Erfahrungen in den USA - als Stipendiat

My internship in the logistics department at the ZF Lemforder Corporation in Duncan, South Carolina, was deeply interesting. At this location ZF Lemforder assembles axles for an automobile manufacturer which is located in the Greenville/ Spartanburg area. For most of the time I worked on my own project. I had to plan a standardized replenishment concept that transported all the smaller parts from the warehouse to the assembly line. Furthermore I analyzed things related to the replenishment and worked out changes that everything works together very well. Since the things I planned are completely new for the staff I put a lot of effort in making the things easy to understand. Even so I created a lot of information and training materials to instruct all people affected by the changes. This internship was a good opportunity to learn more about the business culture in another country. The interpersonal dealing is more casual than I was used to from other internships in Europe and you don’t notice hierarchies as much as in Germany. One statement of my boss I won’t forget is that it is not so important for them to plan everything in detail, they implement a concept and then it works out or if not they have to adapt it, that’s the way it is.

In Greenville there aren’t many things to do. But new impressions and experiences you get everywhere. The most curious thing was the church I went to one time. You feel like you are at an airport, a big cubical building with the homepage as name on the outside wall; in the inside were a lot of signs which shows you where to go and a lot of promotional stands, and of course they have their own Starbucks in the entrance hall. The mass was in a big hall with a stage and a lot of colorful lights; in addition to that the music came from a band so the feeling in there was like visiting a rock concert. The pastor also spoke from the big color lighted stage and as help for his speech he used a teleprompter. For all the people who couldn’t join the mass they recorded everything with about 8 cameras and published it on their homepage.

Beside the work and life in Greenville I used every opportunity to travel. In addition to some smaller trips for example to Atlanta, Columbia and the Smokey Mountains I had three bigger trips over extended weekends. My first trip over the long Easter weekend was to Florida. We started with a great night out in Miami Beach and on the next day we drove to Key West. On the way we stopped at beautiful beaches and enjoyed the sunny weather before we reached Key West harbor for watching the sunset. The next day we walked through the streets of Key West and before we left the island we did an awesome Jet Ski tour around Key West. One thing you shouldn’t miss on the keys is eating delicious seafood in a restaurant at the beachfront. Back in Miami Beach we just relaxed at the beach.

My second long weekend trip was to Chicago, there we stayed for four days and explored the city. Chicago offers a lot of things to do, so we tried to find a balance between seeing as much as you can and having an easygoing weekend. In short, we enjoyed cocktails in the 95th floor of the John Hancock Tower, we did a guided walk through the streets of downtown Chicago, we stopped in nice restaurants and coffeehouses, we were at the Sky Deck of the Willis Tower, we had a relaxed night in a jazz club, we looked at our reflection in The Bean, we watched the Memorial Day parade, we saw a firework, we ate deep dish pizza and finally we rocked a karaoke bar. These four days were full of great impressions in a great city.

The Independence Day weekend we went to Savannah, Georgia. This is a city with a very southern charm: red cobblestones, gorgeous old house facades, horses and carts in the streets, a lively riverfront with nice restaurants and a lot of small green parks. Besides rambling about the city we did a riverboat tour and spent time at the beach, one day on Tybee Island and one day on Hilton Head Island.
Even though there are a lot of organizational things to do in advance of an internship in the United States of America and also in the first days with stuff like opening a bank account, applying for the driver’s license, buying a car, looking for insurance and so on. After this time it was up to me to make the time abroad wonderful and memorable. In retrospect I would not miss these 5 months in South Carolina and I would do it again.

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Washington and its people
Washington, D.C. as city has a lot to offer and is a wonderful place to live. Although the city is the political power centre of the US (seat of the government and home of the president), it provides its citizen with a large cultural program: There are theatres, concert halls, galleries and so many museums (mostly free admission!) that during my stay, I wasn't able to visit all of them. Many of these museums as well as the Capitol, the White House and the Washington Monument are located along 'The Mall', a large area in the middle of the city. Outside the city centre you find many small neighbourhoods, in which Washingtonians live and spend their free time. One of my favourite areas is Georgetown. Due to its architectonic style and its small size, this wonderful neighbourhood feels more European than other parts of the city. Especially on warm and sunny days, people from all over the city visit Georgetown for the day. They enjoy the nice atmosphere, many cute café's and restaurants, stores and boutiques, as well as its waterfront and harbour.

