half hours, so we were starving when we left. There was a food
court outside the university, and we went there for a quick dinner. Then, with
all of the academics out of the way for this trip, we decided to celebrate.
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