This
post is extremely long, but I haven’t blogged for a week so I’m making up for
lost time. I’ve divided it into sections just in case you need to take a break
and come back to it!
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| BMW Museum |
TAP-YTL
For the
past week, I have been with eleven amazing individuals on an intensive
educational experience. We were each fortunate to be accepted into the TAP-YTL
program through the German American Chamber of Commerce (GACCom). Each day was
filled with at least one appointment with a German company that was
implementing sustainability into their infrastructure or production process.
Some of the companies we explored include Bosch Rexroth, BMW, Volkswagen,
Siemens, and many more. I have included some details about each company on the
“TAP-YTL”page.
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| On the City Tour of Munich |
Members: Part One
Besides
gaining wonderful insight into German businesses, we also had many
opportunities to discover the culture and build lasting relationships with one
another. Here’s an overlook of the group, whose names have been cleverly
altered to protect their identity, and maybe pride.
Jim –
Jim was one of our fearless leaders! Despite struggling with allergies the
entire week, Jim always kept us prompt, orderly, and (most importantly) awake
at each presentation. With his darting looks that said “Drink coffee!” or “You
should’ve stretched beforehand like I recommended!” we all managed to gain the
most from each company. Of course, we were genuinely interested in the
presentations, but certain circumstances (staying up too late the night before,
eating too much at lunch, feet were about to fall off in pain) lead us to be
exhausted at times. Nevertheless, Jim was there to set us straight!
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| Kranhäuser in Cologne |
Elise –
Fearless leader Number Two! I remember Elise mostly laughing or dodging
answering some of our more pestering questions. I think those questions mostly
regarded appointment times or that day’s schedule. Again, very organized but a
little more relaxed, having more of an “it will all work out guys” attitude with
a calm demeanor. It was a comfort at times. She was always very bubbly and
ready to share some laughs over dinner or drinks.
Ben – Ben
was one of the great question-askers in the meetings, having worked in the
industry for several years. If I remember correctly, he is some sort of project
manager, I think. (I have a horrible memory). In any case, Ben, along with most
people in the program, was very jolly. He was a part of the worrying duo, one
of the two people we were always concerned would not wake up on time. I don’t
even think Ben was ever late, but the concern was there. Ben offered a lot of
insight and advice to many of us that are still in college. He stressed the
importance of teamwork and communication on multiple levels of the company. For
example, you need to talk dollars in terms of revenue gained or costs cut when
speaking to the men in fancy suits. Ben was full of wisdom and always knew how
to have a good time!
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| The Guys |
Lydia-
Lydia was also a primary question-asker. Lydia works for a government agency
and has a daughter who might start learning music soon. Exciting! Although we
did discuss the best instruments and methods for teaching music to young
children, we also covered many other topics, including marriage, careers,
parenting, health, etc. I learned from Lydia the importance of living in the
moment and recognizing why you are the way you are. Of course, some book
suggestions came along with the advice, so I will have to do some Amazon
shopping when I return. Lydia was great at conversing, being a wonderful
listener while providing life-changing advice.
Members: Part Two
Armani-
Armani is currently a chemical engineering student. Congrats to her because she
just found out she was accepted into the engineering program a few days ago!
This girl was a bottomless pit. I have no idea where all the food she ate went,
but congrats to her for having a fast metabolism. She taught me a new card
game, which we played with Blaine and Mitchell. Armani and I were partners. Did
we play well? Absolutely not, but many of you know that does not really matter
to me. It’s all about bonding time!
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| Boat tour in Cologne |
Elena –
Elena is a petite Ukrainian architect from Texas with an ambitious husband who
apparently was in the Olympics at one point for boat racing and now composes
music. Many people find my dual major odd, but Elena’s life really astounded
me. She was always a joy to talk to and was also a part of the “life advice”
conversation with Lydia and I. Books were also recommended from her, which I
need to read immediately. Obviously, both of these women are very successful
and happy, so all the advice from them, I gladly took and cannot wait to begin
using it in my own life. Elena and I always seemed to be ordering the same
meals, and also sharing some dessert together. Good times!
Claire –
Very sweet girl! She was the last one I said goodbye to in the train station
before leaving for Leipzig. Most of her train and bus rides were filled with
sleep, but this made her wide awake for meetings and meals. I don’t remember
ever seeing her dozing off in a presentation. We talked about boys, school,
long-distant relationships, China, and boys some more. The topic of boys seems to
never get old!
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| Siemens project |
Cassie –
The other talker! For those of you that know me, you know I love to talk with
people… about anything! Well, I found someone else who really likes to talk…Cassie!
So when we would get together, it was just blablablabla and I loved it! We
talked about everything from books to boys to hair. Very typical girl things,
of course. Cassie was also one of the few people in the group who could speak
some German, so sometimes we would help each other out or have a mini
conversation in German. By “mini,” I mean something like “The weather is nice
today” “Yeah, it is beautiful” “I love the sun.” That was mostly it…then back
to boy discussions. I hope the rest of her trip with her family is amazing!
Giselle
– Photographer of the week! Giselle was always taking pictures…of shoes in the
window of a store, of buildings, of food and beer and of everything! She will
most likely be our photographer at all Alumni events because her photos even
turned out really cute. She was always willing to answer any crazy questions I
had about China (I am very culturally ignorant with China). She was always
smiling, and sometimes spilling tea on Blaine or getting yelled at by Germans
because she left the door open. She was a real trooper and never let anything
get her down! Props to her positivism!
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| Our Lock on the Hohenzollern Bridge in Cologne |
Blaine –
Blaine was the first person I met on the trip and I would call him the German Enthusiast.
Ever since our first conversation, I realized he would definitely be living in
Germany one day because he loved everything about it!...from the food to the
fact that you could walk around the town with a beer or you didn’t have to have
your dog on a leash. Just about everything, he loved. We had both gotten to the
city a day early and were staying in the same hostel so we walked around
together, met up with some of his Prague friends, and then later met up with
Mitchell. Blaine had some interesting stories to tell, one including a tragic
death of a kitten. Although this was slightly disturbing, I’m a dog person so I
still like him!
Mitchell
– Mitchell is by far…interesting. With his monotone voice, he usually said some
inappropriate or “maybe that was too far” comments, but you always just ended
up laughing at them. Had to be the monotone voice. Mitchell was great to have
conversations with about current events. We touched on some interesting topics
such as fracking and the silly media. Mitchell had some interesting (sorry,
this is the only word I can think of) experiences, such as staying up until five
drinking with Ben and then showing up late the next day, or dropping his water
bottle in a pool of urine outside the Dome in Cologne. Again, very interesting…
Recap
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| Bach and I |
So that
was my delegation group and now you can see why I couldn’t blog because I was
having way too much fun with these people! I am now president of the
delegation, which means they will all be subjected to my dorky bonding games at
reunions. Yay!
Where am I now? Leipzig, of course!
Just in time for the Bach Festival and a Blüthner factory tour!
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