I miss Europe!!!

We are supposed to blog one last time, so here it goes:

I miss Europe, especially Germany so much!!! As soon as I got home I went into shock and wanted to get right back on a plane headed for Germany. It all of a sudden hit me how loud public places are in America and it was strange to hear English everywhere I went. I noticed how dirty American cities are and it was weird seeing so many SUVS and trucks. Being in Germany made me realize how wasteful Americans are and how we don't take as much care and value in our surroundings. Also, it was hard adapting to how hot it is in Texas and how cold it is inside because of air conditioning.
I do enjoy having free bathrooms and free refills once again. Meals are also cheaper here, even though the food isn't as good.

As soon as I got home, I organized my thousands, and I mean thousands, of pictures. I printed 500 of them off to make an album/scrapbook. I'm almost done. I've been showing everybody pictures. I notice how almost everything I say starts with "In Germany"...my friends and family are probably getting tired of hearing me talk about it so much. This trip was the best experience of my life. All of the culture, history, art and everything else was just so much better than anything you can find in the states. This trip made me more open-minded. One of the things I have noticed the most after being back, sadly, is that I have lost pride in being an American. I think that after hearing so many different perspectives about our country made me realize that foreigners are losing respect for us and we need to make changes to get our country back on track. I am still thankful to be from such a powerful and free country, but I don't want our country to be disliked by so many others.

Well, good luck to everyone this semester and I'm glad you all made it back safe and sound. I'm thankful to see so many of you around campus and to have classes with you!!! Hopefully we can always keep the friendships that we made!

My family away from home

Today will be my last day in Germany, and unfortunately i have to spend it by myself. I just got back to Dusseldorf from Berlin, and my flight leaves tomorrow. There are other people that are leaving tomorrow also, but they are leaving from Berlin. I regret not doing that myself.
The train ride back to Dusseldorf was tough. The whole time i sat there and thought about the past five weeks. How ive seen everyone in the program just about every day. Now, although we'll be in school at A&M, it wont be the same. We wont be in the same classes, and chances are we may never cross paths as we walk through campus.
I sat on the train remembering the good times we had together. Eventhough we didnt go out and drink as much i would have liked, the few times we did were great. Everyone got along (for the most part) and there wasnt any drama (that i know of) that got in the way of us having a good time.
Each of us had our own unique personality. I will alway remember Larry´s Dwiggymon jokes. Dustin as my travel buddy and roomate, and his outgoing personality. Joey´s "Danke Shön." Sarah`s Forrest Gump quotes. Kat as being one of the guys. Kimberly's friendliness. Michelle's split personality (she can be quiet at times, but when you talk to her she's hilarious). Laura's kindness. Andrew's alcoholism (hahaha....not really, but he can drink like a German). Jacob always having a clever joke. Braden's knowledge about farm animals (freaking genius). Meredith never turning down a beer. Kendall my fellow Austinite. Matt's stories. Hannah's love for shopping.The time Jennifer and ran down our night cruise ("im losing it"). Leigh, the Canadien. Chris' night in Zurich. And Kaylee's "duber" (the word, not the actual thing).
A couple of summers ago, i was in the same situation. That night as i was saying good bye to my yellowstone coworkers, someone said "after tonight, you will never be with the same group of people in one room again." So far this person has been right, i have met up with people from that summer, but we have never been together as a group again. I really hope that doesnt happen with this group, and i've got a feeling that it wont.
While we are in College Station, lets make sure we say hi to each other when we walk by, and hang out every once in a while. Even if it's just to have dinner or something. Lets never forget the time we spent together in Germany, and how we bonded together as a family.

This is Hanna's blog...

I am having technical problems with my blackberry so I am using Kim's to blog. Today is our last day in Berlin. Our flight leaves at 930 tomorrow morning. The time has gone by so fast. We had a bike tour here on Tuesday. That was my favorite tour so far. This city is very interesting and has a lot of history. There are also a lot of hippies, artists and musicians. On our bike tour, we rode through a park and it reminded me of somewhere in Austin. Today Sarah, Kim and I went to the Berlin Zoo and saw Knut. That was really neat because he is so famous all over the world. Tonight is our farewell dinner. I am excited, but it is also sad to think about. My host mom sent me an email yesterday. I am going to miss them a lot but am looking forward to seeing my family tomorrow.

This is Hanna's blog...

Berlin

I only have 15 more minutes of Blackberrying so I have to make this one short!

I am so glad to be in Berlin again! It is so beautiful and there's always something to do! I went to KaDeWe today and was blown away by the gourmet foods section. It was full of things I'm desperate to bring home! I bought a ton of chocolate and some coffee too. It figured these are things my family would love. I can't wait to show them these things!

Its strange that I'm going to be home tomorrow! I'm sad about leaving Germany, but it will be nice to be home. I miss my family, A/C, and steak!

Berlin

I only have 15 more minutes of Blackberrying so I have to make this one short!

I am so glad to be in Berlin again! It is so beautiful and there's always something to do! I went to KaDeWe today and was blown away by the gourmet foods section. It was full of things I'm desperate to bring home! I bought a ton of chocolate and some coffee too. It figured these are things my family would love. I can't wait to show them these things!

Its strange that I'm going to be home tomorrow! I'm sad about leaving Germany, but it will be nice to be home. I miss my family, A/C, and steak!

Well I guess this is my last blog. I'm really going to miss this blackberry. :( this morning we walked around downtown, saw a really cool old bombed out church, went to the kadewe and ate too much german schokolade. We are going to the jewish museum and then having our last dinner together. I have all day tomorrow to wonder aimlessly around berlin before my train takes off for vienna. Hopefully I will make it despite the deutsche bahn train drivers strike. I'm so glad I don't have to fly out with everyone else tomorrow, but I still feel melancholy that they are all leaving. I can't imagine going back to real life in college station texas right now. I have absolutely no idea what it will be like to go home. I just hope it doesn't seem the same.

Last day in Germany....

So today is my last day in europe before I go home in the morning. We've been in berlin these past couple days and its been really relaxing. Berlin is a lot different than everywhere else we've been in germany and has more of the look and feel of a big city, like new york or somewhere like that. Its interesting because it has more recent history than just world war two. Seeing parts of the wall and where it stood was really amazing and also imagining what east berlin mustve looked and felt like before the wall came down was so eerie almost. Today, I went to the berlin zoo and saw knut and he was so cute! He was swimming around for us :). But it has been a good end to our trip and I'm definitely ready to get home and see my family and friends. We are going to the jewish museum today and then we have our farewell dinner tonight and then leave in the morning. Its sad to leave here and it was really sad leaving my host parents but I have so many good memories and I really feel like I learned a lot and was exposed to so many great things.

Well, I'm really suprised how fast this program is ending! I'm ready to go back, though. I really miss my friends and family. The things I really miss at home:
Being with friends and family, having a regular schedule, eating tex-mex, having a car, sleeping in my own bed, having unlimited refills on drinks, never being charged for something that I don't realized I'm being charged for, being able to go to church, knowing where everything is, never having to pay to go pee, and being able to read and understand every posted sign. Things I'll miss from Europe: everything having a story behind it, being spontaneous with my free time, the extensive public transportation system, being lost and not caring, always being somewhere new, Dusseldorf, trying new food, eating at deliciouss delis, going to the places I've always dreamed of going to. I could go on and on, and I love it here, but I'm ready to go home. I've learned so much here, I don't think I've realized how much I've learned yet. I think once I go home, I'll realize a lot more how I've changed and how much I've learned.

This time tomorrow most of us will be over the Atlantic Ocean on the way to our hometowns. I am sad to be leaving, but it is definitely time to go home. I think the length of this program was perfect. If it was any shorter I could not have seen as much as I did. If it was any longer I would've been so worn out that I could not have appreciated the things I did see in a longer stay. I am so excited to fly home and have my family come pick me up at the Shreveport airport. I am nervous about flying by myself all the way home, but I feel like I have grown a lot on this trip and going through customs will be a piece of cake compared to navigating the Paris metro and regional train system. Not only have I learned so much about German history and culture, but I feel like I have gained so much more confidence in myself. At the beginning of this trip I felt like I was being given too much responsibility, but I really feel like I handled it all pretty well. They told us the first day of the program we would really mature during our five weeks here, and I found this to be very true.

I love being here in Europe, but I don't know if I could live here. I would love to visit or study abroad again, but I am ready to be back in America. I am proud of my country even though I feel like we get put down a lot here, and sometimes we put down ourselves. Yeah, we have our problems, but what country doesn't. Any nation has its bad times and its good times, and I think that's something the Germans can really understand. But that's just how I feel. I am anxious to see what it will be like when I get home. It has been a long time so far away from home. It has been such any amazing experience though, and I won't soon forget it, especially with my 500 pictures or so. So I hope everyone has a safe trip back home!! And I don't know about everyone else, but I am getting really excited about football season! Gig 'em Aggies!! Whoop!!

