Still loving Germany!! Though not quite up to par with the friendliness of Texans, I have been pleasantly surprised by the random kindness of strangers. Maybe it?s because we are here in this very small town on the Rhine, but smiling and greeting strangers in the street isn?t uncommon. And I cannot count the times that someone has helped me.? Though, in most larger cities throughout Europe, I would compare the atmosphere more similar to New York City in that everyone is busily on their way and there are tourists everywhere you look.
I would really recommend interacting with locals as much as possible. They can give you priceless advice on things to see and places to visit, and also provide you with a glimpse into their culture. One way that I have been trying to learn more about the places I visit is to use sites like Airbnb, which is basically apartment sharing. We used this on our trip to Amsterdam last week. It was really cool arrive at the apartment that already felt like a home (rather than a boring, simple hostel!) and our host had left a nice packet for us! She had compiled information about Amsterdam concerning the best places to eat and the best walking tours and museums to see etc. It was a unique opportunity to learn more than the tourist guides would tell us.
One preparation that I wish I would have made before coming here would be to research more about this university. While it is good to learn a lot about the country (and the language, if possible), I think I overlooked the college itself. WHU has so many resources for such a small university! There are seminars and finance conferences and even a conference where they bring in awesome speakers and do workshops to explore social entrepreneurship ideas (SensAbility- the largest social entrepreneurship conference in Germany). In addition to all of these special events that happen throughout the semester, the career office is always sending out newsletters and hosting events for students. And the cool thing about this is that it is also for exchange students.
I also wanted to mention classes again because I have been learning so much! During lectures we discuss cases about businesses all over the world and it is interesting to hear the opinions of my German classmates. They provide unique insights into both German and American companies that I would not have considered. I just worked in a group for my class, Organizational Change, and we were give a company to analyze. The company, BASF, has been instituting a change to redefine their image as a chemical company. What I found most fascinating about this project was the depth of research that we did and the comprehensive nature of our presentation. Also, the fact that the company was founded 150 years ago in Ludwigshafen?only about 80 miles south of where I am here in Vallendar?really added an authenticity to the work and I felt very proud of our final presentation.
I am especially loving random history lessons about Germany, through my classes and through travel. I recently went to Trier, the oldest town in Germany! There is so much to see there, including Roman buildings and ruins, an Amphitheater from 100AD, and the massive Constantine Basilica.
