Differences....

We've had some good, fun excursions so far on this trip. Each one is good in its own way. But our excursion yesterday to Hannover was probably my favorite. Not including the bus trip to and from-especially the trip to. I was not a fan of the back bench on the short bus. The seats were way too narrow and totally uncomfortable, especially for a 4 hour ride while trying to sleep. But that's not the point of this post.
Once we actually found the farm and stopped being lost, the day picked up. For some reason that I can't really pinpoint, I liked the Hannover experimental farm better than the Bonn experimental farm. While we were touring I was thinking to myself that I didn't really agree with the practice of never letting the cows or pigs or birds (besides the ducks) outside. I understand that keeping them in was practical for hygienic reasons, but it just seems sad that they are stuck in a stable all the time. They seemed content, but that life is all they know. The animals are all trained to eat at the automatic stations, and the cows get milked 3 times a day, automatically and voluntarily. That system, and the milking robot amazed me. It was totally cool to see it in action.
The "Texas BBQ" that the German vet/med students prepared for us was really nice. The food was good and I got to see a Weimaraner!!! I was so excited, I've been looking for them all around Germany. It reminded me of Heidi, my puppy back home. It was interesting to talk to the students and realize the differences between the education systems in the US and Germany. One of the 1st year vet students was my age. 20 years old and already completed the first year. They finish "grammar school" which is our equivalent of high school with more of the indepth/general knowledge of some undergrad courses by the time they're 18 or 19. Then they go straight on into a professional school-vet school or med school or law school or whatever. And they don't have to pay for it. That just amazes me!! They 11 semesters of school, which is 3 more than we do, but they can still get out and be a DVM by the time they're 24. If I'm lucky and get in my first try, I'll just be in my 2nd year of vet school when I'm 24. Its crazy.