So...I blogged a couple of hours ago and then noticed it never posted for some reason so here I go again!!! Ive really enjoyed having alot of free time. These past few days have been very relaxing. I like dusseldorf and cologne the best out of all the german cities weve been to. Berlin is just like any other big city.

Im excited to go home and share all the things Ive learned here. Im not looking forward to the flight, but atleast some of us are on the same plane.

Today we went to an awesome art museum and saw some famous works. I love the crepes!!! Im thankful for getting to know everyone and I hope we will keep in touch. Im going to miss everyone. Be safe tomorrow!!!

tourist

I thoroughly love being the tourist with the wandering eyes. The camera in one hand and the map in the other. Its fantastic. I have taken so many sights and moments and tours and monuments and views in. I have stored a lot away to my memory bank while I have some pictures of other events. Its all wonderful and I can't get enough of it. I wish the time here were not over so quickly. But all good things must come to an end. Nevertheless I will always remember my time in Germany in the year of our Lord 2007 with all thine fellow ags! And I don't think it could have been any better.

friends

I am belated at the friends I have made on this trip. Not just casual friendships, but the ones that will continue far after we get home to the splendid cll st! I am so excited. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to go on this trip and true friendships were made during the process. Not just the casual "I am hanging out with you because my other friends aren't here". And I really like how things have turned out. I can't wait to see how these friendships develop. Its going to be great.

Berlin

We finally made it to the capital city of Germany: Berlin. We took a lovely bike tour around the city, and while we were not able to see everything, I absolutely loved being on the bikes. I have missed doing physical activity while I have been here in Germany. We have been walking everywhere, don't get me wrong, but we haven't been exercising exactly. So the bike tour was fun; our tour guide was interesting because he travels so much with his work (giving bike tours is his summer job.).

What I really enjoyed in Berlin however, was going up into the glass dome of the parliament building. We went up there at dusk when the sun was just setting and the clouds were still on fire from the sun. The breeze at the top of the building felt amazing, and the view was fabulous. From the top of the glass dome you could see the entire city, the tops of roofs and the occasional peaking church spire. One of my favorite things is being in nature, and while the city is man made, the wind and the sun up there made the city feel calm (like nature). I really enjoyed that.

We did see parts of the wall, we went to check point charlie and saw them selling "pieces of the wall" - I am skeptical as to whether they were actual pieces of the wall or just pieces of concrete.

My prominade around the city took me to the Tier Garden, a beautiful place to sit and blog. However, I wanted to mention briefly here at the end that there were some really cool global stone in an exhibit here in the park. One stone from every continent. It was pretty cool.

Debunking the myths

I will now attempt to summarize my findings of the German culture as of this point.I have been here for about 12 weeks. I have seen and heard much, that both confirms and completely changes my opinions of Germany and Germans. These explanations are of course only my opinions and previous thoughts about Germany before I got here and pertaining to where I have been and what I have done...take them with a grain of salt.

.Myth 1: Germany is in Europe, therefore it is more dangerous than the United States.

Before I left I had to attend a few "Safety While Abroad" seminars and if anything these made me more paranoid than I should have been. Every country is going to have its dangerous people and criminals, that unfortunately is inevitable in today's society. However, I have observed daily in Germany, only events which make me feel that much safer when walking or taking a bus home at night. I won't go as far as to say that the Germans are naive about safety but looking around, one might think that nothing bad ever happens. I have seen on multiple occasions, children I would gauge as around 10-14 travel with a friend of the same age alone on the subway system. This has been both during the day and in the evening. I personally don't think this is a lack of parental concern, but rather a trust of the German people that has over the years never been betrayed. Every now and then I will attempt to read a German newspaper. I have not once seen on the first few pages anything about a murder, robbery, or other aggravated crime. Surely, these things occur but the media in Germany don't feel the need to publicize every wrongdoing that unfortunately happens. I have also noticed that the police here seem to be less anxious when talking to or approaching people. If they need to tell a beggar or homeless person to leave they seem to do so as one would ask a child to do something. As far as pickpockets go, I have never had any apprehensions as to keeping my wallet in my sidepocket. I am not so bold as to keep it in backpocket, but most Germans I have seen do so. I cannot say that Germany is a safer place without fear of having to eat my own words, but I can say that I in no way feel more threatened or anxious here than I do in the United States.

Myth 2: The Germans are a cold and somewhat unfriendly people concerned only with business.

This statement has 2 different parts, one of which is true, the other false. The Germans are not friendly when it comes to business. They aren't unfriendly but they will not waste their time talking about the weather or the local sports team at a place of business. They will not hesitate to do so in the home, but at work it is all work and no play. There have been exceptions to this generalization to both extremes. My family and I were fortunate enough to have a very genuinely nice waiter at a Beer garden who all but made the night for us. Conversely, I have heard a waiter ask "Why do you say please? I don't have time for that sh&%." to which the customer promptly answered "Fine, A beer as%*(le." The germans are very concerned with efficiency and will do all to maintain schedules, from street construction to a timetable for a project at a processing plant. HOwever, I have found the Germans to be a very friendly people if you take the time to really talk to them. They are more than willing to teach you and listen while you struggle with a sentence and then compliment you before correcting you. SO basically, don't expect a German to go out of the way during business hours to make your day better (if one honestly needed help, they would of course oblige, but priority 1 is efficiency). But talk to a german when they aren't busy with work and they will laugh and joke and compliment the entire time.

Myth 3: The second world war is taboo.

This myth is false. They have no problem talking about post war reconstruction or anything historical having to do with the Nazi party or the times during the war. Now of course, one cannot call a German a "Nazi" and expect them to not be upset, but if one has a legitimate question about anything concerning the war, the Germans are more than happy to answer. I have also heard the war brought up between two Germans, so they don't only speak about it when asked about it. As long as one maintains a serious attitude and doesn't make any unnecessary and rude quips, it can flow as part of normal conversation.

Myth 4: Beer and Alcohol are consumed like water. Because the drinking age is lowered, binge drinking isnt as much of a problem.

The Germans do drink more than the Americans. However, most of this is in the form of wine or beer at dinner. Germans do not forego water in order to drink beer however. On the contrary they are very proud of their water with carbonation and drink more water than Americans do as well. What they substitute for beer and alcohol, isn't water, it's coke or other sodas. Coke and Sprite are generally as expensive as a glass of wine or small beer. Sometimes, the germans will compromise and drink a "Radler" which is sprite and an ale beer or some other variation of beer mixed with a soda. As far as the attitude about drinking goes, the Germans are generally just as concerned. I have met many germans, all over 18 that think that the drinking age should be raised. They believe 16 is just too young and I must agree. While there are alot of individuals who drink responsibly young, there are quite a few who don't. I have seen 16 or 17 year olds sit at a beer garden and have one beer, and I have also seen 16 or 17 year olds bring a couple bottles on a subway station and drink them there (drinking in public is legal almost everywhere, I have yet to see a drinking forbidden sign). AS far as binge drinking goes, I can imagine that it is about the same. I have seen as many drunk people here as I have seen in College Station. However, the laws against drinking are much more stringent here. The responsiobility lies with the individual. Drinking and driving with any amount is illegal. I have heard that you may have a reading of .02, which is four times lower than the U.S. Needless to say, One drink will probably put a person close to if not over this level. They take their drinking very seriously. Most people if they must drive home do not drink anything. If one is caught drinking and driving, they receive points on their license plus a fine. When a certain amount of points is obtained, they lose their license. So while they may have the choice to drink and drive, they don't.

Goodbye Dusseldorf

A few days ago we left Dusseldorf for the last time (on this adventure at least). I spent the last weekend of the trip in Dusseldorf, which was really nice and relaxing. It was nice to be in a stable place for a little while and not travel. I was able to experience the city at my own pace; I went out into the old town and read by the river and then met up with some of the other guys and we found some live bands along the river. It was a really relaxing weekend, a perfect goodbye to the city. It was also really nice to see the family a bit more on the weekend.

Our last day in the city was spent writing. It may sound extremely unfortunate that we were not able to party or go out on the last day, but in all honesty it felt extremely good to actually have to think. The whole research and writing process made me feel so productive, and it felt good.

We had an excellent last few days, and while it was sad to leave the host family, we could not have left the city on a better note.

