Aaron Hurd: Mannheim - Germany

Weekend trips to Munich, flying to London, night trains to Prague, folk dancing in Mutterstadt, Lindy Hop in Heidelberg, absolutely divine ice cream and an array of cultural festivals were all part of my study/work abroad experience this spring and summer with John Deere and the Fachhochschule (Technical University) Mannheim.

My experience started off with an internship at John Deere Werke Mannheim, where I worked on a number of projects, from vehicle control computer simulators to measuring reaction times of controllers.  Getting the opportunity to work in Germany introduced me to a number of the cultural differences in the workplace, many of which I enjoy.  (My favorite is the morning coffee break, during which all work stops.)  Many of my colleagues quickly became friends and were very helpful in getting me acclimated to Germany.  Thomas kept me up-to-date with all of the latest hot deals on train tickets while Karl gave me daily instruction in German culture and Mannheimer Dialect.

Despite working 40 hours per week, most every weekend, I was on the road (or, rather, railroad).  Prague, Saarbrücken, Munich, Cologne, Geneva, Zürich, Basel, Berlin, London, Frankfurt, Hanover, Stuttgart, Amsterdam and Heidelberg are only a few of the places I visited.  I stayed in youth hostels, friends’ houses and very typical-German bed and breakfasts, met lots of people and saw a lot of historical places.  Every weekend was an adventure, documented by addresses scribbled on notebook paper, fond memories and, of course, photographs.

One weekend in particular, I visited my friend, Regula in Switzerland.  She, her mother and father and I went sledding down a “small hill” (which would be considered a mountain in Iowa) using real Swiss sleds.  Imagine a train of four sleds headed up by a 50-year old Swiss man who is steering around sharp curves and trying to go as fast as possible . . . with the poor American hanging on for dear life at the end of the train.  What a rush!  Sunday evening, we had fondue.  It was to die for.

During the academic portion of my program, I studied in the Informatics department at the Fachhochschule (Technical/Engineering University) Mannheim.  All of the professors were very helpful, and I’m pleased to say that I did fairly well academically (even by the standards of a German student).  Since most of the past participants in this program have been Mechanical Engineering students (I am a Computer Engineer) many of my professors had never had an American student before and were very excited to have me there.

Getting to really exercise (and greatly improve) my language skills was a challenge and was quite comical at times.  I recall one weekend when I was trying to tell my friend Nowy, “Mein Akku ist leer.” (“My battery is empty.”)  However, because I didn’t emphasize the correct part of “Akku” I ended up saying “Meine Kuh ist leer.” (“My cow is empty.”)  After we figured out what I wanted to say, we both had a good laugh.

Over the last seven months, I’ve met people from Europe, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, Iraq, Iran, Russia and many other places . . . all of them with a very interesting story to tell.  Recently, on a night train, I spent some time talking with a Russian who was working for Daimler Chrysler in Stuttgart about vehicle controllers.  The people I have met over here were probably the most rewarding part of the experience.

I highly recommend studying abroad.  All told, it was a great experience!  If you would like to read more about my travels, you can visit my blog at http://www.aaronhurd.com/.  My current contact information is also available at that website if you have questions about my experience or need help booking trains in Germany.  ;-)