#kendallbiggs

[umichenginabroad]

Abendessen, Fußball, Monschau, und Berlin :ö

Dinner, football, Monschau, and Berlin !

This past week has been WILD in Aachen. A lot of good fun has taken place. Research has been busy and straightforward. Firstly, Valerie and I cooked a penne pasta dish with tomatoes, feta, and garlic. The oven started to smoke as the oil in the dish burnt. We managed to rectify the situation.

Visual reference of the ultimate comeback!

Deutschkurs is going well! We learned how to order and bargain in German in Monday's class. Pictured here is the exercise featuring Olisename's groceries.

On Tuesday night, we went to a Germany vs Colombia soccer game in Essen. Colombia won 2-0. There were so many Colombian fans which is surprising but very cool.

The UROP program took a trip to Monschau this past Wednesday. Monschau is a quaint town on the Belgian border and is known as one of the prettiest German towns. It was quite beautiful and felt like a mountain town. I got to explore Monschau for a couple of hours and enjoyed some schnitzel nom nom.

This weekend I traveled to Berlin. I was able to see many historical sites such as the East Side Gallery, the Berlin Wall Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie, and the Jewish Museum. On Friday, I went to the Pergamon, Altes, and Nues Museums.

Checkpoint Charlie was the best-known border crossing between East and West Berlin. American and Soviet Union tanks faced each other at this checkpoint.

Here are pictures of an exhibit in the Jewish museum and the East Side Gallery, respectively.

Not only was Berlin a historical experience but an international one. I met people from all around the world at the hostel I stayed at. I'm so glad we chose to stay at a hostel compared to a hotel or air bnb.

That's all for this week my people. Bis in einer woche!

Kendall Biggs ~ Civil Engineering ~ RWTH Aachen

[umichenginabroad]

das Ende

... the end

Hello, this is my final blog post. The program officially ended on the 20th of July. Then I traveled to Barcelona for a week and flew back to Detroit on the 29th. I am writing this blog from my apartment in Ann Arbor. 

Let's recap my final week in Aachen. UROP students were required to submit their posters and research papers on Monday. So after Monday, we had much free time until the symposium on Thursday. On Wednesday, a group headed to Phantasisaland, a theme park in Brühl. This theme park rivals Cedar Point. One hundred percent. I recommend this park to any rollercoaster lover. 

The symposium went very well. In addition to poster presentations, 4 students presented a more in-depth view of their research. It was very cool to see all of my friends' research and get to learn more about different fields. In addition to the academicss, the event had amazing pastries and snacks. But anyways, here is a picture of me and friends in front of the town hall (Rathaus) in Aachen.

It's been a week since I've left Aachen. I miss it very much. I was living in my student apartment for over 10 weeks. That's an incredibly long time.  I settled into a new city and country and formed relationships with others in the program. If the program was any longer it would make leaving much more painful. That is the difficult thing about studying abroad and ultimately growing up. You only have a short amount of time with friends. Although this fact is a lot to ingest, the transient nature of young adulthood makes you appreciate the time you have. 

Here is one last Jeans mit Beans picture. I will hold on to it forever. Such an icon of a billboard.

On Sunday, I flew to Barcelona to meet my mom and sister. It was great to see both of them again after many months. We went to the La Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudi's lifework and child. This basilica was one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever been in. Most cathedrals are very dark, but this one was quite the opposite. The basilica contains pillars of stone that resemble trees. They tilt and branch off as they ascent towards the ceiling.

We visited the Picasso Museum and Montserrat, a monastery located an hour from Barcelona. Montserrat translates to the serrated mountain. It was incredibly beautiful and refreshingly cold.

We did a lot of walking in Barcelona. Pictured here is my sister and I walking along a tight streets in the city center.

We also visited Park Güell. Another one of Gaudi's creations. I loved the lizard, el Drac very much. And what would this blog post be without a final hand stand shot...

