Hey, this is Chris. I am really excited about the trip. I am leaving tomorrow to meet up with a friend in Greece. I am a little nervous about Greece because I don't know any of the language and the alphabet is a bit baffling. All should go well though. I am also pretty excited about going to Germany. The Opedenbergs seem really nice as far as can tell on email. They noted that a lot of their family lives in close proximity. It's kind of funny because my grandpa and aunt live on the same street as me. I guess the only thing I am a little nervous about is the free weekends because I really havn't done any planning for them. Other than that I am just ready to get on that plane. Oh, and the fact that I am still not packed.

Europe or Bust...

OK, So I have 36 hours until I leave for Europe. Am I ready? No way. Ironically, I'm actually concerned about being under packed, but I'm a girl, so no matter what I do, I probably will show up grossly over packed. Kaylee and I are spending a week in Greece, so I have to pack for summer heat and beaches too. We have a really insane flight schedule (DFW, Newark, Berlin, Zurich, to Athens is the first leg of our trip) so I know I will be really excited to just finally get to Europe.

My host family (husband, wife and 15yr old daughter) seems really friendly, but I'm somewhat worried about being the only one from the program living with them. I'm not going to have anyone to ride to the school with, which is probably going to be lonely. They live above their shop, which is near the university, and have a roof top garden. Pretty excited about that, hopefully there's a neat view. They don't seem to speak great English from what I can tell. I've traveled to Asia before, so I'm not really worried about the language barrier. At least most of the German characters are the same as the English ones. And besides, what fun is it going to an foreign country and not having awkward conversations by trying to point and act out what you are trying to say? Half the fun is making a fool of yourself, but at least, most non-English speakers find it endearing.

Good luck everyone on making it safely to Germany! I'm excited to meet and get to know everyone! See you all in 10 days!

Oh, the Excitement!

I am ready to get my mind completely blown away! I have never traveled internationally before, let alone traveled by myself, and I can’t wait for this experience of a lifetime. I am really excited about just immersing myself in a totally different culture in a totally different part of the world. I can’t wait to learn about the German social practices, traditions, and even some of their quirks. It’ll be amazing to learn about their past that has led them to their present, and the path that will lead them to their future. Every time, I talk about Germany with my family, they jokingly call it my extended vacation. In a way, it is because this experience will enable to do what I always love to do, learn about things that are completely new to me. I’m sure I will be walking away from this trip with a plethora of new knowledge, and I am so excited (yes, I know, I'm bit of a nerd).

Although I am far more excited than nervous about this trip, I do have a few things I am nervous about. I have never been in a situation before where the primary language is not English. I am afraid of needing help, and I’m in a crowd of people who only speak German! However, if I don’t freak out and learn to figure things out for myself, I can grow from it and become a more independent traveler. I’m flying out from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and there has been a lot of rain and flooding recently for the past several weeks. I’m nervous of my flight getting delayed and missing out on something fun in Germany, but this is out of my control so I shouldn’t really worry about it.

I can’t wait to be thrown into this experience, in an environment that is totally new. I’m really excited about learning about other cultures and learning more about myself during these next few weeks. It will be really amazing to look back on this program and realize how much I have grown and matured because of it. I can’t wait!

Now that the trip is over...

So our three-week long program was definitely an experience. There were certain aspects of it that could be tweaked for next year's lucky contestants, but I would not have taken back the trip if I had a choice. I feel like I learned a lot from everyone who spoke to us, whether they were professors, researchers, or students. I know a couple of us had host issues, but I have to say I was very lucky, and my hosts were wonderfully helpful and friendly. We got to see so much in so little time that it was kind of a bit of a whirlwind, and we were almost blown away at some points. I can't even describe fully how tiring the whole trip was. Just all the travelling between cities and then going straight from one thing to another was a little overwhelming. It would have been nice to have more down time. I think the best part of Hannover was actually getting to sit down and enjoy it in the park with some wine, cheese, and crackers on the last day. (Maybe the sitting down was the best part of that.) Our free weekends were so much fun that they almost made up for all the time spent in classrooms and conference rooms. Hamburg, London, and Prague...all cities worth seeing for more than two days if you can. I think most of us have recuperated, although some of us may not even be back in town yet, but hopefully we'll all meet up soon to exchange pictures and reminisce. Have fun all you undergrads! It'll be over before you know it!

