A Weekend in Stuttgart!!

Stuttgart, Germany

The weekend I got to spend in Stuttgart with the other scholarship students was such a great experience!

We all came in on Friday and we got to meet with a Vice Admiral of the US Navy, who is the Deputy Commander of the US European Command. He came to talk to us about the importance of leadership. It was a great opportunity to meet with someone and hear them speak about leadership, I think it's often something that we forget about when we're going through our college careers. It's an important thing to remember that it's not always a natural thing, that it's something that can be worked on.

Some of his tips:
-Accomplish the mission. Everything else of value is in support of mission accomplishment.
-Focus on executing the fundamentals of  of your job, everyday. Work two sets of priorities- yours and your boss'.
-Develop your network- professional and social. Work for the best people you can find. They will get to the top and pull you along-  then YOU pull someone good along too.
-Always be adding to your goodwill reservoir.
-Practice patience in dealing with others.

But the 2 that I think are great to remember:
*It's never as good as it seems, nor as bad- so don't go to emotional extremes.
*To be successful it takes two qualities: common sense and good judgement. Use both and you'll go far.

It was such a good talk to hear!

After we got a chance to get to the Frühlingsfest- a BIG fair/carnival going on in Stuttgart. There were a bunch of people walking around in the "traditional German" costumes and there was plenty to see! We got to ride some of the rides and take in the fun. 

On Saturday, I started the day with a jog (BELIEVE IT!) with a couple of the others then we did a tour of a museum and had some free time! Ah- free time at a seminar!! We took advantage of the time and walked around the city center a bit. Stuttgart is such a beautiful place! Of course, we found a Starbucks and enjoyed some treats in a sunny spot!
Saturday ended with an amazing dinner with the Stuttgart club. There we received our certificates of participation and enjoy a little recognition for our accomplishments! Amazing things! We got the chance to do a little of the networking building- always a good thing!

Sunday concluded the seminar and we made a great day of it! We had some breakfast then we went to the Mercedes Benz museum! We did a self-guided tour and got to see all the different things. So awesome! I'm not such a big car fan, but I really enjoyed the museum. The lighting in in the building is amazing and I was able to take a TON of pictures, imagine that! ;)

It was a great train ride home after a long weekend!

One of the Most RANDOM Nights in Kassel So Far..

Well, Friday night proved to be one of the most random nights that I've had since living in Kassel. Random in a good way, mind you!

Friday started off normal enough- I went to a Tutoritum (rather than having a 2nd lecture during the week, the professors offer a section with a TA, where they go over the material from that week) and then had lunch with some new friends. After that I came back to my apartment and went into town to meet another friend for some Bubble Tea (oh how I will miss it when I go home!) and then did some shopping and ran some errands..

Then I met up with a (yet another) friend to go to a concert in a bank. Not the typical venue, I must admit, but I figured it should be interesting, right? The only thing I knew about one of the bands is that they're described as "Desert Blues Meets the Middle East."

Really interesting, actually! It was such a great atmosphere- I think it's not something that is normally popular among the majority, especially here in Germany, but I really liked the vibe! There was also a band from... Belgium? Maybe? We weren't sure where they were from, but it sounded like an odd mix of French and Dutch that they were speaking- hence our conclusion of Belgium. They had a more traditional sound, something that reminded of Paris...but decades ago. As in the 20s or 30s or something. It was great though! (I just checked the program, and it says France... but I still stand with my theory!)

Well.. thinking the concert would be a maximum of 2 hours, we were surprised to be leaving there at about 11.30pm! It was late, yet I noticed the shops were open! What?! Germans out shopping past 8pm?! It was something really strange, until we remembered and realized that it was the Midnight Shopping night, literally 1 night every couple of months that the shops are open til midnight in hopes of raking in some extra cash. Well- there were plenty of people out and about! Even some street entertainers and some ice cream stands! Amazing!



Just when we thought the fun was over for the night, there were FIREWORKS. In the middle of the city. At midnight. And- we were able to stand fairly close (maybe too close)!  They caught us completely off guard, but it was a great little show! One of my favorite things about Germans and fireworks is that they usually do them to music, and this time was no disappointment! I love how they coordinate the music and the fireworks! Such an awesome experience!

Who knew that May 3rd would end up being such a fun and random day?! Lots of memories, that's for sure!