Submitted by Tyler Roberts on the 2016 winter session program in Germany sponsored by the Department of Materials Science and Engineering…
Eleven days ago, our Materials Science and Engineering study abroad group of twenty students left Philadelphia International Airport on a trip of a lifetime! Despite our almost 19 hour day of travel and little sleep, we successfully made it to Bochum, Germany, our home base for the trip. Our host university is Ruhr University Bochum and we spend our weekdays taking Materials Science, German History and Energy, Technology and Science. Our history class is taught by a German history professor, so we are getting first-hand knowledge and experience with their history from a German native.
Last weekend, we left for Paris early Thursday morning and despite train cancellations and multiple bus changes, we made it safe and sound! There is no way to describe the atmosphere of the city besides the fact that excitement lies around every corner. For those of us who know some French, we could actually use what we had learned in years of high school classes by using French on the streets of Paris! We could order fantastic croissants and enjoy cheese fondue while at the same time being mesmerized by the Eiffel Tower and the Champs-Elysees. Our three night stay in Paris could have gone on forever!
Early Sunday morning, we ventured through Paris’ extensive train system and eventually made it to Geneva, Switzerland. We explored the lakefront in Geneva and the old city that was full of small shops and churches. On Monday, we went to CERN, which is an international organization working to understand the fundamental components of matter and why the universe is present in its current state today. The enormous facility is even part of both France and Switzerland!
I could go on and on about the countless things we have done on this program and I can’t wait to update you more with my next blog post!