View from the Boston Consulting Group offices Photo: Linda Michalk
Welcome Meeting By Julia Mews
Statement: The Welcome Meeting is a marvelous idea. Rationale: regardless of whether you are a new returnee or a long-term member of the Fulbright Alumni Association, let’s face it: by November you have officially run out of people who want to hear about your time in the U.S. On Friday, November 7, 2008 I was a new returnee and very nervous about the event, not least because it came wrapped in a perfect package with the second Fulbright Career Day organized by the Association of Friends and Sponsors of the German-
and proper name hides a fairly “cool” restaurant decked out in red velvet and serving some of the finest little foods you would not expect anywhere near an Oma Rink. The next day saw participants get up (more or less) early to meet up at Frankfurt’s Goethe University to hear introductions by the who is who of the association and a special keynote speech by Dr. Helmut Schäfer, minister of state in the German foreign ministry. Afterward it was time to relocate to the offices of the Boston Consulting Group, at the “Frankfurter Welle” (“Wave”), where lunch was had and workshops were held. Subjects included instructions on how to deal with reverse culture shock (for the Germans) or how to survive Germany (for American Fulbrighters). Ample opportunity to reminisce together and meet fellow alumni was given. The day ended with dinner and a party at the “Zoo Gesellschaftshaus” or, for some, in Frankfurt’s (late-) nightlife.
Organizer Mario Reichel with Kathrin Klein, BCG Recruiting Coordinator. Photo: Wiltrud Hammelstein
Guest speaker Dr. Schäfer. Photo: Wiltrud Hammelstein
American Fulbright Program (VFF). It was a day packed with informational talks and workshops and offered the opportunity to meet up with representatives of companies and initiatives such as Bosch, KPMG, and Teach First Germany to name just a few. In the evening the Welcome Meeting officially began with a gettogether at “Oma Rink’s Sterntaler”. This might very well be the most awesomely misnamed location of all time: behind the prim
24 FRANKly 20 · Welcome Meeting
Brunch and city tours the next day, for those who were still up to it, concluded a fabulous “Welcome back!” to Germany as well as a great “Welcome!” into the Fulbright Alumni Association. Thank you to Mario Reichel for his meticulous organization, Aline Klingberg, who was in charge of accounts, Ursula Mich, Reinhard Koch, the many diligent helpers of Frankfurt’s regional chapter and then-Fulbright office fairy Julia Irsch.