Last week in Germany

This is my last week in Germany. Its been a tough but absolutely worthwhile experience. I made a brief list of things I will and won’t miss.

Things I won’t miss

Living in a dorm/sharing a bathroom and kitchen with about 10 other people: this wouldn’t be so bad if there weren’t only two toilets and two showers for all of us. And don’t get me started on dirty dishes! It gives me the heeby-jeebies just thinking about it.

Not being able to interact with people as easily: it gets old after a couple of weeks of going to lunch with your colleagues and not being able to contribute to the conversation because they’re speaking a different language.

Sitting at a computer for 6 hours a day doing research: I probably sit at a computer for this same amount of time during school but it just seems so much longer when its 6 consecutive hours.

German keyboards: What is up with them!?!? The z and y are switched, the parentheses are in totally different places, and there are symbols on here that I don’t even know how they would be used.

Things I will miss

Public transportation: I get a decent amount of time on the bus during school but its different here. I obviously don’t have a car so I either have to walk everywhere or take the bus or subway. I’m only looking forward to driving in my car again so I can sing loudly and horribly and not worry about anyone hearing.

Cafes: There are so many types of cafes around the city. I haven’t been to a bad once since I came off that plane.

The buildings: I don’t know if it’s the country or I am just now become more aware of buildings, but there are some crazy-awesome structures throughout the city. Also, the architecture seems simpler and cleaner than what I’m used to seeing.

Fashion: Pretty much everybody has a sense of style here. When I wear a nice t-shirt and jeans, I feel like I’m walking around in my pajamas. That’s how awesome the fashion is here.

I have learned from my internship in multiple ways. I have done research and made case studies on metropolitan regions all over the world and have seen that they are all trying to achieve the same goals: live more sustainably. Not just environmentally but socially and economically too. I have also enjoyed participating in the operations of a German research facility. I think it’s interesting and valuable to know how research is performed in other settings and hopefully what I’ve learning will be used in the future. I am even going to go down the cheese-y road (wouldn’t that be awesome if that was a real thing!? A road made from cheese? Probably would get messy on a hot day though. Or would just a really good day to make nachos. Where was I?…o yea) and say I have grown from this experience. It’s an amazing feeling to know that I can live in a foreign country for 3 months with minimal knowledge of the language or not really know anybody. I’m not saying it wasn’t difficult or that I wasn’t lonely at times but I survived and will always have that.

For who ever is reading this: if you ever want to study or work abroad, I would love to help or give advice if you want it. I had a few people to talk to before I came and they helped where they could so I would like to return the favor and do so for other people.

I am very excited to go home and see my family, friends, and puppies. I am a little nervous about the transition back to American culture which is funny because I’m American gosh darn it! (said with a Texas accent) Thinking about driving everywhere is kind of weird after having to depend on the subway and bus system for the past 13 weeks. But I’m sure everything will be dandy, hopefully as dandy as Yankee Doodle :D

Keep it green!

Brianne

Realizations

This past week or so I have had several realizations, some good and some bad. 

1. I will not able to be hand model

Due to burning my hand last week, I realized that I will not be able to be a hand model EVER! This revelation came to me while at work and it took a lot of strength to not just break down and cry. But I held it together and I'm still recovering. Now I just have to think of some other ridiculous profession to have as a backup plan.

2. Convinced Judith to go to a baseball game

This isn't really a realization but more of an accomplishment. My boss, Judith, will be going to the States after I leave and she asked what she should do that is American. Instantly my response was go to a baseball game. She seemed a little hesitant at first but as of yesterday she was going to surprise her boyfriend with a Yankees game. Upon her telling me this, I became jealous and regretted suggesting it. How can a German enjoy a baseball game but this American can't!?!? 

3. How fast and slow time at work can go

Some days at the office, there isn't that much to do so I spend/waste time on blogs and other silly websites. For some reason, it seems that doing this makes time go by soooo much slower and when I actually do have something to do the day whizzes by. I guess this is just motivation to do work. (Sigh)

4. I'm in like with blogs

While taking little breaks at the office (see previous realization), I have come across a couple of cool blogs. The first is HelloGiggles. It was developed by Zooey Deschanel and two of her friends. Its focus is towards women but there are also posts on there that both genders could enjoy. It’s hard to describe the content so I advice just take a peak if you have a little bit of time. The other blog I just found the other day and it’s called Life is Not Real: Anecdotes, Advice and Awkwardness. It is written by 5 college aged friends and is pretty sweet! It’s mostly girly stuff but there are some funny stories on it as well.

5. It’s becoming harder each day to remember if I’m speaking proper English

Having been here for almost 3 months now, it has occasionally been a challenge to speak proper English. Writing this post seems to take longer because I have to really concentrate on my word usage and sentence structure. Maybe it’s because I’m much more aware of language and the barriers it can have. Just thinking about it makes my brain feel mushy!

That’s it for now. Until next time:

Keep it green!

Brianne

Half way done (?)

For some reason the title of this post doesn't sound grammatically correct but I'm just going to leave it. There aren’t any pics today just because it’s more of a “this is what’s going through my head right now.” So just enjoy the ride and I apologize for the turbulence.

Anywho...This is the 7th week of my internship so that means I am a little more than half way done. I have learned a lot so far about urban spatial planning and about how I see my future. Seeing that regions in Europe and the United States are trying to become more sustainable makes me hopeful for the future. I now know that there are opportunities in the States to do what I am interested in. This job has also shown me that there is more to learn which leans me toward going to grad school next fall. But then I wonder if I can learn on the job. Who knows? I’m not going to worry about that stuff too much right now.

With only a few weeks left in Hamburg, it’s very easy for me to get excited about coming back home. I miss my family and friends. I miss Ann Arbor. I miss being able to hold random conversations with people. Well…maybe not that last one so much. There are a few things I want to do here before I leave so I’m trying to focus on them and not counting down the days until I go home.

The work I’ve been doing has allowed me to see various examples of regional development plans that I hope Detroit can have someday. It is becoming more efficient and sustainable to plan for a region instead of just a city and I think this could benefit Detroit immensely. Seeing how these plans are made, it makes me curious about what is going wrong with Detroit. I’m guessing it’s the political system that is holding it back as well as its bumpy economic history. I think there is a way around all of that and hope to be a part of it some day.

Until next time:

Keep it Green!

Brianne