Snooze: part one #HogsAbroad in Germany

I’m in Germany!

Originally, I thought to myself, I’m going to have so much time to write, but with all the wisdom I’ve gained in the last four days, I’ve realized that there actually isn’t much time at all. Time really does fly, and the days seem shorter here. Most of the time, I leave the apartment at 7:30 and don’t come back until around 10; for those of you who know me well, you know that that’s a little bit too late.

Germany is spectacular, filled with historical statues and modern buildings, interesting people and a particularly enormous amount of ice cream, and I love it. Every day, I go to the same cafe, study the most interesting business topics I’ve ever heard of, and usually have an ice cream cone that inevitably explodes in my hand (I never did figure out how to eat ice cream cones.)

Anyway, I thought I would give an update on the trip so far.

I left Dallas at 4 p.m. on Friday, sitting by a younger man named David, who turned out to be a cartoonist on his way to an awards convention for cartoonists everywhere. When I arrived in Portland, I wished him good luck and became immediately lost in the airport. It turns out, the international gates are the furthest ones possible from where we landed, so I proceeded to sprint.

The flight attendant on Condor’s plane greeted me in German, so I knew I was in the right place. I sat by Tim, a political consultant in Portland on his way to vacation in eastern Europe. We talked for over an hour about politics, economics, the city of Portland, and Morocco after having immediately bonded over a The Office quote we said in unison. The flight to Frankfurt was long, but filled with episodes of The Office (see above), podcasts, music, and long stares at the screen in the seat displaying a map of the plane moving slowly over the gigantic ocean.

When I landed in Frankfurt and had waited through the eternity-long passport line, I once again became lost in an airport and nearly needed an inhaler after thinking I had lost the bag I checked. I found it at long last, ran to the bus, and got to the hotel in Frankfurt.

NH Hotel sure is a nice place. A king-sized bed is never a bad thing, and I certainly didn’t argue. In the spirit of saving money, I bought some snacks from reception for dinner: a pre-made salad and what looked like a very German wrap. The salad was okay. The wrap was my first inclination that I may not like German food as much as I had thought.

I left for the airport once again the next morning, where I found a blueberry muffin in a cafe and then watched the news on a giant television for over an hour, not understanding a single word. I was able to find some of my classmates and the leader of our program, who, after some more waiting and conversation, led us to our bus.

Quinten, Noah, and I sat in the last few seats of the bus, talking about cars, windmills, and the NBA. We became friends pretty quickly. The trip to Vallendar wasn’t terrible, but we were terribly excited so it seemed to drag on.

Vallendar, where my classes are during these two weeks and the home of the WHU, is the quintessential European town. Small, quiet, quaint, and complete with two beautiful churches. It is a town built around the university, and so during the summer, it truly is nearly silent, but it is beautiful and we noticed it from the beginning.
The apartment in Vallendar had no a/c. But it was cute. Through a team-building exercise, I met who would become my presentation team and we designed our own island to present to the class. Only two people voted to live on our island, so perhaps it isn’t the best career path for any of us. I met Maatabudi, a married woman from South Africa, and we became friends very quickly, although similar personalities led us to fight pretty frequently. My classmates and I sat through an orientation and a German language crash course before eating a meal of traditional German food in a church cellar, complete with wooden walls and giant pillars. Quinten, Noah, a new friend-Trevor- and I sat together, talking about which meat we couldn’t name was our favorite. I read 33 pages that night of a business document on trade unions and regional trade agreements; I should’ve known then the amount of work that was to follow.

We sat in class the next day for about eleven hours.

It was the most interesting class of my life. Those eleven hours covered a history of Germany and Europe, a breakdown of the European Union, descriptions of trade agreements, and a detailed analysis of Brexit and its impact on the future of the EU. I can now speak definitively on what the EU could likely expect over the next few years. We went to the supermarket after class, called REWE, where I instinctively found the peanut butter and jelly, as well as some granola bars; in other words, the foods I eat at home. After dropping the groceries off at home, we ate by the Rhine river at an Italian restaurant; the waiters spoke no English.

The next morning, in an epic bucket-list-crossing moment, I was lectured on the history of Germany and Western Europe by a British historian. Then, I ate lunch with him- real lunch with a real life British historian- and worked on our group project a bit. Around 3, we met to go on a boat tour to Koblenz, the nearest city. When we left, it was bright and sunny; a mile and a half down the river, we found a storm.
Koblenz was beautiful, with one of the oldest castles in Europe and one of the newest statues, history in every building, fountains, architecture, shops, and city squares. It truly was European, and I loved it. There was a very unique blend of old town and modern shopping, which only contributed to its curiosity. A very German tour guide led us through the city, regaling us with tales of Romans, the French, and the Rhine, among other things. He started every sentence with, “Ladies and gentlemen.” That night, we ate in a fancy German restaurant, where I re-learned that my appetite for German food is nonexistent, unless that German food happens to be Schnitzel.
Today, I woke up early, read and worked, then left for the same cafe we go to every morning. It’s called Thier, and is so German that the only ordering technique I can use is pointing through a glass display case of pastries and holding up my fingers to ask the price. They have great donuts, though.

I was lectured on business models and market penetration in Central and Eastern Europe by a Czech professor from its capital, which was very interesting. After lunch with Noah, Trevor, and Quinten and work on a case study covering Whirlpool and its entrance into Eastern Europe, I made a presentation before the class on joint venture agreements. I’m discovering that I don’t hate public speaking, and that in a strange way, it’s exciting. I never, ever thought that would be me. Maatabudi and I got ice cream in an Italian place, then picked up more groceries at REWE. She told me about the South African married life and her love story. I think we’ll be good friends. I got home, made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to save a Euro or two, and now I’m here.

It’s been a wild ride.

God has been so good the entire time, proving that this trip is not one blessing, but a million tiny gifts wrapped up inside one giant blessing. He has kept me safe, kept me on a constant adventure, given me wonderful friends, allowed me to try such good food, and helped me to stay healthy. I”m so grateful. May His Name be glorified through my life here.

hope you enjoyed this snooze!
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Follow Hunter as he studies business in Germany at https://heartoverseas.wordpress.com/
For more internship and study abroad opportunities within Walton College, visit http://walton.uark.edu/global/index.ph