With my internship that started upon my arrival back in the US, writing my final post escaped my mind, but I'm ready now! Europe was a whirlwind experience that I know I will never forget. I'm not going to spend this post resummarizing my favorite experiences because I did that in my past posts throughout the trip. Instead, I'm going to use this post to explain what impacted me most about Germany.
When I first returned and when I was leaving, I was sad to leave the sights, history and culture of Europe behind. I was so afraid I'd forget what the Alps looked like or why I laughed so hard on the train or the major points of one of our lectures at either Hannover or Berlin, etc. I was certain that forgetting any of these things would mean I'd wasted my Germany experience! Having been back for nearly two months now, however, I don't have to be afraid to forget them because I have! I realize also, that that's not as terrible as it sounds. I have a ton of pictures that I diligently made captions for so I'll always remember looking at the Alps. I have Alice who religiously kept a daily log of our travels so I can refer to her and her notes for hilarious moments. And, I took my own notes over the lectures and company visits, but all in all, I know that our travel itinerary is not what this experience in Europe was about. It wasn't the actual sights I saw that touched me as much as bonding with my fellow peers and future colleagues did. Learning about the past, present and future of our profession with my fellow professionals (both American and German) is something that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Going to Germany and experiencing first hand what a different culture is like, what being so connected to other countries is like, what being so connected to history is like... those are the memories I will hold onto because they are the things that have changed my perspective on the profession and on our culture.
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