Das Bier

Well as the proram comes to an end I feel it is time to elaborate on that one German experience that everyone always talks about: beer. The germans do love their beer, that definitely isn't a false stereotype. The beer is also, in general, better than the beer I have tried in the states. However, I have also had the worst beer I have ever tasted here in Deutschland. My frequent beer tasting has made me very picky but I also am beginning to appreciate the different beers. I found that I am a fan of the pils type, although I also enjoy lagers and darker beers. Beer tastes a lot better from a keg from the brewery 5 minutes away than from a can. My favorite beers from germany will have to be schluessel alt, franciscaner, and radeberger. The worst beer I've ever had, was called rauchbier which translates literally into snoke beer. The malt is passed over smoke sometime during the brewing process which leads to a distinct and disgusting taste of smoke with every sip. I have heard people say that they can't drink us beer after coming from germany but I doubt that will be the case. I think that I will just have to throw out the extra dollars for something that tastes a little better...

Leaving Berlin on Saturday...

And i do not want to go home. I miss my family and friends and I really want to see them, but at this point, I am not ready for a return to reality. We have done some studying, but for the most part it has felt like a five week vacation that I don't want to end. If my family were to all jump on a plane and visit me for a week, I would have no problem staying for a couple more months.

On tuesday in Berlin we arrived and went on a bike tour of the city. Its a whole different experience being able to see the history that took the city instead of only hearing about it. The remnants of the wall are scattered throughout the city, a constant reminder of their recent history. The Jewish memorial, a maze of concrete blocks, was impressive in that it conveyed its message well: a feeling of isolation and helplessness when walking through it. Today we're going to the Jewish museum and I don't know what to expect, so we'll see...

This is probably my last post in Germany. Tonight we have our going away party and most people are leaving tommorrow morning. I've had a great time in europe; these 5 weeks sure flew by...

Gone to Texas or Stabbing Westward (like the band) take your pick.

So headed back to the west on Saturday, back to the big land of Texas, the country of English, English speakers (not the Großebritania speakers), to the land of good steaks, Mexican food, free refills, trucks, big yards, big roads, big people (not excited about that one), and my car. oh to be able to drive again. I dont know why it is we miss things like that, i mean i am not desperate to get home in anyway, i love travelling, absolutely love differnt societies and cultures, but i guess it is that we have grown up with it, i have spent all my life living in Texas and as humans, as Americans, or as ethnocentric Texans whatever it is, we feel a slight superiority and wonder how people live like this. but its wonderful here, it really is, there are big differences but we are in the civilized world and life thrives here, there is nothing wrong with this place it is just different, i enjoy the food (the little fast food pasta place down the road is such a great idea, healthy, quick cheap and really authentic and lecker. but i have always had reverse culture shock to a degree when going home, especially when i have learned so much about history, medicine, and culture as with this trip. it will be hard to get back into the ordinary life and quite dificult to see things the same again, and impossible to ever be the same. I like this place, and whether i ever come back or not is not the point of this trip, it is how i have changed, that i have changed, and that i take a global persepective from this trip and an interest in the world, politics, society, different cultures, and the dynamic aspects of this world. everything is changing around the world. we think that in America there are big generational gaps because our parents cant work computers and our grandparents were alive in the depression. but here and even more so around the world things are modernizing fast, from one generation to the next it could be; subsistence farming to information technology, from poverty in a shante, to successful in a flat everywhere that the government and society allow social movement people can change their stars and affect their fate. nothing is perfect, no government is perfect, Germany (unlike my host Mom says) is not MORE perfect than America, we are all humans, they are all governments and life is just life, poverty will always exist, war will always exist, there will always be unemployment, horrible living conditions, and starvation. that is not a pessimistic view it is a view of history. the citiyens during the Pax Romana thought they would last forever and never hunger, fear, or war. the Citizens of the third reicht believed it would last for 100 years before the war broke out. and here we are, citizens of a modern world where democracy reigns (abit like Greece hmm?) and attempts are being made to stamp out war forever (the aim of the second World War) but we are moving towards conflict with many contries ( America, the UN, and the EU) and we are not living in a perfect World, not even close. But what shocks me are the claims for diplomatic resolutions to foreign conflicts. so while people fight and kill their own contrymen, genocide and famine reigns, the politicians sit and talk. the governments lie, nothing is resolved and fighting continues. I have no answers, conservative, liberal, republican, or democrat no one can say what is right, but believe that to rate an American soldiers life or a UN peace keepers life above the lives of an "uncivilized civilization" is not right, and cant be right. we are to let nations, people, or radical groups kill eachother while we talk? we can do good in these contries, we did good by South Korea and it is an amazing place, we left Vietnam and it locked in communism and poverty, so there is good to be done. at what cost i have no answers, but ctiticizing American politics from an isolationistic stance while claiming the inhumanity of the American's actions is strange and foreign to me, and i think a bit hypocritical. But anyways im hungry, ciao.

outdoor cafes

I know I kind of hit on this at my goodbye to Duesseldorf but I can't get over the outdoor street side cafes. I love Europe's ability to mix city with nature. A park hidden in the middle of the city, or flowers or a green lawn of a church, or the canals. Our cities are filthy.. No exceptions worth noting. The weather is exceptional and every element comes together to create a sum greater than the parts and its pure bliss. I am a christian and not completely sure how that is relevant other than I have grown spiritually within myself.. In a Zen kind of way and just gotten in touch with that around me and am just at peace with everything. That's what this trip has done for me. Its allowed me to step away from medical school and stress of moving, chores for parents, and obligations of back home. It has allowed me to stay low and just be me. I am in my own little corner of the world and its magnificent!

misconceptions about berlin

Ok so maybe I was mistaken about Berlin. Minus the bees which are constantly harassing me (and I am both allergic and afraid) I am doing good. I like Berlin. Its turned out to be a better experience than I had thought going into it. I like the swamp! Lol. I was really excited about the atmosphere and history in Munchen. What I have come to realize is that each and every city has its own uniqueness to offer and it can all be great! I like the canals and the importance that Berlin holds to Germany. The hotel arrangements are great. And I like the nightlife. The canals fascinate me. I think this is a great ending to an even better life experience.

Ich ben kine Berliner

so yes i am not a citizen of Berlin, i hopes that what i just said and that it is more appropriate than "bis morgen schön," though i do love that saying. but Berlin is such a wonderful city, and seeing it onthe bike tour was such a great way, it is so thick with history and conflict. The Jewish memorial was so fitting and such a great tribute, though you can never make a tribute in anyway it is a great place to realize the isolation of those in concentration camps and things. The BrandenBerg gate was everything that i thought it would be and just a really impressive monument and i understand why such great history has taken place particularly there. But other than those two things we saw on the bike tour, the zoo we went to in our free time was really impressive, i think it was better than the yoo in Köhl though the animals didnt look as happy and might not have had as much room to run around and feel free but the giraffes had a taj mahal type palace area and it was really a neat place, and some interesting species as well. Last night seeing the parliament building was really impressive, offering us great views of the city around us and just how low the buildings are, the charlité and the DB building being the tallest i saw, but how spread out and large the city is for haveing about half as many people as just the Manhattan, i would like to see the comparison of populationand area between the two, but anyways this city is unique in alot of ways and will always be affected by the wall and the soviet policies that took place for almost 50 years here. but it is a great place for a capital and much more fitting for Germany than Bonn in my opinion. It is a bit symbolic of how Germany has to deal with the past but still look on to the future with it behind them, as the wall runs right BEHIND the parliament building and the governmental buildings span both sides, so i like the architecture here and the symbolism that soaks everything around here, even the Hbf. which is apparently haunted or ruined. 17 people stabbed opening night, a major girder fell off first storm, the windows crack and shatter in the wind, only one bathroom and not enough room for long trains to stay under cover, especially in winter when it gets cold. hmph i only have to go through there once more, good thing! Well Berlin i hope to see you again someday but for now "bis morgen schön" and cheers mate.

trier

Last weekend I went to Trier and it was great. I was able to see roman church, amphitheater, roman bridge, and city gate. The history of the town is splendid and it is one of the oldest towns in Germany. I think the Germans are very lucky to claim that town and share in its history. The city square was great, live music, and splendid beer. And of course, I squeezed in my people watching! The train ride was the most scenic ride I have taken in the past 6 weeks. I marveled at the Mossel river valley with all its wineries and hay fields. I wish I could spend more time there.