Although I had no idea what to expect from my stay in D.C., having already spend a longer period of time in the US before, made it easier. I was familiar with the American culture and mentality and I knew that it is easy to feel welcome in the US. Americans are very friendly, helpful and open-minded people. However, they might seem superficial if you are not used to the American mentality. Therefore, it is important to become familiar with their culture and to recognize the difference between empty phrases and honest statements.

I especially enjoyed Washington for its internationality. Embassies, cultural and political institutions, non-governmental organizations, banks and trade organizations from all over the world are represented in D.C. During my free-time as well as during my internship at the Goethe-Institut, I met interesting people from various countries.

I was interning in the program department that organizes and promotes German culture through a diverse cultural program for a mainly English-speaking audience. We were two German interns at the Goethe-Institut and felt warmly welcomed by the team from the beginning. The atmosphere in the Institut was very comfortable and our colleagues super nice and supportive.
The work in the program department was very interesting and diverse. I worked with my colleagues on the conceptualization, organization and promotion of cultural events, such as exhibitions, film screenings, festivals as well as discussions, literature and listening events. To foster cultural exchange, artists, directors, writers, musicians or other special guests from the US and Germany are invited by the Goethe-Institut to take part, exhibit or perform.
As you can imagine, working in a German Institution abroad is a very interesting experience. It enables you to look at your own country from a different perspective when being confronted with people who have different ideas, opinions and knowledge about Germany, and on the other hand when trying to represent and promote modern Germany and its culture to an American audience. It enables you to critically reflect and to recognize similarities as well as differences between the two western countries.

Public transportation and travel
What is definitely better organized in Europe is the public transportation system. However, in comparison to other American cities, Washington's transportation system (metro and buses) is quite decent but expensive. There are also several bus companies that regularly run from D.C. to Philadelphia, Boston and New York. It is an easy, comfortable and affordable way to travel to various cosmopolitan cities, that all have their own charm.

There are also places worth visiting, which are not reachable by public transportation. One of them is the Chesapeake Bay, a wonderful and quiet place far away from crowded cities. Since it is only about a two hour drive from Washington, we decided to rent a car to visit Annapolis, St. Michaels and some other tiny towns at the Chesapeake Bay for a day.

After the end of my internship I planned to travel to different places on the East Coast that I wasn't able to visit during the time of my internship. I can only recommend everyone to visit as many places as possible when being abroad. I had a great time travelling to cities like Boston, New York and Miami. In Florida it was already warm enough to swim in the ocean – in April! From there I did a tour to the Everglades to see the wild life (Alligators & Co.) and island hopping in the Keys (a chain of many little tropical islands that are connected by bridges in the south of Florida). From the largest island in the Keys, I used the opportunity to go on a snorkelling tour to see the amazing underwater world in the third largest coral reef in the world.
To conclude, I can only say that it was a wonderful and enriching time in the US, which I enjoyed very much!

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The housing was paid by my company and was really big. We had two floors with two big bedrooms, two bathrooms, a cozy living room, a fully equipped kitchen and a terrace and yard for the very important barbecues. Before I started my work on Monday I spent a weekend with the other interns at the great beaches of Atlantic City. It was wonderful and I knew this is going to be an awesome time.

The plant of BSH Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Corp. consists of 3 main factories: cooking, dishwasher and laundry. I worked in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering in the laundry factory. This factory was built in 2003 and was endued with very advanced machines and assembly lines. The procedure and formalities at my first day were easy and uncomplicated because the BSH staff was very experienced. This is due to the fact that BSH employs about ten to fifteen foreign interns every year. After a first instruction and an interesting factory tour I was told that there´s an important rebalance coming up for the washer and dryer assembly lines and I´m going to be a part of the project team. It was an exciting challenge and I learned and acquired a lot of new professional skills. My supervisor and coworkers were great. The days at work went by real quick due to the great work conditions, the interesting tasks and the nice and helpful people.

