As part of the dual degree program I have gone to Reutlingen. The exam and semesters are structured differently and also at different times. The Fall 2021 semester ended on January 29, 2022 after I took my last of 8 exams. It was a very long and work heavy semester and not very pleasant with COVID. The challenges of the semester was managing the crazy workload that was put onto students which included a 30 page thesis, as 20 page research paper, finding an internship, and also keeping up with 8 different subjects. Luckily I have lived in Germany before and my mother is German therefore it was easier to adapt to the language, but I can imagine for non-germans the semester was even tougher and a lot of people decided to drop out of the program. Having most classes online gave the semester an added challenge because it was hard to get to know people, especially because most people in the dual degree program already knew each other and I was the only one coming from Rollins. Overall and considering the circumstance I believe I managed the semester well and am now reflecting on my time here. To summarize the experience I can say that I did a lot of work but it required a lot of will power because the situation did not allow for much of a social life. I am now glad that the semester is over and I can look forward to the next semester, which will be an internship. During my Spring 2022 semester, I will focus on gaining hands-on experience by working at two different investment firms. I have received offers for internships in Frankfurt and am still looking for another possible offer in the US. My first internship will start in March and last three months until the end of May. My second internship is not set in stone yet, but it will need to be at least two months long and I need to have it completed before September 18. September will then be my last semester in Reutlingen and I will be back in Rollins for the spring semester to complete my dual degree. There is not much left to reflect on that I have not already mentioned in my other blogs. Since I’m German, my time here wasn’t really a study abroad, my time in the US was my study abroad.
