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

Heidelberg

Yesterday I got back from a conference of all the students involved in the same program as me, RISE (Research in Science and Engineering aka Nerdfest). There were just over 300 kids there and it was a funfilled, busy 3 days! DAAD, the host of the conference, threw a nice welcome dinner for all of us at a German bar. It was buffet style so you can only imagine how long it took for all of us to eat! Of course, my table sat in a corner but we tried to wait patiently. Also during our wait my voice diminished to a sexy croaky-ness for the week due to my sinus infection/cold/allergies so that kind of sucked. Anywho… The next day was company visits. All the students were separated into groups depending on their project and studies. I was in a group that went to Frankfurt and we got to see a lot of cool stuff!! We started at a power plant that burns the garbage from the surrounding area to supply heat and electricity to the homes and businesses in the area. It was smelly at times but I’m not sure if it was worse than the waste water treatment plant I went to last semester for school. The results are in inclusive and further studies are being done.

Next we had a very delicious lunch and presentation about how Frankfurt is hoping to become Europe’s Green Capital. I won’t go into to details but they are doing different developmental things to improve their sustainability while supporting a growing population. After that we went to a natural history museum and I actually liked it! I know, I know. You may ask “Brian, you had fun at a MUSEUM?!” And my response is that I had fun because the tour guide was very good. He wasn’t just any old tour guide, oh no. He was a Ph.D. student that is a tour guide on the side. So he was very informative and knew where all the good displays were.

Wait a minute...

Then after that we went to the headquarters of a major bank here in Germany, Commerzbank. The building used to be the tallest building in Europe until Russia had to be all Russian and take all the glory. Geezzzz. The building is unique because it has open gardens every 4 floors and uses environmentally friendly technologies to reduce energy required for heating and cooling. After that very long day we got back to the hostel a little later than planned and almost had no dinner. But thankfully we did because we needed fuel for the fun filled night. Most of the kids at the conference all met at a nearby park and drank and just hung. I will say it is weird being allowed to have open alcoholic bottles/beverages in public spaces. But everybody behaves themselves so it all works out.

The next day was our last day (awwww) but we still had some presentations to go to. Once those were done and everyone had taken a nap during them, we had a tour of Heidelberg. It wasn’t the best tour but I still got some nice picture of some of the town.

Overall, it was a very fun weekend. I got to meet and hang out with cool people on someone else’s dollar (Euro?). It was nice to hang out with people my own age and who speak pretty good English. A couple of us have started to speak German-English which probably won’t last but is still funny. It was sad to leave and have to come back to work where I sit at a computer most of the day and don’t really talk to anyone. I’m looking more and more forward to going home and starting classes. I really miss Ann Arbor and all that goes with it. 

HafenCity

Last week I did an official tour of HafenCity. The tour guide had a lot of good information about the development of the area and the planning process. There was also a really cool building there that has information about the type of architecture in the area, the history of the ports, and how it will expand the city center. Here is a really cool building in HafenCity:

The layer on the outside is there to protect the building from wind and harsh weather. Work has been pretty much the same for the past week and a half. Just working on the case study of Amsterdam's regional and city vision/plan/scenario. There are so many ways they describe it that it gets confusing. Speaking of confusing, I got lost again last Friday. There must be something about Fridays because I get all kinds of lost on those days. They just be called Lostday! Right?!? Right?...

While I've been here I've realized when school starts back up I'm gonna have to start studying for the GRE. I'm glad I figured this out now so I can figure out my schedule and get prepared. I also realized I'm gonna have to take the FE in the winter semester so I have two standardized tests to look forward to in the next year!! Yippee!!

Last night I had dinner with a girl from the States that is doing research in Hamburg as well and we had some good conversations. We both are wondering what it is going to be like to understand the people around you and do regular everyday things without a language barrier when we're back home. I didn't realize how much I take that for granted. We also talked about how some days you count down the days until you're going back home and others you don't even think about it. There are definitely good and bad days.

Next week I'm going to Heidelberg for a conference hosted by the program I'm in. I plan on taking lots of pictures so keep an eye out for those!!