Although there will not be a cooking with Valerie feature this week I'd thought I would include this English breakfast ad I saw on the street in Barcelona. It took me back to my first English breakfast in Aachen.

Thank you for reading and peace out. 🙏 🙏

Kendall Biggs ~ Civil Engineering ~ RWTH Aachen

[umichenginabroad]

Camelopardalis, Spinat, und Düsseldorf

Good morning from sunny Aachen! The program is slowly coming to an end. I have been in Germany for a little over 9 weeks. That feels quite surreal as it feels like I have just arrived. The final symposium is this Thursday. I finished my poster a couple of days ago. I presented research at a symposium in April. I'm not sure if this is because I've been through the process before but the second time around feels significantly less daunting and taxing.

This past Wednesday, we headed to West Park, a local hang-out spot in Aachen. Pictured below is Adam amongst the ducks. Once these creatures realize you have food they do NOT back down.

One of the students on the trip brought a disposable camera to the Rursee trip. Here's all of us on the lake below !

Adding on to Wednesday's activities. Valerie, Eliana, Clara, and I climbed onto the roof of the student dorm buildings. It was such a beautiful view from up there. Although there was ample cloud cover, we saw the faint outline of Camelopardalis, the 18th largest constellation in the sky.

Pictured below is the token dorm cat we named Spinat. Spinat is quite a friendly outdoor cat. My initial questions described on this blog consisted of whether I'd meet a German dog. Although I have not, at least I met a German cat!

In addition, I have been going on a lot of runs in Aachen. There is one route I love in particular. I run through Campus Melaten and venture along the Aachener golf course. The lack of people and good trails make this an epic and classic route.

Yesterday, some friends and I traveled to Düsseldorf. We headed to the Rheinkirmes. A two-week-long fair/carnival. We dove headfirst into the fair and went on this INSANE ride pictured below. I'm not sure if this picture does the ride justice but you'll have to trust me on this one.

One major difference I noted between this fair and Cedar Point for example is that the entrance was free, but each ride had a different price. Therefore, I only went on two rides because it was quite expensive. Those two rides were incredibly worth it though.

After the fair, we crossed this lovely bridge (Oberkassel Brücke) to your lower left and ventured into the Altstadt, or old town. To the lower right is the MediaHarbor bridge.

Here is one last picture of Düsseldorf. Although it was quite foggy and windy the whole day it alleviated the dreadedJuly heat.

See you next week! :ö

Kendall Biggs ~ Civil Engineering ~ RWTH Aachen

[umichenginabroad]

ich arbeite im ibac

I work at ibac...

What's up, my dudes.

The cliché is true: time flies when you're having fun. I cannot believe I only have two weeks left of the program. I've made many friends from all across the country and the world.

Our German exam was this morning. I finished the exam around 10:00 AM. I got a coffee from the super c cafe and a cornflake Ritter Sport chocolate with Valerie to celebrate. Although my knowledge of the language is equal to that of a kindergartner, I'm proud of how far I've come. I know so much more compared to when I first arrived.

Okay, now is the moment you were longing for last week. This week's meal or should I say dessert with Valerie is cinnamon sugar baked peaches paired with vanilla ice cream! This cooking venture went rather smoothly. Shoutout to that random Instagram reel for the inspiration. 🙌

We went to the Forschungszentrum Jülich, a research center 1.5 hours away from Aachen on Wednesday. Many students do their master's thesis and PhD at Jülich. We split into groups and picked a lab we wanted to choose. I chose the supercomputer/quantum computer group. Although I'm not a computer science or electrical engineering major, I thought it was very interesting to learn about these computers. Here is a picture of the quantum computer.

On the way back to Aachen, we stopped at the Rheinisches Braunkohlerevier, a mining area close to Cologne. To say this area is pretty large is the understatement of the year. Pictures never provide the place proper justice.

This Friday, the UROP team organized a bbq in honor of Fourth of July and Canada day. This event consisted of salad, bread, and meat. Pictured below is Adam grilling the various meat and vegetarian options.

