Overview of My Experience
This past spring I traveled to Munich, Germany and lived and worked there until mid-August. I signed up for UC's International Co-op Program (ICP) my sophomore year of college because I wanted to experience working in a foreign environment, integrate into a foreign culture as a worker, and travel throughout Europe. I discovered my passion for traveling and desire to explore new cultures as a global citizen after traveling to Kenya and Tanzania with the UC Chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) during the summer of 2014 after my freshman year.
Before traveling to Germany, I participated in two intensive German language and culture courses to learn the fundamental vocab and grammar of the German language as well as foundations of the German culture and its differences from American culture. Upon arriving in Germany, I felt semi-prepared for the culture shock and could speak basic German with individuals that I interacted with.
As I stated above, this experience involved traveling to Germany and working there for two co-op terms (approximately 8 months) to satisfy UC's co-op requirements for graduation. I worked at General Electric Global Research Center within the Advanced Aviation Team in Garching near Munich. I worked as an operability engineer conducting thermodynamic and fluid dynamic analysis on the anti-FOD air inlet screen of GE's new Advanced Turboprop (ATP) engine, writing a test package for the results of ice accretion tests conducted on the ATP's anti-FOD air inlet screen, and designing a rig model for tests being conducted on the ATP's compressor inlet. GE GRC has a diverse workforce that allowed me to work side-by-side with German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Irish, and Indian individuals. The language barrier, as many of my co-workers struggled with speaking English, was the most difficult part of working in Germany. I overcame this by speaking German at work and ensuring that I fully understand my project's goals and requirements, even if that meant having my co-workers repeat what they said at times. I lived with two German's between the 20 and 25 years old and spent many of my weekends going to concerts, beer festivals, and other social events with them. I commuted to work each day using Munich's underground trains, called the U-bahn, where I had most of my interactions with Germans. I constantly talked with Germans on the U-bahn each day heading home from work and feel as though this was the number one way that I learned about German culture. I felt part of German society and not just a tourist as I slowly improved my German each day.
I spent many of my weekends and much of my time off from work traveling throughout Europe. I traveled to over 15 countries and spent between 2 and 5 days in each city i visited. I mostly stayed in hostels during my travels and met so many new people from other countries. When I visited Dublin, Ireland for St. Patrick's Day I stayed in a hostel with two individuals from Belgium. We spent two days exploring Dublin and I felt as though I learned more about their culture from them than from actually visiting Belgium. Many of the individuals I met in hostels I stayed with when I visited the cities they came from and am still stay in contact with currently. My most memorable travel experience was visiting Warsaw, Krakow, and Lodz Poland. The people I encountered were some of the friendliest I had ever met and the environment of each city was beautiful. I discovered why I was so proud to be of Polish origin and felt this travel experience was the most impactful to my personal development.
The opportunity to work in Germany and travel all over Europe through the ICP was an experience of a lifetime. Other than gaining an in-depth understanding of the German culture and language and exploring different cultures throughout Europe, the most important piece of information I took away from this experience is that people are people. While language, culture, beliefs, looks, etc, may differ between people from different countries, every person is unique and should not be stereotyped based off where they live or come from. Not all Germans act stern, not all Italians like pasta, and not all Irish people drink a lot at bars. It depends on the person.
Before traveling to Germany, I participated in two intensive German language and culture courses to learn the fundamental vocab and grammar of the German language as well as foundations of the German culture and its differences from American culture. Upon arriving in Germany, I felt semi-prepared for the culture shock and could speak basic German with individuals that I interacted with.
As I stated above, this experience involved traveling to Germany and working there for two co-op terms (approximately 8 months) to satisfy UC's co-op requirements for graduation. I worked at General Electric Global Research Center within the Advanced Aviation Team in Garching near Munich. I worked as an operability engineer conducting thermodynamic and fluid dynamic analysis on the anti-FOD air inlet screen of GE's new Advanced Turboprop (ATP) engine, writing a test package for the results of ice accretion tests conducted on the ATP's anti-FOD air inlet screen, and designing a rig model for tests being conducted on the ATP's compressor inlet. GE GRC has a diverse workforce that allowed me to work side-by-side with German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Irish, and Indian individuals. The language barrier, as many of my co-workers struggled with speaking English, was the most difficult part of working in Germany. I overcame this by speaking German at work and ensuring that I fully understand my project's goals and requirements, even if that meant having my co-workers repeat what they said at times. I lived with two German's between the 20 and 25 years old and spent many of my weekends going to concerts, beer festivals, and other social events with them. I commuted to work each day using Munich's underground trains, called the U-bahn, where I had most of my interactions with Germans. I constantly talked with Germans on the U-bahn each day heading home from work and feel as though this was the number one way that I learned about German culture. I felt part of German society and not just a tourist as I slowly improved my German each day.
I spent many of my weekends and much of my time off from work traveling throughout Europe. I traveled to over 15 countries and spent between 2 and 5 days in each city i visited. I mostly stayed in hostels during my travels and met so many new people from other countries. When I visited Dublin, Ireland for St. Patrick's Day I stayed in a hostel with two individuals from Belgium. We spent two days exploring Dublin and I felt as though I learned more about their culture from them than from actually visiting Belgium. Many of the individuals I met in hostels I stayed with when I visited the cities they came from and am still stay in contact with currently. My most memorable travel experience was visiting Warsaw, Krakow, and Lodz Poland. The people I encountered were some of the friendliest I had ever met and the environment of each city was beautiful. I discovered why I was so proud to be of Polish origin and felt this travel experience was the most impactful to my personal development.
The opportunity to work in Germany and travel all over Europe through the ICP was an experience of a lifetime. Other than gaining an in-depth understanding of the German culture and language and exploring different cultures throughout Europe, the most important piece of information I took away from this experience is that people are people. While language, culture, beliefs, looks, etc, may differ between people from different countries, every person is unique and should not be stereotyped based off where they live or come from. Not all Germans act stern, not all Italians like pasta, and not all Irish people drink a lot at bars. It depends on the person.
Example of My Learning
I am choosing to show an example picture of part of the Advanced Turboprop (ATP) engine's anti-FOD air inlet screen I worked on developing during my co-op at GE GRC in Munich, Germany. I spent a majority of my time during my double co-op rotation developing a test package that describes the results of the ice accretion tests performed on the anti-FOD screen and recommends future course of action for the screen development. The anti-FOD air inlet screen is one of the components that makes the ATP so unique. Very few other engines GE Aviation designs and builds contains an anti-FOD screen. As a result, I have experience working on a unique part that most people never even see let alone work on. I feel like this piece of hardware and its uniqueness reflects my international co-op experience. Very few students, or people in general, have the opportunity to work in a foreign country and travel. Just as this part impacts the function of the ATP engine, this experience stills effects my growth and development as a global citizen. Looking back on all my experience during my international co-op, I still feel as though I am learning new things through reflection that I never noticed when they actually occurred.