9. Mai 2016
I had such a fun day today!
It started off with a light, traditional German breakfast at the
hotel. It was definitely unlike the
breakfast that we are used to in America, but since I have studied the German
culture for so long, I was not surprised.
They served Semmeln (rolls) with lunch meats, yogurt, cereal, fruit, and
some other light refreshments. After
breakfast, it was time to leave for the University of Augsburg. We took the tram, which was very convenient
because it dropped us off right in the middle of the campus. When we arrived, I was very surprised by how
modern all of the buildings were. The
campus was definitely different from our university as it was separated from
the city and everything seemed very new as it was only built in the 70s. We then met up with the German students once
again for a quick lecture from Professor Feick.
After, we were able to officially meet our groups in order to complete
our first introduction presentation on our companies. The Germans in my group, Katha, Christian,
and Manuel, were so nice and easy to talk to!
They definitely knew how to make me laugh! My company is BMW, so it was very interesting
looking up all of the information on their history, current condition, and
future outlook. I really enjoyed watching
all of the presentations, as well, and learned a lot of initial information
about the companies we would soon be visiting.
My group did a very good job presenting, and I was so proud of everyone
for putting together such a great presentation in such a short amount of time.
It was
then finally time for lunch at the Mensa, or cafeteria. I was so excited to eat at an authentic
German Mensa because I had learned a lot about them in my college German
courses. The food was so good; way
better than anything I could get at Market Central! I especially loved the steamed vegetables
bar. Lunch was a great time to continue
fun conversations with all of the German students. I had a ton of fun pronouncing “the 10
hardest German words for Americans to pronounce.” Christian had found the article online and
asked me to pronounce the words, and he said that I surprisingly did a very
good job! Since we were then curious, my
friend Sydney and I then found a list of the toughest words for Germans to
pronounce in English, and all of us had a great laugh! After lunch, we then went on a quick campus
tour led by some students. I was so
excited to hear that one of the students, Nicolai, had actually spent a
semester at Pitt! He was then my group’s
leader for the scavenger hunt through the city, so it was really enjoyable
being able to hear all of his fun stories of his time at Pitt.
The
scavenger hunt itself was a ton of fun!
It brought us all around the city, and even to the top of the tower in
the middle of the city square. One of
the questions asked us to count the number of stairs to the top, so just to be
sure, I decided to ask the man working there how many there were (it was also
just an excuse to use some more German of course). He answered back, and said that there were
260! It was definitely worth the little
bit of exercise because the view was breathtaking! In the middle of the scavenger hunt, my group
decided we wanted to take a break, so Sophia, one of the Germans in my group,
suggested we go and get “Butterbreze” from Wolf, a small bakery right in the
town center. I am so glad she did
because it was so yummy! We all sat in
the town square, took in the sun and enjoyed our pretzels. My friend Veronica was so comfortable that
she even fell asleep! While relaxing, we
were really able to bond with Sophia and Nicolai. Sophia is actually a student in the
Netherlands who is studying in Augsburg on an exchange program. She, like us, is very new to the Bavarian
lifestyle. However, it was amazing how
many things we had in common with her, such as our music and clothing
tastes. After our little break, we then
headed toward the final stop of the scavenger hunt, a famous brewery in
Augsburg. However, on our way, we had to
stop for some gelato at Sophia’s favorite gelato shop. I ordered one scoop of cookies flavored
gelato for only one euro, and it was probably the best ice cream I had ever
had. I will definitely be stopping back
at that shop before I leave Germany! We
then finally arrived to the beer garden, which was just so perfect,
picturesque, and exactly what I imagined a beer garden to look like! There, we sat and enjoyed each other’s
company, and were able to exchange contact information with our new German
friends. Sadly, Sophia had to leave shortly
after because she had class at the university, but we were able to get a great
picture together before she did.
We then
went back into the city center for dinner at an authentic Italian restaurant
called Dragone. What was especially
memorable about this dinner was ordering and translating for everyone at my
table! It was so much fun for me! My meal was a delicious pasta dish with fresh
vegetables, which I really liked. After
dinner, it was time to explore the city a little more. We just spent time going into a bunch of
different restaurants and bonded with all of the Americans. It was a really fun time! Overall, it was such an amazing day. I am so glad I was able to make such good
friends with the German students and also use my German skills in a practical
way!
Bis Spaeter!
Lindsey
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