One day left!

I'm leaving for Germany tomorrow, and that plane trip is haunting me. Then there's the jet lag...and the impending culture shock. My mom and I sorted through pictures of our family in Germany last night. We lived there in the early 90's, and I remember very little. I do remember my snow suit, volks-marches, and that I thought German Shepard were those little terriers all the Germans seemed to have. My parents have very fond memories of Germany, but Germany has changed so much since then. My dad, a pilot, would fly along the border of the divided nation. They remember watching coverage of the Berlin falling and seeing droves of Trabis make their way into West Germany.

I received an email from my host family today. They have two sons, and their Opa and Oma live with them. I will be living with 3 generations of Germans (for better or for worse!). I hope they will help me with my non-existent German language skills!

I can't wait to make my own memories in Germany! I wish we could stay longer, and I haven't even been there yet!

I am very excited because I have never done anything like this. I am a very open minded person and see this as an opportunity to branch out and do things I never thought I would do. Sometimes I am very introverted, so hopefully this experience will allow me to change that. I look forward to doing some very spontaneous things over there and taking random trips. I’m also really looking forward to getting to know all of yall. I can’t wait to stay with the families and be surrounded by the culture. My sister studied abroad last summer and was put in a classroom almost everyday and I’m hoping our trip isn’t like that. I expect to learn a lot from this trip, but mainly about the culture and our surroundings.

What I am most looking forward to is going early. I’m excited about spending 7 days in Greece!!! I usually start getting freaked out and stressed close to travel time, but for some reason, I couldn’t be more calm. I do have to admit that I’m going to struggle packing so light! I love the fact that we have a small group, and this trip has been very successful in the past. Well, good luck to all of you, be safe, and I will see all of you soon!

Ah...Deutschland

I am in the fortunate position to know a little bit about what to expect for the program and culture, because I am actually currently studying in Germany with a different Texas A&M Study Abroad Program. Amazingly enough, I am still a little nervous about meeting my new host family. I don't have any doubts as to the niceness of my family but as always, a new city with a new environment can be daunting.

My expectations for this particular program are fairly simple. Have alot of fun while learning both about the exciting and wonderful German culture as well as something that has always interested me..medicine. I am hoping that the city of Duesseldorf is not too different from the city of Bonn, where I am currently studying. I have grown accustomed to certain aspects of the Rheinland culture and I am hoping that none of these customs are considered uncouth in Duesseldorf.

I have anxiety about a few things..mostly traveling. As efficient and reliable as the European Railroad is, things do happen. I will be arriving in Duesseldorf from Switzerland and a few of my trains have short layovers of about 20 minutes. I know that no matter what happens, I will eventually get to Duesseldorf unscathed and with everything intact. There is one thing to be said about the rail system....they really can't lose your luggage unless you leave it on the train. My luggage was lost somewhere in the world for 4 days at the beginning of this trip so the knowledge of the safety of my luggage is nice to have.

Overall, I'm just excited to get to see another part of Germany, drink in the culture and customs and be among good company. Time flies when you're having fun and that has never been more apparent to me than this summer. It seems like its been only a week since I left the States when in reality its been almost 5. The new program will be here before I know it, and I can't wait.

T Minus 15 days

My expectations, anticipations, pre-flight worries, excitement...