During the first two months in the USA every intern has to face the same tasks. Open a bank account, register with SEVIS, apply for a social security card, get your learners permit and drivers license, buy a car, find a proper car insurance and get your license plates. It was really good to have a car in the US - especially to commute to work and for trips on the weekends or holidays. I decided to buy a typical American Pick-Up truck ´cause these cars are the cheapest but toughest. And it exposed that this truck with its huge loading space was very useful when we went surfing or camping.

Beside work we spent a lot of time at the beach and made some exciting trips. Because I am a big fan of American sports I spent a weekend in Richmond, Virginia to watch a Nascar Race with my supervisor and a colleague from work. It was amazing. You could not only hear the power of the cars but also feel it. Another weekend some interns and I made a trip to Raleigh, the Capital of North Carolina to watch a football match. There were eighty thousand people partying and tailgating before the game on the parking lots in front of the stadium. The atmosphere in the stadium was able to make one´s flesh creep. Other sporty highlights were the two NHL-Hockey Games we were able to see. To see the best hockey players of the world on the ice was expensive but definitely worth its money.

In October I got one week off and I visited my girlfriend who made a language course in Fort Lauderdale in Florida. It was a great road trip down the coast and while driving down the highway and facing the sun I got the feeling to be totally free. Florida is the most beautiful place I have ever been. We spent some days at the beaches of Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach before we passed the 7 mile Bridge to get to the most southern point of the USA: Key West. At this Caribbean-like place we felt like being on holidays in a totally other country. The weather, the easy-going life of the people and some incredible sunsets made the days in Key West unforgettable. On our way to Fort Myers Beach at the west coast of Florida we stopped at the Everglades National Park and made a tour through the alligator-swampland. After spending a comfortable day on the beach we went to Orlando and visited the Universal Studios, the Island of Adventure theme park and Aquatica, a great water park. The last stop on this awesome trip was Charleston in South Carolina, a really traditional and idyllic southern city at the Atlantic Ocean.

During the Thanksgiving Holidays a group of eight interns and I headed for the probably most fascinating city at the East Coast of the United States: New York. The city is incredible. The loud and busy streets filled with thousands of people on the one side and the quiet and relaxing footpaths in the Central Park on the other side make this place to one of the most contrary cities I have ever visited. We saw the lights of Manhattan from the top of the Empire State Building at night and the beautiful view over the Central Park from the Rockefeller Center at daylight. Every view in every direction from these buildings is striking. The colorful Time Square, the Staten Island Ferry ride, the walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, the huge Madison Square Garden, the beautiful streets of Little Italy, the big construction area at Ground Zero and many other attractions made this trip to an experience that nobody should miss.

On our way back to New Bern we stopped in Washington DC. This City is so different compared with New York. When you walk down the almost empty street from the US Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial passing the Washington Monument and all the other historical buildings you can definitely feel a little bit of the great power of this city. If you should ever be there don´t miss to take the elevator up to the 555 feet high Washington Monument. It reveals an unforgettable view over the city including the White House and the Pentagon.

After five and a half months in America it was too early to say goodbye. I liked my work at BSH and was told I did a great job. I also liked the people I met and many of them became close friends. All in all I would recommend an internship in a foreign country to everybody who is eager to make new experiences and likes to get to know different cultures. It could be the time of your life!

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It was fortunate since you definitely need a car when you are living and working in Southern California, unless you know someone from whom you can borrow a car whenever you need one. Public Transportation in SoCal is pretty bad; actually, I rarely see a bus on the streets, although there is a transportation system in Orange County called "Octa". Housing and living expenses in California (especially Orange County) are much more expensive than in Germany, everybody should be aware of that. For housing, groceries and transportation (car) I needed approximately 1200 USD per month, not including all of those activities I did when I wasn't at work, day trips for instance. Fortunately, gas is less than half the German price.

The 2nd week I started my internship at the University of California, Irvine. I worked as an undergraduate student in a research lab which focuses on Cancer Imaging Technologies. This practical internship is a required component of the Medical Engineering curriculum at the University of Applied Sciences in Mannheim, where I am currently enrolled. I had a hard time in finding an internship opportunity in a research lab, since I didn't have any connections to institutions in California. After having sent a lot of emails to different Universities asking about opportunities to do my practical term, I finally got an offer at the Center for Functional Onco Imaging at UCI. It also takes some time until the Visa paperwork is done, but it is worth the effort and I will never regret it.