Until next time:

Keep it green!!
Brianne

Bieber Street

This past week was pretty routine. On Thursday I got to meet with a group of planning students from Prague that were visiting. My boss's boss invited me to join them since they would be discussing Hamburg in English and I'm very glad that he did. We talked about Hamburg and the benefits and drawbacks of planning in the city. We also got to walk around this area of the city that has been taken over by artists. There were buildings that weren't being used so they squatted in them and the city has made a deal with them so they can stay. There is amazing art on all the buildings in the area. I don't need to go to museums, just show me where there is some street art.

A couple of days ago I moved into my final apartment. It was a challenge to get here but I finally made it!! Thank goodness my boss was helping me. I unpacked all my stuff today and am all moved in. The place where I am is like a dorm for international students. The room is like any dorm room: small but bearable. The community kitchen is something to get used to so I've figuring that out has the days go by. I do feel very accomplished because I did laundry today all by myself!! The directions were completely in German but my clothes are clean and semi-dry so I'm saying it was a win.

At work I've been transcribing a few interviews that my boss did in Amsterdam. They are about the new structural vision for the city that they hope to have completed by 2040. Its a really cool project and I'm glad I get to learn about it and do some work on it. It seems that I will be able to work with some other people in the office once I have these interviews transcribed. But I that just depends on what Judith can find for me to do.

Another picture from the walk around the art commune. I just had to snap a picture!!

Almost forgot about the title of my post. The street I live on now is called Bieberstrasse, meaning Bieber Street. And I'm proud to be a resident on this street!!! O yea, I have Bieber fever!!!

Until next time:

Keep it green!
Brianne

First days of work

Started my job on Tuesday and I am liking it so far. On my first day I met my boss, Judith, who is a Ph.D. student working at/with HafenCity University (HCU). Here is picture of where HCU will be when its all completed:

It looks pretty lame now but in a couple of years its suppose to be done. They also said it was going to be done in 2012 when they started so who knows when it will be completed... But this year Hamburg was titled the European Green Capital! I don't know about you, but I was pretty impressed. I got some information about tours they do to show why they got this so I will definitely be doing that!

Back to business: Judith also advises students and does lectures for some classes. She is nice and really helpful with getting settled here and starting work. In the afternoon on Tuesday we tried to get some errands done but were completely unsuccessful. We started at the post office so I could register in Hamburg and she needed to get a new passport. We got there and received the number 215 and 216 while they were on #176. So we sat down and filled out some paperwork. After a while we were told by a woman sitting by us that she had already been there for 2 hours and still had about 20 people ahead of her. We thought we could go to the bank and try to open an account but once we got there we were told I needed to be registered in Hamburg to open an account. So back to the post office we went...only to find out there were still about 25 people ahead of us. We declared Tuesday a bust and went our separate ways home.

On Wednesday I sat in on some presentation that students were giving that Judith had to evaluate. They were all in German but I was just interested to sit in because the students were about my age and I wanted to see what type of work they were doing. After that we went back to the office and celebrated Judith's boss's birthday that was last week. Here, if it is your birthday, you supply champagne and I think usually some type of food. So I got to have some champagne at lunch!! I was pretty stoked but didn't want to seem like a totally newbie so I contained my excitement. After lunch I actually got to start working! Judith explained to me what her dissertation is about and what type of research she is looking at. Right now I am reading articles about spatial strategic planning. It is some cool stuff and it actually makes sense to me. I'm definitely improving my reading of articles skills and boy did they need some work!! I have never been good at that kind of reading and I definitely think this will help.

Today was more reading and summarizing of the articles. I finally made an appointment to get registered so hopefully I can open a bank account soon. HafenCity University seems like an amazing school! They have different levels of degrees in Urban Planning, Urban Design, Civil Engineering, Architectural Engineering, and (my favorite) REAP, which stands for Resource Efficiency in Architecture and Planning (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

That is basically what I want to do which I have never been able to put a title on. I am really excited to be working at this school and Judith said she can help me set up some meetings with people if I want. I will probably do this I just have to get my mind straight about who I would want to talk to first!!

Until next time:

Keep it green,
Brianne