We had a very busy first week filled with unique experiences such as a hike in the Alps, company site visits, and multiple different types of lectures. I have already learned so much about Munich academically, socially, and culturally, and I look forward to continuing to explore the city!
The first comparison that comes to mind is the public transportation. It is very common for students in Munich to travel to class by bus, tram, or the railway instead of a car. While public transportation is used in Pittsburgh, it is not as common as we see here. The public transportation is easy to navigate, and it makes it easy to get around safely and independently when one doesn’t have a car. In addition to Munich’s efficient public transportation system, it is a very walkable city. We were able to walk to a majority of the places that we wanted to visit this week, with the option of public transportation sometimes offering a faster route. Overall, I felt safe and confident navigating the city.
We have also been exposed to a variety of different foods in Munich! We have tried several different types of popular Bavarian dishes including schnitzel, pretzels, and weisswurst. However, Munich is also filled with a variety of different restaurants. We tried several Italian, Vietnamese, and Mediterranean restaurants. I have really enjoyed having the opportunity to explore a variety of different cuisines!
A typical day begins with our group getting some breakfast together. Then, we hop on the bus to travel to the school. We typically spend the morning in class, then we have some time to go out and get lunch from one of the various restaurants surrounding the school! After lunch, we typically have another lecture. Most days, we are finished with classes at around 3:00pm or 4:00pm. Following our classes, we have the rest of the day off! Our group usually ends up going out for dinner and exploring the city center more, either by going shopping, going to a museum, or trying a new restaurant. I feel that the pace of life in this community is similar to Pittsburgh, in terms of having a faster paced, city lifestyle. However, I feel that our class schedule at Pitt is a bit more spread out. Our lectures are usually only around 50 minutes long, whereas the lectures that we had this week were 2-3 hours long, on average. However, we were informed that a typical class at HM Munich is similar to the length of a typical Pitt course, at around 45-50 minutes long.
From the other German students, we have also learned a lot about their academic curriculum. An aspect that is similar to the U.S. is the internship opportunities. Engineering students have opportunities to do internships, or apprenticeships, during school, similar to Pitt’s co-op and internship schedules. Students at HM Munich usually spend 7 semesters in school, although many students end up doing 8 semesters. These semesters also have a much different timeline from Pitt, with one semester taking place from October through February, and the other taking place from March through July. It has been really interesting to hear about a different academic structure with classes similar to our own, and I look forward to continuing to explore these comparisons!