The working atmosphere is more casual than in Germany, my co-workers (most of them were grad students or Ph.D.s) were very friendly and helpful, we always got along. Since I didn't do my internship at a company, but at a university, there were a lot of other students around my age and it was easy to meet new people to hang out with. It always was a lot of fun; I really appreciated working in this lab. My project involved the development of a filter circuit in order to improve the output signal of an optical tomography system. It was quite interesting and I think I gained some important skills related to my studies. It took about one month to get to know everything and to work independently. However, I felt like my supervisor didn't have any concerns about letting me doing things on my own. Also it was my first time of working in a foreign country. The work experience I gathered will hopefully be useful in the coming years. My usual work day started at 9:30, and I normally got back home before 6 in the evening. I drove my car to work; it took around ten minutes to get there, so I'd say I lived very close. We had monthly meetings, where everybody was supposed to give a short report about the past month.

Orange County is probably one of the nicest spots in California (in my opinion). By car you can get to LA (Downtown) within 40 minutes. Also San Diego isn't far away and definitely worth a day trip. I lived in Costa Mesa, which is next to Newport Beach, one of the richest cities in the US. That also explains the high rent (I paid $840, including utilities, for a private room with a private bathroom - and this still is a great deal!). Newport Beach is a cozy beach town with a great vibe and lots of young people. You can get great fresh seafood (at the Crab Cooker for instance). Also, since the international border to Mexico isn't far away, there are a lot of authentic Mexican places where you can get some tasty enchiladas or burritos. And I am not talking about Taco Bell or Del Taco, etc. All things considered, Orange County has a lot of diversity in terms of cuisine. You can pretty much do everything in Costa Mesa and the surrounding area - biking, rollerblading, shopping, hanging out at the beach, water sports, eating sushi (I highly recommend that as SoCal is well-known for its very good Sushi places), or going on a sightseeing trip to Los Angeles or San Diego. The world San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido is one of my favorite places I have visited in SoCal. Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach have beautiful, wide beaches. I love riding the bike along the boardwalk after a long workday in the lab. You really don't have to worry about the weather in California, it is very reliable. And in the random case of a rainy day in SoCal, there are tons of movie theatres to visit, very nice museums and other cultural activities. However, in total there it rained 7 days during my entire stay. Doesn't that sound good? To make a long story short, it never gets boring.

Make sure to see/visit as many places as you can if you go to a foreign country. I had a ten day Christmas break, and we did a road trip to Northern California (including San Francisco of course). NoCal totally differs from SoCal, the atmosphere seems more European. During this trip I experienced most what a strong diversity the state of California offers. In early December I had an adventurous time in Arizona, where I visited the Grand Canyon and Sedona National Park. So far, that was my favorite tour, I'd recommend going there, it is easily accessible from Southern California (I took the plane with a stopover in Phoenix). Also Las Vegas is certainly worth visiting; it took us 4 hours by car. I really enjoyed all of my trips but honestly, considering living and working I feel most comfortable in the South and Costa Mesa/Newport Beach respectively. Far enough away from the huge city of Los Angeles - still close enough that I found everything I needed. People around here are incredible friendly but, they might seem superficial if you are not used to it though. The American customer service is just amazing, one thing I like better than in Germany. Once you get there, you will experience that on your own. However, if it comes to serious things, you should be precautious. It takes some time to blend in. Germans are more down-to-earth, and in my opinion, more reliable.

Some tips that may be useful: You really can save money by using rewards cards, coupons, and other special offers, like "Happy Hours" if you want to have a cheap dinner. By the way, Southern California is very sportive (obesity in the US?) with a lot of healthy living people. I found everything I needed at grocery stores, which is nice because I have never been a fan of fast food. You probably want to avoid the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles). Instead, it is worth becoming an AAA (Automobile Club of Southern California, equals the German ADAC) member. There you are able to do all the paperwork for your car, in case you purchase one. Moreover, AAA provides discounts at attractions, stores and entertainment places like movie theatres.

In total, I stayed 6 ½ months and I certainly enjoyed my time in Orange County - I definitely want to come back as I am already missing it dearly. Thanks to the Travelworks/USA group for making my dream possible!

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