I'm home

Well, I made it back. It's been a rather excellent summer with lots of new experiences and new places and new fun. However, now that it's over, this blog will likely have to end too. I'm afraid I just won't have the time and energy to post with any sort of regularity during the school year. So this is goodbye for now; hope you've enjoyed reading these posts, I'd still be happy to tell you more about what I did and saw and learned while I was there if you ask me. I'll leave you with the essay I wrote for the DAAD (They asked us to write about our experiences in Germany which they may use for further promoting the program.):

DAAD Essay

I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude to the DAAD RISE program team and to my advisor, Matthias Kropff for providing me this opportunity to experience a taste of Germany, especially German science and engineering. This past summer has been one of the most enjoyable and educational of my college career. The RISE program was the perfect match for my situation. While I really wanted to study abroad, the density of my schools curriculum makes it very challenging to take a semester off for such a program. RISE provided a way for me to get the experience of living and working at a German university, while staying on pace at my home university. While I am sure that there are many other opportunities available for students wishing to research in Germany, the RISE program provides a critical service by helping students to find these opportunities and providing the funding to make it affordable on a student's budget. Of course the success of the program depends significantly on the role of the German PhD students who handle much of the details like arranging housing and transportation. I am very grateful to Matthias for the time and planning that he put in to ensure that I would have a smooth transition.

My experience in Germany taught me significantly about the German culture and academic environment, as well as in my field of study. I appreciated the timeliness and efficiency of the German trains as well as the high quality of the food and I enjoyed the challenge learning the language. It was insightful to hear form my flatmates, co-workers and acquaintances their perspectives on German and world politics, to be introduced to new economic theories and new foods. I enjoyed getting to know my local baker in my morning visit for a "kutcher(brotchen) und käse(brotchen)" and I appreciated the ease with which one could travel by bike and on foot throughout the city and in the surrounding area. Overall, I grew to feel rather at home in Darmstadt, and found myself giving a friend who visited the same tour my advisor had given me when I had arrived.

In the office, I was grateful for the readiness with which my co-workers accepted me and was very impressed with their work ethic. I particularly appreciated the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the active areas of research in my field by editing the English in papers my coworkers were preparing for publication. Matthias gave me a great deal of freedom in directing my research and I was challenged to define the direction and significance of my work. I had expected that I would be mostly just completing tasks for my advisor, but Matthias gave me the opportunity (and challenge) of plotting the course of the research under his guidance from concept to experiment to paper. I gained a much deeper understanding of the day-to-day mechanics of research.

I also gained insight and grew in areas I hadn't anticipated. Living and traveling in Germany gave me new perspectives on my life and culture in the US and stretched me as I interacted with many new people in new places and new ways. While I learned much about Germany this summer I may have learned an equal amount about the my own culture by stepping out of it a little (though really, we have much in common) to see what I'd always just taken for granted. From the little differences, like drinking water with or without carbonation, to the bigger ones like the planning of cities, I now know another way to live. I have a greater understanding how the individual behaviors people have come together to form the different cultures and societies in Germany and the US.

I was also grew personally as I learned to get by (and thrive) in a place that was unfamiliar. As a typically quiet person, I had to practice meeting new people. While the obstacles, such as my poor German, made it challenging, I was encouraged by the friendliness of the people I met. In fact, being a foreigner gave me an extra bit of freedom not to worry about making mistakes, thus I found I had the confidence to step in to uncertain situations without worrying about the outcome. I also got a chance to connect with many other non-Germans who I likely would not have interacted with in the US, simply through the bond of our mutual unfamiliarity with the world around us.

And of course, on top of all the things I learned, I simply had fun. Germany is a beautiful country with such a diverse history. I enjoyed experiencing the architecture and museums in the big cities, as well as exploring the countryside within biking distance of my flat. I had enjoyable work, interesting and diverse company, and freedom to explore. While I don't know my plans following my undergraduate education for sure, I hope to return to Germany sometime in the not to distant future whether just to visit or to pursue further education or work. As a result of my time this summer, I'll always feel a bit more at home in Germany than before.