My Travel Diary: Flying solo to the United States for the first time

What brought you to VEGA Americas?

I am currently in my two and a half year apprenticeship as an industrial clerk with an additional qualification in international business management at VEGA Schiltach. This training includes a stay at one of our VEGA subsidiaries. I was fortunate enough to travel to the USA for six weeks to work in the Marketing department at VEGA Americas.

What do you do at VEGA?

At the moment, I am still an apprentice. One or two days a week I attend vocational school, where I learn the theoretical basics of business administration. The rest of the work week, I spend my time at VEGA Schiltach and get an insight into various departments. I have already been to all the manufacturing departments to get to know the products and my colleagues working there, as well as some of the administrative departments like Information Management and Marketing. I also worked for seven weeks in Sales at our sister company, Supfina Grieshaber, in Wolfach. A very exciting time!

What was the purpose of your trip?

I came here with a number of goals. I wanted to improve my English skills, make new contacts, and get to know new colleagues. I also had a project. The topic of my project was defined far in advance, which enabled me to prepare for the upcoming task. I created PowerPoint presentations in German and English for the LinkedIn Sales Navigator – an add-on tool from LinkedIn that helps sales representatives find new customers and maintain contacts with existing business relationships via social media. I recorded these presentations in a tutorial, and now every VEGA sales employee can train him or herself and get to know the functions of this tool.

Cincinnati Bengals football game

Did you do anything outside of work? Did you have a favorite?

I did a lot outside of work! Super nice colleagues from IT, Sales, Training, and Marketing took a lot of time and did cool activities with me. They watched Bengals (American football) and Reds (baseball) games with me – both games were real highlights in Cincinnati. We also visited Kings Island amusement park with roller coasters and an integrated water park.

Jesus from IT and I explored Dayton, another big city in Ohio close to Cincinnati. While in Dayton, we went to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, where you can see historical airplanes.

On my third weekend, I went to Chicago. It is a beautiful city that has a lot to offer. Here, I stood at 1,350 feet high on a glass platform in the Willis Tower. This was definitely a highlight of this short trip, and I highly recommend it – provided you aren’t scared of heights!

I spent my last weekend in New York City. I did not want to miss this chance while I was here. It was another highlight and a great sightseeing tour at the end of my time in the United States.

Did anything surprise you about the United States?

The changeable, but also continuously warm weather in Ohio surprised me. I only had to wear long pants in the office. I also noticed the hospitality. Whether in Cincinnati, Chicago, Dayton, or New York City – everywhere I met friendly people. Although I expected a lot of fast food in advance, I was a little surprised that there is such a huge offer of fast food, and you can get something fast to eat almost everywhere.

Did your opinions about travel or the United States change from before your trip?

In Europe, people talk a lot about the United States, but I have only had positive experiences here. Because of the multicultural population, you meet a lot of different people. In addition to the many activities outside work, I also gained a lot of experience during my time in the office of VEGA Americas. There, I met great people, made new contacts, and also learned in which areas the work in America differs from that in Schiltach. My English pronunciation has improved over time as a result of constantly talking to Americans. In any case, my time here was great and exceeded my expectations!