I've been here before... as a freshman, I traveled to Australia for a conservation project in the rain forest. It was great fun and I am definitely happy I decided to partake in such an activity. The only thing I would have changed about the whole experience is that I wish that I would have known somebody going with me. This time around, fortunately, I have a buddy going with me to indulge in the "legal" activities and such... haha

12:17 pm June 21, 2007
Sitting at my computer, in my boxers listening to Lil' Wayne, hung over from a night of bar tending... I think to myself, my expectations are as always when traveling, expect the unexpected... Go with the flow, and take what Europe has to throw at me. I've been to other countries, stayed in hostels, stayed with host families, eaten "authentic" food, used their public transportation and it's awesome. My anticipation grows, now that I've actually looked at a calendar and I've seen that there are only 15 days until my flight. Man, I love planes, I think that the actual traveling part (i.e. car ride, plane, train) is the most fun part of traveling. You know how airport security does random searches of bags before getting on the plane? Well, for some reason I always have my bag searched... always haha I'm always worried they'll pull something out of my bag that's not suppose to be there. Not that I carry around anything that shouldn't be there, but there's always that thought that crosses my mind. Or that when I thought I booked my flight to Dusseldorf in April, I actually booked it to Singapore. Man, stuff like that always happens to me... I am definitely excited to see what Europe has to offer me, and what I can get out of the experience... Knowledge wise, culture wise, and "legal" wise...

The Beginning of the New Us

My first thoughts as I am looking over the blog is that its shocking for me to be in the same position that my brother was a year ago. I haven't taken the time to look for what his original feelings were about the trip, but I'm sure they are similar to the ones I am having now. We all know that we are about to experience something different than we ever have before. Sure, some of us have travelled internationally, but that's not the point. Here we are, adults in college, setting out to venture without our families on possibly one of the longest trips of our lives.

What I must say though, is that I am expecting nothing from this trip. Not that I doubt our program staff's abilities, but I don't think any of us can possibly know what we're going to feel when we get back. That "Eurotrip" image of Europe, angry and loud Germans, crazy Brits, weird French robots in front of the Louvre and hordes of people at nude beaches are clearly not what we should be expecting to see. Our preconceived, while hilarious, notions of what Europeans are like will be put into perspective and we'll realize that they probably think something ridiculous about us as well.

While we're in Europe, I think we're there to learn in many different ways even though it might not feel like it. Learning the history of medicine will be the "taught" part of the course while discovering other cultures, their people and the details of their history will be the things we pick up on the way as we immerse ourselves in their countries. Of course, getting to know the locals our age and indulging in the night life certainly will be an experience, but just remember to really talk to our European elders there, look at the scenery and the landmarks as you visit. The things you'll learn will hopefully invaluable, if not only interesting and it may be the only time you see the sights, so enjoy!

With that said, here's to the first post for our group, I'm extremely excited and looking forward to spending time with everyone in Europe and I hope everyone takes advantage of all the opportunities available on this trip.

The toilet game

So, I think that this might be the first post of the vet med 2007 trip... unless I just haven't figured out how to view the others, yet. And, I've been back for about a week and a half now. So far, I've picked right up with taking free public toilets for granted, even planning to use public toilets in my all day excursions of errands. I only noticed that a few days ago. Even if I don't even notice the free johns, I do really appreciate them. Though there is something to be said for the european ones you have to pay for. Most of their toilets have lids so that if they did have automatic flushers when you stood up, you could close the lid and not worry about all that toilet juice splatter; the restrooms are usually pretty clean and stocked with handsoap; and the restrooms don't have toilet paper all over the floor (how do people get it all over the floor anyway?). One last point on european toilets before I give this subject up, flushing them is like a game. You've got to figure out whether it uses a button, lever, pull chain, some mechanism you've never seen before, or if it's got an automatic sensor - and you have to find this flushing mechanism. Can be fun, but not when you're in a hurry or you don't wish to ask someone how to flush the toilet.

I do really, really, really miss the awesome public transport. If there were an ICE train from houston to college station, I'd totally be on it! No worries about speeding tickets in that work zone on 6, car accidents on 610, traffic on 610 or 290, or falling asleep at the wheel during a boring drive - just a straight 1.5 hrs on the train and I'd be at my destination on time. And there could be a tram that would take me to within walking distance of where I live or the vet school or anywhere else in College Station or Bryan. I think I'd use it. Definitely better than a 40min bus ride to the vet school when I could drive it in 3min. The on-time trams that have signs telling when they're coming are my favorite!