In the morning we visited the Virginia Air & Space Science Center. After watching a short video about aerospace, our tour guide showed us around and shared lots of insights about their innovations – like the honeycomb structures under the Apollo Command Module. You probably also know the Apollo 13. The crew used a simple scale etched on the Command Modules window to align the spacecraft with Earth and the Sun for manual navigation after their instruments failed. So fascinating. In the museum there were also interactive games, such as landing an airplane, driving a space rover, or trying to build a colony on Mars. A lot to learn, to do and to see. Amazing!
If you want to know more: Home – Virginia Air & Space Center – just klick it.
For lunch we stopped at Wendy’s – their chicken and ice cream were really good . But we quickly noticed how little gluten-free or even vegetarian options the US actually has, which can be tricky for some of us. (1:0 for Germany)
In the afternoon, we visited Liebherr USA in Newport News. We had a small tour and even a chat hour with the CEO – really inspiring! We were allowed to see the production and distrubtion hall from the inside and talked about some key takeaways: try, think, switch – don’t give up. Always aim for win-win deals and adapt to different mentalities to drive innovation.
For more informations: Liebherr in the USA – Liebherr
On our way back we accidentally took the wrong route and ended up on a toll road – tip: always check the “no toll” option on Google Maps!!!
From 6–8 pm, some of us went to a ODU women volleyball game. Compared to Germany, the spirit here is different – louder, more energetic and way more fun. We went with some friends we met during the German Chat Hour. It was really fun to connect with other internationals (including some from NATO!) and talked about differences in university life. College in the US is very expensive, but if you’re part of a sports team, you can sometimes study for free – crazy!
Afterwards, we went out for food at Domino’s with our new friends and tried some menu items that don’t even exist in Germany – so good. We had great conversations about the differences between Germany, Asia, and the US: school, housing, mentality, sports culture, and of course our own H2 campus. They were super interested in our study life too.
Meanwhile, others went to the mall for shopping or explored the ODU campus for food (which was surprisingly empty in the evening – during the day it’s always packed).
Overall, it was such a great and diverse day – loved every moment of it!
