Before Hamburg: Cologne!

As you know, the CBYX program year is divided into phases: the language school phase, the university phase, and the internship phase. I recently learned that I will be in Hamburg for the University phase, which is the second phase of the program. This, of course, still left me wondering where I would be for my first two months in Germany--the language school portion of the program.

In a previous email, the CBYX staff (Katie) told us that we would be at one of three locations for language school, but she wasn't able to tell us where we would be just yet. I didn't really mind the wait; I knew that I would find out soon enough. I was right!

For the language school phase, I will be in...

Cologne! 


Cologne (German: Köln) is in western Germany, halfway between the country's northern and southern borders. It is, like Hamburg, a large city with an urban population of just over 1 million. However, it is not a city-state--it is within the Bundesland Nordrhein-Westfalen.

Cologne is known for it's stunning Gothic cathedral. It's got other really cool stuff,  but c'mon... that cathedral looks absolutely incredible. Luckily, the Carl Duisberg Center where I'll be studying is only about a twenty minute walk away.


I'm drooling.


Like Hamburg (or any big city, really) I've got a few worries. I have heard from a few friends that the main train station (Hauptbanhof) is a bit sketchy. And, of course, how can you forget about the "Cologne Sex Attacks" of 2015/16?

Of course, this is one of those times when I have to tell myself that more people = more danger based solely on probability. There's going to be the threat of danger wherever I go, but that doesn't mean I have to let it control me, my perspective, or my actions; all I've got to do is be smart, pay attention, and remain cautious, and I know I'll be fine.

I am really excited to get to explore and experience another iconic city in Germany as more than just a tourist. It will only be two months, but two months is plenty of time to feel at home somewhere. I'm excited to walk along the banks of the Rhine, see all the tourist-y sights, and to dive headfirst into the culture, and I'll be sure to update you along the entire way!

Bis bald!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Retrospective Perspective: The Interview

Guess who's back [back] Back again (it's me) Every year, at least one person finds this blog and then reaches out to me for help with their own application, interview, or program year preparations... and I'm so happy every time that happens!!! I respond to every email that comes at me through my "Contact Me" page, so reach out!! Anyway, I wanted to write this post because I realized that I didn't have anything on here regarding the specifics of the interview. Most of the emails I get are from candidates who have gotten an interview and are curious about the process, so I will answer some of the most common questions about that here.  In the interest of full disclosure and transparency, I do want to mention that I am sitting on an interview panel this year (2022). I have not read or watched any of the interviewer training materials yet, and I will not look at them until this post is published. This post will not be edited or updated in any way after posting, an
Read more

2 1/2 Years Later

Image
Hello. Me again.  It's February of 2021. I've been back in the U.S. since July 17th, 2018. I never really finished writing about my CBYX experience, so maybe when I find the time, I'll finally finish talking about it. All of the most important stuff is there, anyway, and I can't offer the fresh perspective I once had, but it would be nice to go through my pictures again.  I found myself back on this blog when a potential CBYX participant emailed me and told me that she couldn't find anything about the German-speaking portion of the interview (in case you're wondering, I updated my post about the interview process as a result). I thought it might be interesting to provide a small update on where I'm at now and what I do.  Right After CBYX Following my year abroad, I was so excited to go home. Lots of people asked me, "Don't you want to live there now?" and "Do you see yourself going back to Germany to work?" and my answer is, "No.
Read more

Die Praktikantin

I mentioned in a previous post that I would elaborate on what it’s like to be an intern in Germany. Allow me to deliver on that promise. As required by CBYX, I obtained an internship for the second half of my year in Germany (read more about that process here#). I was hired as a research and consulting intern at the Institute for Environmental IT Hamburg GmbH, or ifu. I’m currently in at the end of my third month of my five-month internship, so I feel like I can finally give you a good overview of what it’s like to be a US American intern in a German company. Of course, this pertains only to me—other PPPler have had wildly different experiences, but the only one I can share is mine. To give you an idea of how unique my experience was: my team is full of young people. The whole office is very relaxed, and there’s only about 25 people in ifu total. Going into the intership phase, we were fed stereotypes about German work/office culture (which probably really helped some peopl
Read more