Finally what $3,000 bought for me.

To come to Germany, I applied to this Transatlantic program; it's sponsored by the German American Chamber of Commerce. They help us with the work permit and host this 10-day seminar in Berlin and we pay them, basically $2900.

First problem with this number is that here was what my personal balance sheet before I had to pay the fee:


(it's like any American college student's balance sheet. We're broke, we know it. I'm no different.)

(4 years of business school and now this is how my brain works. I could have just said "I'm a college student and seldom have $3000 just sitting around. Nope, I need the balance sheet.)


I figure out the fee. Done. What did I just pay for? The company I'm working at, I actually applied to last year on my own. The program doesn't help with housing search or the residency permits (pain in the rear. There's more about that later.)

However, after having to leave Minnesota 2 days after graduating, and after shelling out 3K for something I'm uncertain of, I started the program in Berlin. Cozy hotel, so much food, and a couple of day trips for show. 3K for a broke college graduate. Alright, alright, alright. Now it's clearer.

From May 23-June 1, 20 students from across the U.S. met at the Hotel Ambassador to practice our German in speech courses, meet with German business men and women, take tours, and travel to nearby cities.

Let me first start with meeting my roommate. He's a jazz studies major from So. California who wears a beanie to hold his 3 foot long hair. Chill guy, aside from snoring he was totally fine. But the contrast is certainly funny

My side of the tiny (European) hotel room (Left): (as you know, I'm a strong Type A personality)
His side of the room (right)


From 4:00 p.m. that Saturday that we first met to June 1st, we were basically together all waking hours of the day. From breakfast around 7:30 to last moments of dinner's dessert at 9:00 p.m. we were one pleasant group. It wore on us so much that basically half the group was ill or falling asleep constantly by the end of the week. Side note: The coffee is not as strong here. Largely unpleasant.

What else did we do, I'll summarize with some photos:

We toured ALL of Berlin. (...right after lunch where we had our own bus and comfy seats for the 1 1/2 hour long tour. Even the speech instructor was nodding off! That made me feel better when I napped for 15 minutes of the tour)










We practiced how to talk to our German bosses. Be very formal. Remind them who the heck you are and why you're bothering them. Be patient. Be prepared to hear no.

Turns out, my boss/supervisor the first time I met her interrupted me to say "we are all informal around here. It's all on a first name basis." ...don't know how realistic this practice was.


We learned about green roofs. Literally, roofs that are green because they have plants growing in them. It's a way to prevent rainwater runoff and to increase insulation.

Note that our guide, the one to whom we're supposed to dress (i.e. if she's in a suit, so should we, if she's in business casual, so should we). She's there in jeans and a t-shirt and we're in suits. Always we had to be in suits--it was a bit overdone and looked so awkward, like in this photo.



Here are the green roofs. This is at Postdamer Platz, which was built around 1994, shortly after the reunification of West and East Germany. Hence, the modern technology in an old city.










We saw German news being reported. It's almost like a photo from a zoo. They're working, we're dripping over the rails oogling at what they're doing.

On the right is the chief editor (in the tie) talking with a colleague who's writing the front page headlines.
This was the Berlin Tagesspiegel--one of the most distributed newspapers in Germany.



We went to the Federal Ministry of Economics (and Technology) and spoke to the director of policy for middle market companies, which represent about 97% of all German companies.
(under 500 employees and under 500 Mill Euros per year)

This was my favorite, since it was all about the current economic state.
The guy we met is way in the middle (hard to see). The others were bored, but I had a blast.



We went to the Department of Foreign Affairs. The speaker was really fun and animated. He spent the time going through how the German parliament is set up, which was news to most of us.
















I had the joy of presenting this man from the Office of Foreign Affairs (the equivalent of our State Department) with my Minnesota gift. I opened my bag in Berlin to find that Chicago security had ripped the gift open only to cover the thing with their wonderful "INSPECTED" tape.






We traveled to Dresden and toured the Volkswagen manufacturing plant where they make the Phaeton, their luxury $80,000 car.

Like no other factory I imagined; it's all glass, completely clean, extremely quiet, and very modern. It was clearly designed to bring car purchasers in so they could see their car being made.






We listened (dozed) through a presenter speaking in Sachsisch. Dresden is in the state of Sachsen. They, like Bavaria, have a certain dialect that gets hard to understand. Imagine either a far north Minnesotan or a deep south Alabaman. +the foreign language, + dimmed room, + after lunch = nap.






We walked around Dresden. Here's just the city center. It's a wall mural depicting the 16 kings of the city (I think.)
There's nothing like this in the U.S. and here it's just something the local residents pass by every day.











We toured Airbus in Hamburg.
The guide was ridiculous. He was a Brit that married a German. He spoke half the time in German, but he'd assume we didn't understand him, so he repeated the majority in English. There were two German students along with our group who barely spoke English. They were not happy.





We took public transportation in Hamburg--a boat. It runs like the light rail, but is a much cooler form of transport.


(Behind me are the cranes that unload the boat shipments that come in through Hamburg's famous harbor)







We toured Hamburg with a real estate developer.

This was about day 9. We were exhausted. We had no free time. The topic was great and interesting, but we were just done.








We took part in the local culture. This was more on our own time.
(We bought a pitcher at a Biergarten and each had to take a photo like this.)











We had a cultural training seminar. (This was a bit outdated. From my experience at the firm I work, it's so laid back. This trainer warned us it would be way different than what I perceive it is.)














10 days, each full of meetings and different experiences. We went out a few nights, but were exhausted to try anything else in the city. From June 1st I rode the train to Stuttgart where I've been for almost one week. I'll add more about the pains of German bureaucracy and how the redeeming factor is constantly my great workplace.

Later Days,
Rick