Born in Dresden, Germany, my time in the U.S. was a study abroad. Culture and identity have always followed me in my life. My Dad is Dutch, and my mother is German. Living in a household where cultures are different, one learns to accept the differences and enjoy them. Living in several countries and travelling,…
Category: Germany: DDP Reutlingen
Final Reflection
Looking back at my original ruminations about my identity and the impact it has on my experiences, I find myself to be only partially correct. Over the last four months, I have discovered much about my own identity, as well as the role identity plays in the relations between people, ethnic/religious groups, and even nations. …
Farewell
My time in Germany is nearing its end. If i am ever to return to Germany, however, I would most definitely return to the south. The region’s amazing nature, beautiful weather, and small, sleepy towns stand in stark contrast to the flat landscape and large cities of the north. As a small-town man myself, I…
Exploring the Region
Having spent a considerable amount of time in northern and southern Germany, I must say that the nature of the south is indisputably more beautiful. This conclusion, with which I am sure others can concur, I reached after partaking in two unforgettable experiences. Almost immediately after orientation at ESB Reutlingen, i was informed of two…
Among the Hills of Swabia
If I were to choose one feature of Reutlingen that never ceases to amaze me, it would be the nature (specifically, the hills) surrounding the village. Coming from a relatively small city in Florida, I’ve always preferred quiet, quaint locations to large, busy, and bustling ones. Reutlingen’s location in the beautiful German region of Swabia…
Wieder nach Deutschland – I can’t seem to stay away from this country
When you applied to study abroad, you completed a short activity that asked you to choose some words to describe your different identities, as well as some values you associated with those identities. In the pre-departure orientation, we looked at some different values and placed ourselves and US culture on a spectrum between them. We…
American Company in Germany
Since this final blog post is focused around my perspective and cross-cultural experiences, I find it only fitting to write about my experience at Proctor & Gamble in Frankfurt. Based off anecdotes from other friends conducting internships elsewhere in Germany, I found it commonplace to have traditional and hierarchal work environments, with rigid systems and…
Fear and Loathing in Hamburg
Considering whether or not to spend some money on myself this weekend, I heard the wise words of Tom Haverford ring softly inside my head: “…treat yo’ self!” It was decided– I would visit my friends in Hamburg for the weekend. I searched and searched for the the cheapest possible tickets in order to ball as…
Studying abroad will be fun, they said
I imagined that the DDP would be kind of similar to your typical study abroad program. You know, go to class a few hours a week, have some fun, visit a country or two on the weekend. But I ended up finding a concerning study to fun ratio, with little energy and time left to…
Internship soon
The time for me to conduct my internship semester in the DDP program has finally come, and I could not be more excited. It feels great to say that the difficult application process with Proctor & Gamble was worth it. Starting February I will begin my internship position in Brand Management in Schwalbach. Although I do…