Thoughts on the trip.

now that we are in Berlin i think i can adequately report on my feelings of this whole trip and the German people in gerneral, and i hope with no political insertions other than that pink song about the president is absolutely worthless, hypocritical, and disappointing. But as for the trip A+ all the way around! i really think that everything has been wonderful, taken care of for us and perfectly smooth, it has been great to not have to worry about transportation and organiying tours on our own, but it has also been combined with a great deal of freedom on the weekends, which i love. i absolutely love the ability to travel on my own and have the freedom and responsibility to find somewhere to sleep and the adventure of just being out in the world on my own. but as for during the week you can not have 23 individuals on their own running around so the scheduling has been good as for that. like everytime we have to wait for a train or miss a schedule in anyway our AIB get nervous that we will get ancy or upset and tries to make everything right, but trust me we dont mind waiting and understand fully. Other than that the German culture is wonderful, absolutley wonderful, though i dont like not being able to cross the streets when you want, i am able to stand it now and wait, they do not seem as rushed as us Americans even though they keep tight schedules, we speed everywhere and walk quickly especially in New York or any major population center, but here in berlin it is not so much. but that is saved for the berlin post later. German in general is fun and structured and just cool, so i will definately be coming back, maybe to see my host family, maybe to see nurnberg or munchen but we will see. saturday i leave this place and go back to the usual, back to America but i will be changed. A different and more complete understanding and view of history along with a great appreciation for this place and what they have dealt with in the past 100, 200, 300 years. Also the presentation yesterday was incredibly interesting, what a neat man Wirchow was, it really makes me want to read his book, and be a more rounded person, not just interested in medicine but also activive in politics and society and history and the human condition of the world. just like the heart of darkness makes you examine the human condition on this planet so do things like dachau and Wirchovs view on health as a right and responsibility of those inclinded. well cheers, i will miss this place but cant stay, and i will go back to the ordinary life in CStat but will not be the same.

Our stay in Berlin, Farewell

On Tuesday afternoon, we arrived in Berlin and had a pretty fun bike tour. My favorite part was probably the memorial. According to our guide, the concrete blocks were constructed to capture the feeling of being lost, something many of the holocaust victims probably felt during and after the war.

Tuesday night ended with a nice excursion to a local bar. The bar was interesting, due to the stock market beer pricing system. Each beer purchased affected the price of the beer in the subsequent round. Since nearly 20 of us were having drinks at the bar, we affected the beers in each round fairly significantly.

On Wednesday, we took had a lecture on Virchow in the academic hospital area. I enjoyed looking at the heart specimens in the preservation gallery, because the use of cardiac devices in some of the specimens. Devices, such as pacmakers and VADs, were shown on certain diseased hearts.

Since we were given the rest of the day to do as we please, a small group of us students went to the Berlin zoo. Although the selection at the Berlin zoo was better, I think (in my opinion) that the Köln zoo had better accomodations for the animals, and thus a better environment to witness the animals.

At the moment, my thoughts concerning the future are somewhat focused on the train strike. Apparently, the strike began this morning, and I am worried my trip to Brussels tomorrow will be sporadic (at best). I have no way to communicate with my grandparents in Brussels as well, so the situation will be interesting. However, the farewell dinner tonight will be fun, and I will miss everyone in the program. I hope that our group can have reunions once we return to College Station!

Tschüs, Deutschland!

This is the end...

Athough not my last day in Europe, today is the end of our program. We have approximately 5 hours left with our beloved blackberrys. Then we give them back to Dr. Wasser, or... We are suppose to give them back. Laying here on my hotel bed in Berlin, I keep reflecting back upon my experiences. I've seen more in these past 5 weeks than most people will see in their lifetimes. For this I am grateful, yet almost greedy because I want to see more. I want to continue to travel to see and experience more of the world. In today's age, the world is no longer a giant planet but just a few hours on a plane. I keep thinking of all the sites I've seen and my cultural endeavors in the last several weeks.

On Tuesday, we had an interesting bike tour with a Dutch tour guide named Hans. He took us around Berlin, and showed us several interesting sites and monuments that had to do with WWII. Out of all of our guided tours, the Berlin bike tour and Munich tour were my favorite. The guides were probably what made the tours better. Hans joked about how the Dutch used to own the Americas, and that the U.S. was little Holland. We all laughed... He also said if the Dutch hadn't sold New Amsterdam the U.S. would have been a better place. Maybe? Man, I love that country.

The time has come, and I am definitely ready to head home. I prepared myself to be away for as long as I have, but it is time for me to be back in Texas. I miss my dog, my family, my friends, mexican food, my bar, my house, driving, the lake, tv, movies, healthy food, cooking, my bed, steak, sleeping in, ketchup, being able to get somewhere in less than 30 minutes, not having to walk everwhere, air conditioning, girls that don't pretend they don't speak English, music that's not techno, regular milk, and ice. It's going to be good to get back home and be able to relax. I will probably head back to the CS as soon as we get into Houston. Well, after I go eat Mexican with my family. Maybe hit up the bar where I work if it's not too late. That is if I'm still able to stay awake after the flight... Man that's going to suck. I like flying, but twelve hours on a plane is a long time.

Man, I love this country...

Im getting anxious to go home, but at the same time I dont want to. I love it here and cant wait to come back. I hope we can all stay in touch and continue to hang out.

Berlin seems to me to be just like any other big city. Dusseldorf and cologne have been my favorite cities in germany. They are more unique and seem to have more history.
Im looking forward to the dinner tonight and all being together for the last time. This trip has been amazing and has helped me to be more open minded. Ive learned so much history and cant wait to go home and share what all we have learned. I hope everyone has a safe trip home and have a good semester!!! Ive enjoyed meeting all of you!

So, this trip has really flown by fast. I can't believe that tomorrow is the final full day. I'm really excited about going on top of the dome and being able to see a more aerial view of Berlin. It was really sad saying bye to Steffi at the train station. My host family goodbye was really awkward. She shook my hand and that was pretty much it. We didn't get very close at all, because we had very different schedules, and she didn't choose to include us in any family activities. So when I was home for Sunday afternoons, she was off with her family and left us dinner in the kitchen. I was I had more of a relationship with her than that of a hotel clerk. Oh well, it was a learning experience nonetheless. My relationship with her, or lack thereof, taught me to be pretty independent in how to get about the city and what to do in Dusseldorf. I really liked Dusseldorf, after traveling to other cities in Germany and the rest of Europe, I realize how modern and fun it is. Berlin is also really interesting. I never really appreciated how big of a deal the Berlin Wall was before this trip. I mean we talked about it briefly in my high school history classes, but I never really understood what a big deal it was. I never understood how it divided family and friends. The Museum of Communism in Prague also helped me understand this a little bit. I don't know if I'll ever be able to comprehend how isolated someone must feel living in a Communist system, never being able to confide in friends and family out of fear of being spied upon by the government. This trip has also made me really grateful for what I have in America. I never really had a sense of home in Texas, mainly because I hadn't traveled for more than a week outside of the area. This trip has really shown me that no matter where I'll end up living in life, Texas is my home, where I grew up. I really find that interesting, because I have honestly never felt a sense of "home" before. Well, we're about to leave for the dome so I'll be posting tomorrow for my final post of the program!

Berlin, the last excursion

So we are now in Berlin and only have one full day left. Yesterday the group took a bike tour. I really enjoyed it because it was fun and we got to see a few sights we may not have noticed on our own. The city seems as one how we see it today. It is weird to think that only 18 years ago, it was split in half. The wall going up must have been terrifying. People had to make the decision to flee quickly before it was too late and the windows were blocked and the wall constructed. On the tour, the group rode to the Jewish memorial. It was different than most memorials I have ever seen. I probably would have just thought it a park area if we hadn't been told about it. That may have been part of the artist's intention.

Well, today I we have visited the pathology exhihbits at the nearby university, and I visited the zoo. I really liked the hearts with medical devices implanted in them. The birth deffects were a little disturbing to me though. At the zoo, I saw Knut, the baby polar bear that is not such a baby anymore. He was a little dissapointing. He was pretty big and didn't do too much. I also saw hippos, and they were pretty cool.

So far, I really like Berlin. It is a lot different than Munich as everyone has said. It is a modern city and there are lots of cool structures to look at. It has a pretty big media tower like the Rheinturm in Dusseldorf. The media towers seem to be pretty commonplace in Germany.

Tonight, a few of us are going out to a club called the matrix for dancing. I am excited. I heard it even has a pool inside. Tomorrow, I need to make sure I find me some currywurst before I leave. Peace.

