Blog Posts for International Co-Op

               So far, my time in Germany has been very busy. Getting here was easy enough for me - I’ve taken flights on my own in the past and already had a visa- so the process was as I expected. It was exciting to sit on my Lufthansa flight and be met with German announcements, but also a little intimidating. To make matters worse I walked on the plane and said good morning instead of evening to the flight attendant as I thought that was the greeting they used (and was laughed at). 
 

               Once I got off the plane, my first struggle was figuring out how to get a train ticket and then catch said train. Thankfully everyone was helpful and I was able to make it out to Jülich, the small “village” where my housing and work is. Now I put village in quotes here because that is how everyone refers to it. However, I was surprised to see that this “village” is actually pretty big by my Kentucky rural standards. You can walk everywhere, get all kinds of public transportation, buy anything you may need, and visit a street market on the weekends. The city surrounds an old citadel, which is odd to walk through on your way to other things, but brings an added quirky charm.  

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               I then checked in to my housing, which is similar to places I’ve lived in the states. I was interested to find out that normally apartments come unfurnished and that includes all kitchen appliances as people move their ovens, fridges, and stoves with them when they leave. My apartment also has dryers, which is uncommon here, but the dryers don’t dry your clothes fully. That means you still get to use the drying room (a room with clothes lines and racks that is another somewhat new thing for me). 

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               Overall, my experience has been going well and I am learning a lot of German and German culture. My biggest challenges have been the language barrier and  navigating the public transportation system. I expect the effect of these difficulties will decrease as I live here for longer. I also had to admit I need more help than I’m used to. I think being able to admit this to myself and others is helping me to face my goal of becoming less sensitive through this experience. Learning how to ask for help when I need it includes learning how to talk around things and ask understandable questions. 

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               All of that being said, with every difficulty the reward has been tenfold. I am learning so much about myself and others, visiting super cool places (including Innsbruck, Brussels, and Berlin so far- see pictures below), and doing really interesting work on Passive Autocatalytic Recombiners.