Indianapolis has been called the auto racing capital of the world; the U.S. center for amateur sports and the crossroads of America. Its more than one million residents affectionately refer to it as "INDY".
One of Amererica´s first planned cities and the state capital of Indiana, the metropolis today abounds with energy and excitement.

                                                                                  1995 - 1996

                                                                                Final Report
 
 

I had a wonderful year in the United States. My experience was mainly in the city of Indianapolis in the state of Indiana. My adventure in America, which actually lasted over one year , began in the summer of 1994. The experience I received was very rewarding. The process began when I applied for the CDS program and was finally invited to Cologne for a test.

The test consisted of two (2) parts. The first part was a written test and the second part was a personal interview. During this testing period I had the opportunity to meet a lot of other German students who had applied for acceptance into the program. In January of 1995, I received a letter from CDG with the wonderful news that I had been accepted for the exchange program.

Shortly before Easter all selected exchange students were invited for a pre-seminar briefing in Willebadessen, Germany. This was a great opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with fellow students who were also chosen for this years program. At this meeting we met Emily, she was a representative of CDS in New York. This meeting was the beginning of a great experience. The first six (6) months were different from the second half. I would like to continue this report at a point in time where I ended my last report.
 

Work

My internship took place in the International Department of the Indianapolis offices of Bank One, Indianapolis, NA. This is the second largest bank in the State of Indiana. Bank One is a part of Banc One Corporation which is ranked as the 10th. largest bank in the United States.
I started my assignment with Bank One on January 2nd., 1996. I was really nervous. I had a great number of questions. Was Bank One the right decision ? How would I get along with my colleagues ? How would I get along with Dagmar, another intern from Germany ? Ultimately I found an answer for all of these and hundreds of other questions.
I started working on the Cash Letter side. I received good training and after some days I really enjoyed this type of work. Cash letter means, that customers have checks drawn on a foreign bank in a foreign currency.
After five (5) weeks I changed to a different area in our department. Dagmar, another intern from Germany flew back home to Germany because of problems that had developed in her family. Now I started on her desk . No one had been doing her work  for about three (3) weeks so it took me some time to get current with these new duties. I had to analyze different banks and countries. The information was provided either in statements or forms. I received the information from different economic magazines and from companies who are specialists in this area. My duties also involved calling with my supervisor on different customers of the bank in an attempt to explain to them the different ways to export or import products.
After having worked on the desk formerly occupied by Dagmar for a while, I changed again. This new area was to me very boring. They did not give me any kind of responsibility. Fortunately, it only lasted a short period of time. Finally, I went back to the Cash Letter side. Shortly before I left, I trained a new person on my desk. At the end of June my last day arrived. Everyone of my colleagues prepared food for what the Americans call a "pitch in dinner".
They even bought a cake with the inscription "Viel Glück, Mike !". This attitude was so nice it made it hard for me to leave. They even offered me a contract but I could not accept.
 
 

Friends

Steffen, another CDS exchange student was still my best friend. We tried to continue our Dollar deal. Actually we stopped paying money. But even so it was a success. During the second half of our stay in the United States we met more and more Americans. We spent a lot of time with them and shortly before I Left I went to two (2) graduation parties of my friends. This was a wonderful experience. During the spring we registered for a soccer club. The people involved were serious about their sport. I could not join them very often but when I did I had a great time.
 
 

Family

During my stay in America there were some big changes in my host family. The father, in my host family, was in the military reserve. He received orders that he would serve in Germany for five (5) months. From this point many things changed. In the first week after he had received this order almost no one in the family talked to each other. I certainly understood that this was a difficult situation for the family. After he left for Germany I did not get along with the wife.I thought for a long period of time, should I change homes so shortly before my return to Germany.I talked it over with my friends. Finally, I decided to make a change. I moved in with a colleague of mine. My advice to future students is to talk with your friends about your situation. Talk to your host family, too. If you cannot find a way to make it work you should change . That is much better for your family and for you. Do not wait too long.
 
 

Highlights

May is the month of black and white in Indianapolis.Early in the month of May I participated in the Mini Marathon, which marks the beginning of the Indy 500 activities.I did not practice a lot so I was not sure if I should enter. I participated and  had a wonderful time. At the end of May the 500 took place. Friends of mine came over from different states for this race.Actually there was a parade on Saturday and the race was on Sunday. It rained a lot but even so it was a lot of fun.
 
 

Car sale and help from Others

I started to sell my car about 3 1/2 weeks before I was going to leave. Unfortunately somebody stole my car shortly before I was to leave Indianapolis. This was a really hard time for me. I had to deal with the police, the prosecutors office, automobile impound lots, attorneys and many other people. I was very happy that I received so much help from all of my work colleagues and friends. They offered me rides and helped me out with other things. I did not expect so much help. It was great what all of them did for me.
Finally the police did recover my stolen car. This left very little time to sell my car though. As a result of the damage to the car that the thief did to it, and have such short amount of time to sell my car, I lost $1,200
 
 

Tips

If you are a ADCA member in Germany, exchange this membership for a membership in theAmerican Automobile Association, (AAA). You can do this exchange at any AAA office. Even if you are not an ADAC member you should join AAA. They offer so many things, for example, all kinds of free maps and 3 free automobile towing if your car breaks down, and many other kinds of assistance in emergency situations.

Shop around for car insurance. Look in places like the yellow pages phone book and at AAA. There are huge differences in the rates companies charge. Some times you will get a discount for good school grades in Germany. In addition the insurance premium is much cheaper if you have a US drivers license.

I recommend starting your job search early, no later than October. Also, practice your first interview with your host family or your friends. This practice sessions help allot. You should use the paper from CDS with the most common questions. Tell them about your training and education in Germany Since most Americans do not know about the German system of education.

Almost everyone told me in Germany that it is impossible to cash Eurochecks in America. This is not true. The bank that I worked for did accept Eurochecks. They did not charge any fees. I guess a lot of other larger banks offer the same service. The only thing  is, the check has to be drawn on a German Bank in German Marks. This is the cheapest way to get money from Germany and you do not have to carry lot of travelers cheeks. Please not that you can not pay with a Eurocheck in a store.
 

Final Trip

Actually this report was due before the final seminar in Washington but somehow I did not get it done. I would like to include something about my final trip. I went with another exchange student to the west coast of America. Both of us had lived in the midwest during our American stay. For us the western United States was very different from what we had experienced in the midwest.
Slowly we recognized that our time in America was almost over. During the vacation was the first time I began to think about my American travels. Before I was so busy in Indianapolis, but on this last trip I had time to reflect and think about my time here. I was not sure weather I should be happy that the year was almost over and I was going home or sad I was leaving my new friends and experiences.

Finally we went to Washington D.C. where our final seminar was. It was great to see everybody again. I think many of us changed allot.

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