Today we spent some time at the Charite museum. We got a lecture about Virchow first, then went to see the collection of preserved body parts, organs, and fetuses. It was really neat seeing some of the diseases and deformities that I have heard of before in real life. Then there were some that I had not heard of before, such as the mega colon. It was enormous! Hard to believe that something that big could come out of a man that was apparently not so big. That must have been awful for him. Once I got to the end where all the fetuses were, though, I had had enough. You can only look at that kind of stuff for so long no matter how interesting it is.
The rest of the day we had off, something that I think everyone appreaciated. We have been on the go for five weeks, so it was nice to have time to take it easy for a while. I went with a group to the zoo. We saw Knut! He's not a little cub anymore but was still super cute. There were a lot of baby animals actually, like a baby rhino and a baby hippo. I was surprised how small they could be.
Tomorrow is our last day. It's hard to believe. I am not ready to go home yet. Sure I miss some things, like free refills, free water, free bathrooms, ice, and ceiling fans, but I think I have actually adjusted quite well and have learned to live without all those little comodities that I used to take for granted. I guess it will be nice to have them again though.
I am going to miss the culture here that I have grown to love. It's going to be weird hearing english everywhere and having people smile and say hello to me on the streets. I never really liked that, mainly because I always feel obligated to smile and say hi back, which makes me feel so... Fake? Superficial? I think you understand what I am trying to say. You don't have to put on a mask here in Germany. If you chose not to go around with a bright cheery smile on your face all the time, people aren't going to bother you and ask you if anything's wrong with you or think you are cold.
I am also going to miss the train system here! And the backeries! And the wonderful wonderful eis!
I will be back, though. Hopefully sooner than I think.

Last night I actually slept for almost eight hours. It was great. Yesterday we had a bike tour of berlin. There is so much complicated history here. It is a really unique city that is still evolving since the wall. I am really excited that we have time on our own today and tomorrow to roam around berlin as we wish. Its the perfect thing to do on the last week when eveyone is a little worn by tours and travelling in a group of twenty. I can tell everyone is a little anxious to get home. Before I came, I thought I would be so devastated to leave germany, but someone told me that people are usually ready to come home by the end of the program. I didn't believe it then, but now I understand. This program has been amazing, but I'm ready to be somewhere familiar and stable agaiin. We've all started talking about things we can't wait to get back to: ice, our cars, ac, ceiling fans, english, chicken, drink refills, mexican food, more space.... I'm sure I'll have a similar list for germany once I get back - like brotchen and dunkel weisse! Of course I don't really have to go home quite yet. I'm travelling in italy after the program with my sisters, but it is still near the end for me in germany and with my host family. We'll try to make the most out of tonight with the group. A few people want to go to some outrageous dance club. Apparently germans have some strange dance moves that I'll have to see for myself...

This weekend was our last free travel weekend. We went to Paris, which was on the top of my list of places to go. I had high expectations and I was not dissapointed! I loved Paris! It was just so rich with culture and there was so much to see. We spent a few hours in the Louvre, and that was absolutely wonderful. I had always wanted to visit the Louvre ever since I learned so much about it in my art magnet classes in middle school. When I saw that glass pyramid I was overcome with this feeling, I can't really explain it. It was surreal. I was in disbelief that I was actually there, finally. Then inside seeing all the famous paintings that I had only seen in textbooks. Wow.
Seeing the Eiffel tower was also surreal.I loved the way it glittered at the top of the hour. The view from the 2nd floor was spectacular, especially since it was night and all the buildings were lit up.
I was not pleased with our hotel though. It was so far our of the city and not in a particularly good area. Juvisy... Never go there.
The public transportation system was also something I was not thrilled with.
Monday was spent finishing up our research papers, which took me longer than expected because I was using a mac. The AIB needs to invest in PCs!!
It's strange how time flies. We are on our last week here in Deutschland. Today we took an ICE train to Berlin and did a bike tour. I really enjoyed that because not only did our guide do a great job, but riding the bikes was fun and all the stuff about the DDR was really neat to see. I love how they have that line of cobblestone around the city where the wall was. It's crazy to think about how recent it was that it happened. Everything we have been seeing up to this point has been from WWII or hundreds of years old, and the fall of soviet Berlin was just 17 years ago.
I'm looking foward to to medical history museum tomorrow and all the free time we have! It will be nice to just take it easy for a bit!

Adios Dusseldorf

Well, we've left Dusseldorf and I'm kind of sad. We told our host mom goodbye and hugged and thanked her for everything this morning, and she told us we could come visit. I like Dusseldorf a lot but I don't know if I'll be back. We'll just have to see where life takes me. It was definitely a little difficult on the tram ride this morning with all our luggage. I was surprised when a lady helped Michelle get her bag on the tram, and she and another man also helped her get her stuff off at the train station. It was sad leaving Steffi and Lars too at the train station. I wish I could've got to know both of them better, but I still remember meeting them the first day when I got to the AIB and getting to have lunch with all them since I got there pretty early. I was nervous when I first got there, but they were so friendly and all helped us so much.

Yesterday was pretty relaxing. After we got done at the AIB we went to the bakery and sandwich place near the AIB that we all decided we were going to miss a lot. Then we went out to the Aldstadt and Konigsalle for the last time to get some mustard, which is really my only souvenir from Dusseldorf, besides lots of great memories. We had a pretty special dinner for our last night with our host mom. We had smoked salmon, some sort of fried potato that reminded me of a hash brown, and chocolate mousse and ice cream for dessert. My host mom also gave me two full glasses of wine, which was a little too much and made me really tired. So we finished packing and went to bed pretty early. I am really excited about Berlin, and then I will be so happy to get on my flight home. I just hope I survive the bike tour today!

Off to Berlin

We just left Dusseldorf and are on our way to Berlin. I am excited about going to Berlin but am sad to leave Dusseldorf. I had such a good time here. I think that my host family played a huge part in my experience. They were so loving and caring. When we were gone on the weekends, they would send us emails to our blackberries just to check in on us. I felt very comfortable at my house in Dusseldorf. Last night, I got kind of sad once I had packed and my room was empty. I have started to call this home and now we are leaving. Last night after dinner we had the German version of Champagne. Our mom gave us 2 of the recipes and then our dad drew pictures on the paper for us. He does illustrations and advertisements. They also gave us a version of The Frog Prince that they created. Our dad did the illustrations and our mom wrote a note at the end. I am very thankful to have gotten such a loving family. I am looking forward to seeing my family in several days.

Bye Bye Dusseldorf

We are on the train on the way to Berlin. It is a bittersweet feeling, I am very excited to see Berlin, but a large part of me is sad to leave Dusseldorf. I already miss my host family and it was hard to say goodbye. Yesterday and this morning left me feeling sad knowing it was the last time at the AIB, and my last time to walk down the Rgein, or through Nordpark which was my favorite place in the city. I took a blanket and laid in the sun there yesterday and took a nap and enjoyed the time. Our family was very special. Harald, our host dad, is an artist and he and Sibylle illustrated their own copy of "The Forgprince." They gave hanna and I each a copy. Sibylle said her great-grandfather's sisters used to tell stories with the Grimm brothers so that it has been passed down in her family. It was a really special and personal present, and I will miss them dearly. I am looking forward to the bike tour tonight and hope the rain will hold out until tomorrow. I can't believe this is the last few days, I'm sure they will fly by, but hopefully be as memorable as the rest of the trip has been!

Great last day

Today was our last in Dusseldorf. Well ill be back on friday because i leave on saturday from the dusseldorf airport, but it was our full day together here as a class. And i couldnt have asked for a better day.
It had that last day of school feel. Everything i did today i thought about how it was the last time i would doing that. In the morning when we took the tram to school, i thought that was the last time that ill head to school with my roomates. When we got to the AIB, it was the last time i will head up those stairs. Fortunately i had forgotten my camera and Dr. Wassser sent me home to get it. So i got to head up those stairs again.
I spent all day at the aib working on my paper. I wish we had more days like this one. I really enjoyed staying there. It would have been nice to have a whole day of lectures and ping pong at the aib.
Dinner was awesome tonight. We had some bbq. Although it was pork again, it was nice having it from the grill. Afterwards we went out for some ice cream, the place was closed, but we went to a corner store and bought some snacks there. Its just nice that all four of us have gotten along and are doing things together.
I think i heard our host mom say she would bring us coffee in the morning. She better, eventhough i dont drink coffee, it would nice to get pampered for a day.
Well Dusseldorf youve been good to me. If it wasnt for this program i probably wouldnt have ever considered visiting you. But your a nice city and ill tell people about you. I may be back to visit you next may, so i have my fingers crossed and hope everything works out and im able to come by, even if its only for a couple of days.
I have called Dusseldorf home fo the past four weeks. So yeah i will miss this place. But this will not be the last time ill be here.
Oh yeah, i know we have another week in Germany, but im also really going to miss Larry's Dwiggymon jokes. Ive heard them all day today, even now as i write this blog down the hall.

sad

I finally got done packing and now Im sad...my host family took me out to ice cream and when we got back, they gave me a gift. I hope I madi this on on good experience for them and that they will do this again. They told me they will keep in touch and send me on on video when their baby starts to crawl and walk. It will be sad to say bye to them tomorrow.