I made an early and bittersweet departure from the bbq. I needed to catch my train to Frankfurt. I went to visit my two friends: Emily and Rachel. Emily was an exchange student at my high school who has lived in Frankfurt her whole life. Rachel is in Italy for the Summer. It was so good to see both of them this weekend. I was able to walk around Frankfurt and have a relaxing weekend.

On the way back I stopped in Cologne for an hour. The sunset was beautiful. Plus I saw my favorite bridge. (Zollverein brücke)

Alright, good stuff everyone. Ciao!

Kendall Biggs ~ Civil Engineering ~ RWTH Aachen

[umichenginabroad]

Eine Woche später...

A week later...

To be honest, this week has been quite the grind. I've been working a lot at the research facility in an attempt to finish my project in time for the symposium. I'm continuing to use ARAMIS, the 3D optical measuring system in the lab. I am performing crack width analysis on six different concrete specimens using 3, 5, 10, and 20 cuts respectively. Last week, I prepared the six specimens by coating the ends with epoxy resin. As a result, the water is forced in the direction of the cracks in the test-set up.

Here is a picture of the six specimens post epoxy resin coating. One of the student workers in the lab does research on clay-based concrete. To the right is a tensile test of a part clay concrete specimen.

The UROP group went to Kletterwald Aachen, a climbing forest this Wednesday. It was a lot of fun and a great break from research. Pictured below is Adam attempting to throw my shoe back up to me. You may be wondering, where is the context??! Well, in one of the courses, you zip-line into a net and traverse to the platform. I zip-lined a BIT too fast into the net and my shoe dropped in the process. Stay safe kids.

Exams at RWTH start at the end of this month. Therefore, there have been a lot of really fun social events. Apparently, once exam seasons start in late July/early august, the campus is a ghost town. So in the spirit of the last week of "freedom," the student dorm next to me held a concert. It was A BLAST. I have missed hearing live music amongst a swarming crowd of my peers. In addition to the concert, there was an event called, "Schau am Bau" which translates directly to "Show me the construction." It is a huge student event at a meadow in front of the civil engineering building. As a civil engineering student, I felt it was my duty to attend this event.

You may be confused as to the lack of my weekly cooking updates with Valerie. Unfortunately, we did not cook anything this week but stay tuned for next Sunday! Instead, enjoy this quintessential German bus stop ad. The yellow circle says, "Become a part of our team." I hope this picture provides solace in face of our cooking feature postponement.

Tschüss!

Kendall Biggs ~ Civil Engineering ~ RWTH Aachen

[umichenginabroad]

ich liebe Kichererbsen

Hello, my people! One component of the program is a German class twice a week. It's made me realize how much I miss learning a language. Living in a country while learning the language is incredibly beneficial. I've been able to learn vocabulary naturally: through billboards, street signs, and menus in addition to using my context clues. I'm also learning the various situations in which people say different phrases. Although I have SO much work to do, I've learned a lot of German this past month in Aachen.

Although my research has been a slow process, I can actually use what I've learned in my civil engineering classes for my project! For example, I'm using a program called "Aramis" to analyze crack widths in concrete samples from a tensile test. I can apply my knowledge of mechanics to an actual data set which is pretty cool.

Here is a diagram of the crack widths produced by Aramis.

Now onto the amazing sights! This weekend, the UROP group planned a trip to Rursee (aka the Rur Reservoir), a lake belonging to the Eifel National Park. This massive manmade lake was formed from the construction of the Rur Dam in 1939. It was quite a strenuous journey to reach the hostel, especially when you miss the train like I did AHH.

The chickpeas (Kichererbsen) really stole the show in this picture.

We went kayaking, hiking, and swimming! I loved being able to get away for the weekend and spent quality time with friends. Rursee reminds me of the upper peninsula in Michigan. It was incredibly beautiful.

All that hiking calls for group yoga at the Düren Hauptbahnhof 🙌🙌 Athough I'm having less German food than expected, I've tried some new foods. Pierogis and sour cream = the ultimate duo.