Im excited about Berlin. I think we will end the program well and have a lot of fun there. Im looking forward to the bike tour tomorrow...I think it will be very entertaining, hehe. During our free time, I either want to go to the Impressionists art museum or Checkpoint Charlies. They both sound good. Let me know if any of you are interested in either of those.
Well, its off to dinner and then bed. Something in Paris has made me sick so sleep sounds very good right now.

sad

I finally got done packing and now Im sad...my host family took me out to ice cream and when we got back, they gave me a gift. I hope I madi this on on good experience for them and that they will do this again. They told me they will keep in touch and send me on on video when their baby starts to crawl and walk. It will be sad to say bye to them tomorrow.

Im excited about Berlin. I think we will end the program well and have a lot of fun there. Im looking forward to the bike tour tomorrow...I think it will be very entertaining, hehe. During our free time, I either want to go to the Impressionists art museum or Checkpoint Charlies. They both sound good. Let me know if any of you are interested in either of those.
Well, its off to dinner and then bed. Something in Paris has made me sick so sleep sounds very good right now.

sad

I finally got done packing and now Im sad...my host family took me out to ice cream and when we got back, they gave me a gift. I hope I madi this on on good experience for them and that they will do this again. They told me they will keep in touch and send me on on video when their baby starts to crawl and walk. It will be sad to say bye to them tomorrow.

Im excited about Berlin. I think we will end the program well and have a lot of fun there. Im looking forward to the bike tour tomorrow...I think it will be very entertaining, hehe. During our free time, I either want to go to the Impressionists art museum or Checkpoint Charlies. They both sound good. Let me know if any of you are interested in either of those.
Well, its off to dinner and then bed. Something in Paris has made me sick so sleep sounds very good right now.

Praha

This is an excerpt from an email that I wrote to my family at the end of my Prague weekend a week ago. I wanted to include this because I wrote it when I was fresh from touring the city in that same weekend. It's better to recount things this way than scraping together random memories, I think. Prague is one of my favorite places, to be sure. I could write a lot about it, and I haven't yet finished my entries in my own journal. Prague had a wonderful feeling about it that was all its own.


"Prague is great. I think you would all love it here! The old town is
really nice and the little shops are full of ceramics, glass, garnet,
and amber. Really nice things. The place is packed with tourists but I
really don't mind, I actually feel safe here. We have a flat near the
city center. When I say near, I mean it is still a decent walk. It is
"near" in czech or european terms! I love walking here though, and we
haven't taken public transport once! I am breaking in my birkenstocks
rather nicely!

I really do think you guys would like prague. It is different from the
other cities I've been in. It is old, but the buildings are original
since nothing was really damaged in WWII. We climbed on top of a hill
at the edge of old town and saw a spectacular view of the city. It was
beautiful! It is so dense with gorgeous buildings. The people here
have been really friendly too. We even saw an aggie in the square! How
funny is that?

I have to catch a train at 6 something this evening to
duesseldorf. It will last 10 hours...eeh. We reserved some reclining
seats though, so I should be able to sleep!"

Die Rhoen

This last weekend I traveled alone to meet some friends in Fulda. My boyfriend (Julian) is from Wuestensachsen, a tiny village outside of Fulda proper. I met two other friends with him, my friend Omar who has been traveling for 6 months, and my friend Sophie who is completing an internship in London.

I visited Fulda and Wustensachsen before the program started. I met my boyfriend's family, many of whom do not speak English. It was great fun and sometimes confusing, but I was thrilled to go back a second time to meet them again.

We all stayed in Fulda on Friday night. We had an enormous dinner outside on the patio. The weather in Fulda is much different than here in Duesseldorf. It is much cooler and little windier due to the elevation. It is near a nature preserve called Die Rhoen. Wuestensachsen is situated in Die Rhoen, and we went there the following day.

We ate a HUGE breakfast in Fulda, then went on to have soup in Wuestensachsen. Julian's Oma always makes soup on Saturday from the vegetables in the garden. It was DELICIOUS and I finished my entire bowl even though I was still stuffed from breakfast! I love German food and I'm really not sure how I'm going to get along without it in Texas!

Julian's Opa is the leader of Die Rhoen club in Wuestensachsen. This area of Germany is absolutely beautiful and full of places to hike that are undisturbed besides the wandering of Die Rhoen club! The club meets up to hike whenever they can, and this weekend there was a special evening hike. We started around 5 pm for Nallenberg. It was home to a mine shaft that has long since been abandoned. There were about 20 hikers in this party, some children. We hiked up to an intermediary goal that everyone could hike to. Celebratory Schnapps was handed out to everyone by Julian and myself. I wondered why everyone only wanted ein bisschen...then when we took the shots I drank a full plastic cup. The cups were made for shots, but I realized that half a cup is more than enough! Julian had filled my cup up completely and laughed when I couldn't finish. It's hard to take a shot of Schnapps in the heat of the day, especially when your heart is still pounding from trekking up an enormous hill! Opa saw this too and laughed. He took the cup from me and finished it himself! Hilarious!

Julian led some others up to the peak that overlooked the shaft afterwards. I went of course...I couldn't let these German hikers think I wasn't up for the challenge. I began to worry when only a small fraction of the hikers wanted to go, and most were men with gigantic calf muscles, a sign of a true wanderer! I went only reluctantly. It was fun trying to walk up a hill at a 45 degree angle that's covered in leaf debris! It was so slippery and I worried about our return hike. Julian said this path was much safer since the other one edged on a sort of cliff. This path was really difficult, but it was more than worth it when we arrived at the peak! I could see the whole valley and see a couple villages. Church bells were ringing and the sky was a clear, bright blue. It looked so surreal. I didn't realize how much I missed the open sky.

The hike down was great. Julian found a stick for me to use for balance and I made it down slowly but surely. We met up with the others and returned to our cars. We drove a short distance to Paula's Hahnchen, a restaraunt where I suppose the club met often. They served half chickens with other odds and ends and it was really delicious after a long hike. We sat outside at the restaurant, and it grew cold as night came. It must have been 60 degrees, probably less. It was wonderful! I could live with weather like that forever!

I'm sure you could guess by my novel of a post that I really loved Die Rhoen. I could live somewhere like Fulda; a moderately sized city edging on the side of a nature preserve. It was absolutely beautiful and I already miss it. It was hard for me to leave and I know that I will think about it for years to come.

Leaving Tomorrow...

Last weekend I mostly worked on my paper and hung around. On friday night a few of us went out to the altstadt for some beers. I tried all of the alts except Schumbacher. I liked them in this order from best to worst: Schlussel, Diebels, Frakenheim, and Urige (sp?). On Saturday, I walked around Nordpark for a while. Sunday, I went out to the altstadt and met Kendall and Leigh. We walked through a craft fair. That night, I went out to the rhine and watched the sunset. I am going to miss having a river. We are kind of starved of water in College Station.

Anyways, the group heads out for Berlin tomorrow. I think I am gonna have one more trip out to the altstadt in a few minutes to go to the market area. I want to get some blood sausage. I'll see how that turns out.

Tschuss Dusseldorf!

I regret to say I am leaving Dusseldorf. I am going to miss my gracious host family, and our tasty dinners. Looking back at the beginning of the program, I remember feeling slightly nervous about staying without a roommate, and living so far from the rest of the students in the program. However, I think it is safe to say that I prefer rooming solo, because I was able to connect personally with my family. I didn't get to know my host sister too well, because she spent the majority of the time travelling for her school holiday. I wish I was proficient in German as well, so I could've communicated more effectively with my host dad. My host mom was very sweet though, and I talked with her a majority of the time. I am upset that I didn't get to enjoy the Alstadt as much as I wanted, but perhaps I can make an excursion to Dusseldorf the next time I am in Europe. Aside from Dusseldorf, I really enjoyed te bonding time with other students during the free weekend. Even though we always spent the first part of our trips confused about the new environment, i learned a lot about finding my way around new cities and adapting to different cultures.

I am going to miss...
bratwursts, cheap sandwiches, good beer, the ice cream, the students, my host family, the crackberry, the AIB, and last but not least the opportunity to visit surrounding cultures so easily.

I will not miss...
the public transportation, trying to sleep while sitting vertically, ATM fees, and the lack of fluids available.

Tchuss!

Amsterdam- Round 2

Oh Amstedam, I love you.

Larry and I revisited Amsterdam this weekend. We had a really good time doing absolutely nothing important. We visited the flower market, which was dissappointing, and spent the afternoon in Vondel park. It is HUGE. We thought we were nearly all the way through and then we looked at google maps and realized that we weren't even half way though. So, we decided to put down our blanket and have a snack next to an outdoor music concert. We were across the pond from the concert, but we could still hear and it made for nice background music. Interesting enough, it was gay pride weekend in Amsterdam. Nearly every building was decked out in rainbow flags and or pink balloons. On our way to the park, we came across the gay pride canal parade. It was quite a sight. It still humors me that when given the option to chose a costume to wear on the floats, nearly all men chose to either wear assless chaps, hot pants or leather pants. It was HILARIOUS. My personal favorite float was the "meat head" float, completely decked out in buff (gay) boys wearing hot pink hotpants with handcuffs attached. SOOOOO FUNNY. I couldn't stop laughing. Even though I've been to Amsterdam twice now, I would still go back, I absolutlely love it there. Everyone should go, just stay away from the red light district if you don't like that kind of fun... ha.

Trier

This weekend I was able to make day trip to Trier. The experience ended up being fabulous and one of my best weekends yet! I was skeptical because it was a day trip instead of a whole weekend but was I mistaken. Trier boasts the most Roman remains second only to Rome. I got to see the remains of a (functioning) Roman bridge, an Ampitheater, the sewer systems and baths, and a huge city gate. All of these were so well preserved it was hard to comprehend how old they actually were. The cathedral there did not remind me of any I had seen before. It did not resemble Koln at all. So what I soon realized, was that the church was so old that it was completed before Gothic era was even conceived. Therefore the church had its own distinct roman look, setting it apart from everything else I have seen. It was built under Constantine, and the whole town bears a resemblance to him and his rule. The square was amazing, and one of the best squares I have ever been to. I 0grabbed a beer, sat down, and engaged in people watching, the talent I do so well. I just like to watch time pass by, and watch people go on about thier life. The drive through the Mossel valley down to Trier was the best train ride we have done as well. Its a river that spins off the Rhein and it has grape covered hills as well, but the current is not as strong and therefore there are a lot of lake/ski boats that can be found out there, as well as people swimming, cooking, makeshift camps, and trailer parks. In between you can find these little villages that are beautiful to the eye, a place "i want to move to retire". Trier was great, well worth the day trip, and we found a weekend festival down on the Rhein on Sunday that had great fish, beer, and a live band who covered the Beatles better than anyone else I've ever heard. It was a blast. And we were blessed to have perfect weather the whole weekend.

Hannover

Ok, so I have a few blogs to post so expect a few back to back, but not necessarily in order with everyone elses.

I thought the Hannover vet school was really pretty, much prettier than A&Ms, but equally as exciting, which isn't much. I don't really know much about cows, but I definately got my fair share there. Everything we saw was about cows. I really liked the babies, but other than that, I could have skipped all the cows. Even though I kept falling asleep, I did enjoy the lecture about the different options for abdominal surgery, pretty interesting considering the economics aspect. The fraternity we visited was awesome. I really expected them to be huge dorks, which some of them were, but generally, they were really cool. Poor Larry kept getting challenged to chug and lost everytime. I competed against one of the guys girlfriends and won. I enjoyed visiting the research farm and seeing all of the chickens and turkeys even though they smelt really bad. I'm really glad that our guided changed during the tour or else we would have been there all day. That first guy talked FOREVER. Well, this blog really stinks. I'm kinda typed out from working on my paper, which is really boring. I hate writing papers.

Great way to end it

This weekend was our last weekend in Europe. Our last weekend to travel. And im glad we saved Paris for last. It really did live up to my expectations.
Even when i got off the train, when we first arrived, felt different. It wasnt like any of the platforms in the other cities. This platform was in Paris, and it felt different.
You always see the eiffel tower in movies, especially the ones that are about the end of the world. So im going to avoid Paris when the earth is threatened, but im glad we went this weekend. Now i can say that ive been to Paris.
There are other things to do in Paris other than the eiffel tower. We visited the louvre also. That was neat because i saw several paintings that i have studied in my art history class.
Everywhere you go you run into something historical. The architecture is beautiful. Overall i think Paris is the must see city in Europe. It has been my favorite city on this trip.
But if you go, try to avoid staying at a hotel in Jivusy. Its in the out skirts of Paris and its really ghetto. And you hear funny noices at night.

weekend in Dusseldorf

This weekend Kim and I decided to stay in Dusseldorf. On Friday, we went up to the AIB to work on our papers and then went shopping. I got some earrings and a couple of shirts from this store called Kult. Friday night, we just stayed home and relaxed. We also started packing and I quickly realized that not everything was going to fit. On Saturday, we went shopping for another bag to pack in and I ended up getting a pair of shoes and another shirt. I also got a really neat pair of handmade earrings in Alstadt. I might go back to that store today to get a few more gifts for people. Saturday night was a lot of fun. We went to eat at a restaurant in Alstadt with our family. I got the same thing as my dad, weinershnitzel. Kim got a steak Dusseldorf style. Both of these meals were really good. Our family took us for eis at their favorite place. The smallest portion was 3 scoops. After 3 beers and dinner, I found myself having problems finishing the ice cream. I was uncomfortably full. After dinner Kim and I walked around to let our food settle. Then we had a glass of wine at the wine fest. We met up with Jacob, Chris, Braden and Andrew. We had a lot of fun. Yesterday Kim and I went to what our host mom described as a public pool. It was really what we would call a small waterpark. We enjoyed getting some sun and relaxing. I am looking forward to this week and our trip to Berlin.

weekend in Dusseldorf

the last stretch...

Approximately day 31

I'm home from my last weekend expedition (which was amazing) getting ready for bed. I spent the weekend in Amsterdam. This city, I believe, is one of my most favorite places I have ever been. We had a long week around the more vet related part of our program. It was nice to get away from everything and relax... Well somewhat. I'm ready to head back, but I will miss this place. Where dogs aren't friendly, people push to get on public transpo, water is just as expensive as beer, people don't smile when they look at you, you can carry alcohol around in public, people look at you funny when you tip, french fries are pommes, you have to pay for ketchup, everything is expensive, people don't watch much tv besides the news, many families don't have computers, kids dress like so 10 years ago, views are a lot more liberal, couples have kids before they are married, pizza is a staple food, people use trains and trams more than their own cars, fanta orange soda is huge, the only energy drink here is redbull, bread is eaten with nearly every meal, beer is drank at all hours of the day, older people stay out just as late as everyone else, and everybody is multilingual... Yah, I think I'll miss this place.

Berlin here we come!

I am in a very good mood at the moment! Today was beautiful day with lots of sunshine and a nice breeze. I woke up this morning a little slowly,( a few of us enjoyed a night out in Altstadt last night!) but then i went for a run and worked on my paper. Our host dad dropped Hanna and I off at the local pool and we got to enjoy some sunshine and swimming which was Exactly what I needed! Our host family's daughter came in for lunch with her husband, they live in Berlin and are very excited we are visiting there this week, as am I. I am sad to be leaving Dusseldorf, but have many memories I will not soon forget. Tonight we enjoyed a light dinner of salad and bread outside in the garden and nice weather. Today there is supposed to be rain, as well as in Berlin this week, so I am not looking forward to that, but enjoyed today while I could. I amf inished with the paper and only have a few minutes left of the video, and am wondering how these 5 weeks flew by so fast. It has been such an amazign experience, I loved getting to travel on the weekends to different countries, but Germany is my favorite and am so glad the program was here. I picked the program at the beginning because it corresponded to my major, not because I was partial to Germany. If I had it to do over again, I would do the exact same thing, I love it here, the people, the food, the atmosphere. I would definitely recommend this to furture students, I dont think words can do justice to everything i have experienced, you just can't sum up seeing a double bypass surgery, or the Koln cathedral, or the view form the St. Charle's bridge in Prague. I am looking forward to seeing friends and family at home, but will definitely miss Germany. I am so glad I got this opportunity and will always remember it!

What will I miss...

I've decided to make a quick post about the things that are different in Germany that I will miss when I get back home.

Deutsche Bahn. THe ability to go anywhere you want, any day, multiple times a day is one of the most convenient things Ive found here in Deutschland. Making weekend plans is very exciting because you have so many options at your fingertips without having to worry about getting bored or tired driving for hours. Train travel is comfortable and as fast as a car. We need to have a College Station Bahn.

Pfand. The german word for deposit. Its very convenient to be able to go to almost any kiosk and give back a plastic or glass bottle and get money back. Aside from the whole getting money thing its also nice to know that you are helping the environment at the same time.

The Drinking Age. While i am only 20 I will be disappointed to going back to the states and not being able to order a beer with dinner. At the same time, I doubt I would be able to enjoy the beer as much because German beer is just so DELICIOUS.

My fellow study abroaders. Awww...I know. I must say that I have had a blast ith everyone on the trip and that the experience would have been about half as fun without everyone that came. While I'm sure we will have reunion parties, its not going to be the same hearing "Morgen schön" in the states.