Okay one last chickpea post...

Alright, bis später. Keep up the great work everyone.

Kendall Biggs ~ Civil Engineering ~ RWTH Aachen

[umichenginabroad]

Brussels... und ein Schloss.

Hi everyone! It has been quite the week. My research supervisor was at a conference this week. So, it's been a pretty chill couple of days. This has been the first sunny week in Aachen. Although I love the sun, my body does not fair well in the heat. This of course I can overcome. I hope I'll adapt by the end of my time here in Aachen.

There was another public holiday this past Thursday. I love the German holidays. 🙌 🙌 Me and my friends traveled to Brussels. We began with the Grand Place, Brussel's famous town square named an UNESCO world heritage site in 1998. After the Grand Place, we ventured inside the St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral.

Upon doing some pre-travel Brussels research, I discovered the Trappist monks: a religious order of monks that branched off from the Cistercians. These monks produced bread, cheese, and beer to support themselves and many others. They are quite popular for their beer, Trappist beer. Of all the monasteries in the world that produce beer, Belgium is home to the majority.

Next up, we headed to Atomium. It was pretty far outside the city center. So we took a train. Honestly, it was pretty cool but not really worth the hour-long travel time. But if you're a fan of absurd goofy-looking structures, this is for you! After Atomium, we enjoyed Mont des arts (Mount or Hill of the Arts).

This Saturday, the UROP group headed to Königswinter to see the Drachenfels castle (Schloss). This castle was originally designed for Stephan Sarter, the son of a Bonn innkeeper. He made a fortune through the stock market and by financing the Suez Canal. Sarter never actually lived in this castle, but one of his nephews eventually bought the castle. The hike to the castle was absolutely breathtaking. You could see the Rhine River, Bonn, and even Cologne from the top of the mountain.

That's all for this week folks! Stay fearless, always.

Ciao!

Kendall Biggs ~ Civil Engineering ~ RWTH Aachen

[umichenginabroad]

Student life, Maastricht, and Beans on toast

It's been a relaxed week in sunny Aachen. I had the week off of German classes because of the holiday week but started to work more on my research. It has mostly been a lot of reading to better understand my supervisor's past research.

I was originally very nervous about the social aspect of this program. I am very friendly but introverted at heart. All of the UROP students live in various Studentendörfer across Aachen. Having my own single apartment close to other UROP students grants me the best of both worlds. I am able to concentrate when needed and travel 5 minutes to hang with some UROP friends.

I have been learning a lot about the academics and student life at RWTH. Firstly, Germans don't have summers off like Americans. RWTH holds classes all year round, your grade is based on one exam, and exam season is over two months. Although staying on track at umich can be difficult because of the short semesters, I'm so grateful we have a winter and summer break. On the other hand, I've noticed that student life here is much more robust and lively during the middle of a semester. Much unlike umich, due to midterms.

Here is a sunseet picture at Lousberg, a nature area in Aachen:

After the short week, the UROP group traveled to Maastricht in the Netherlands. We went to the Dominicanen bookshop: a very old Dominican Church that has been converted into a bookshop. I purchased the Little Prince in Deutsch (Der Kleine Prinz).

Then we checked out the Caves of Maastricht. These manmade caves of limestone date back to the 13th century. The caves were used for mining over the years, and people created hundreds of tunnels throughout the area. In addition, many paintings were hidden in the caves during WWII, including The Night Watch by Rembrandt.

Last up for this week's adventure is the full English breakfast experience gifted by my new friend Valerie. This meal is properly called, a "fry up" or a "naughty fry up". This morning, we ate sausage, bacon, eggs, fried mushrooms, and beans on toast. Never would have thought that my first English breakfast would be in Germany but here we are! I wholeheartedly recommend this breakfast.🙏

Bis Bald!

Kendall Biggs ~ Civil Engineering ~ RWTH Aachen