The language. While I am excited about going back to a language I can completel understand I will miss practicing and learning more German. Its such a forceful Language that is amazingly fun to yell in.

Haribo. Gummi Bears....enough said.

I hope that everyone else here is taking away as much as me or maybe even more.

Weekend in Duesseldorf

I'm hanging out at the Opdenberg haus at the moment, watching "Making the Band 4" on MTV because thats the only English channel we get. Its nice to be able to actually be somewhat bored and watching tv for the first time in on on month. Its a beautiful day and its nice to go out in our garden and just enjoy the great weather we've had this weekend. I'm glad that I finished my paper yesterday and that I only have 15 more minutes of video left, meaning I'll get to relax and just enjoy our last weekend in Germany.

Last night we went out in the altstadt and had a pretty good time barhopping. The drinks are cheaper than most of the major tourist cities we've been to and the altbier (old beer, but that doesn't mean the beer itself is old) is some very good stuff. It makes for a good jagerbomb, thats for sure...

Though I have been posting for more than four weeks now I don't think I have posted anything on my feelings toward this lovely country that has adopted me temporarily. Before I came on this trip I had been to many places in western europe and I had loved them. Having that experience prepared me for Germany. I was not very surprised by any of the cultural differences that exist between the States and Germany. But I have now been here for over four weeks and I must say that I have really enjoyed my time here. The country in southern Germany is so beautiful! I could live in the hilly farm land down there. What surprised me, pleasantly, was how common it is for people to speak english here. Though I would love to be fluent in German, I am not. But my lack of knowledge of the language did not isolate me from the people. I am truely impressed at how friendly the Germans have been. Not that I expected Germans to be unfriendly because of the stereotype, but I expected some animosity over us not knowing the language.

I have loved the time I spent here in Germany I would recomment a trip over to anyone.

a brief summarization

I am out in Alstadt on this beautiful Sunday afternoon. One of the activites I have really taken advantage of is people watching. It comes as second nature to me and I am fascinated by it. I was hoping to pick up some mustard but it does not look like the shops are open today. The place is still just as crowded as it is when the shops are open. People here really love to go out together and socialize with their close friends and I love that about them. I think here and back home we both appreciate family but here they value close friendships on a higher level than we do. I have always considered myself a very outdoors person but when I do outdoor things it is a sport, or going to the lake, or horseback riding or fishing down on the Brazos. I have always been anti big city, especially back home in the states. I live in Austin but I am referencing Dallas, Houston, etc. Anything with a few loops around town and an efficient public transport is too big to me. What I like here about Dusseldorf is the ability to be "outside in town" with an open feeling I get from my other activities and this what they call "Allstadt". Its the oldest part of town that exists but the cars and polluton are removed and the air is fresh and there are more trees than you'd expect. Both worlds can exist. I am amazed. It is my perfect getaway. The thing is the skyscrapers are gone and the streets are cobblestone like and its just an atmosphere I cannot experience back home. This and the street side cafes are what I will miss the most by far. In a lil while I will go grab a bench in the shade by the Rhein and pick up my new book. Reading as a hobby is something I used to do but have fallen out of in the past few years. Too much xbox I suppose. But I have rediscovered casual reading again and its great. I definitely think this is a good thing. I long to take some of my habits and my point of views home with me. For one, I hope they stick with me and two maybe I might rub off on a friend. One thing that has exceeded my expectations is the weather. It couldn't have been more perfect for me. From the ideal sun with a breeze to the cold fronts to the rain I have loved it all. I have been hesitant to admit it until now but I really will miss Dusseldorf. There is a lot I have come to love. My virgin experience of "being abroad" besides the 2 week family vacation on beaches in costa rica has really opened my eyes in ways that are hard to explain. I now have such a better understanding of the world we live in. I have made connections with those bigger than my surroundings, bigger than Texas (and I LOVE Texas)n bigger than the states or my continent. There is a group of people bigger than all of that whom we have more in commom with than we think. We are really not that different after all. Both my mom and my step mom's history are both deep rooted in German heritage. And I just feel like more puzzle pieces have come together for me while also at the same time the size of the puzzle has grown. If that makes sense. I can see why German pride is so strong. They have a lot to be proud of and a gorgeous country they call home. I have found lots of similarities between Germanuy and Texas which make me think I may actually be able to live here one day. I also have grown in independence here during this trip and I think that's a strong atttribute to have. I think its great to share with family and loved ones but taking a step backwards and looking at the bigger picture.. Where are you if you can't stand on your own two feet? I am going to go thoroughly enjoy the rest of my afternoon here in the Dussel.

Adieu Düsseldorf

So as we aproach the time to leave this place I am a bit sad. We have one day left here, one week left in Germany and then back to the real world. While some are desperate to get home, i feel well earger to see my friends, see my family, but i also will be sad to leave this place. It has been great to me; the food, my family, and the program. I enjoyed everything here is Düsseldorf, down to the time i have to spend writing my paper, which i kept putting off to talk with my host brother and laugh at German TV with him. I know this is not the end of the program, and this is definately not my goodbye to Germany but for Düsseldorf my time is short. Today we will have a BBQ i guess it is because i am leaving. I dont know who they will invite since i have met so many of their friends while i have been here. The art teacher my mom goes to buy groceries with, Achim and his family whom they have known for a while, Lenny David´s friend, their adopted grandmother and her son who Doris has known all her life, and the couples i met last night and today. That really is alot of people that i have met, talked to and enjoyed through my host family. Achim and I have had long talks about the state of Germany its relation to the rest of the World. He is very educated and knows quite a bit about France as well, and he does not seem as radically Liberal as many of the young people i have met here, he is older and has seen quite a bit. But it is true what was said about the German people loving America, at least all of those who are older, even the young people have a fasination with America. They love to talk about it, they love to debate its politics, and they would love to go there. Though the dollar is dropping in value and our markets have fallen in the past few days dues to a report on sluggish job creation (among other things), it is still the land of oportunity in their eyes. The Chemist I talked to at Bayer worked in California for a long time, and would love to go back and work in America again. The problem he said was he, "met a German Lady" and he had to come back here, they also made him an amazing job offer so he came back. I still dont quite understand what exactly is the draw to America, wide open spaces or is it more simly the draw of Hollywood with lights and fame. Most shows here seem more focused on Paparatzi footage of stars and the lives of the stars than American shows are, and they are American Stars. American movies and TV are popular here, i think that has an infuence on their affinity for our country as well. Well i must go wrap up my other assignments as well, Cheers.

Six more days

Its hard to believe that ive been in Europe for a month now. It doesnt feel like ive been here for that long. Im sure its because we have done so many things, and gone to so many places. I feel like ive done more in Europe these five weeks than someone who has lived here there whole life. And it might be true, last week i met up with friends that have lived in prague there whole life and i told them what ive done and where id been in Europe. They hadnt visited any of the cities i had visited.
I love Europe, and im having an awesome time. This is the best summer of my life, hands down. But i cant wait to get home in six days. I miss home. I miss Austin. I miss College Station. I basically miss my life back in the states. I think i have a good one. I miss my friends back home. Everyday i imagine them coming with me on this trip. I will have to disagree with the people that say they could just move to Europe and live here. I wouldnt be able to do that. Yeah i thought about it also at first, but thats because Europe was a different experience and it was new.
I love Europe but i dont imagine my life over here. This was my first time in Europe, but it definitely wont be the last. Who knows, i may decide to get some schooling done over here, for a little bit.
Six more days and ill be home sweet home.

Breakfast with the Family

I would like to share a simple but very nice moment of my weekend with you. I just finished an excellent breakfast with my host family. I have not had the oportunity to spend very much time with them recently because of all of the traveling we have been doing. We spent a week traveling around the south of Germany, and then ontop of that, I have yet to spend a weekend home with the family. I believe the breakfast I just experienced is an average Sunday meal. My host family has a young boy, two years old, and an older boy, nine years old. The father works and has breakfast early in the morning before the boys are up, and I think Jennifer and I normally leave the house in between when the father eats breakfast and when the boys get up. The unfortunate timing leads to us rarely getting to eat breakfast with a family member, let alone the whole family. But this morning, Sunday morning when the father does not have work and I am not off on some weekend excursion, I was able to eat breakfast with most of the family. The nine year old boy had slept over at a friends house, so he was not present at the breakfast. My host mom had made a whole spread of food, and my host dad has just gone out and gotten some brotchen (bread rolls). We went out onto the balcony had a fabulous breakfast in the sun with a really nice breeze. It was just a really fabulous meal, and I enjoyed getting to spend a little time with the family. I also really enjoyed being out in the beautiful weather. I know it does not sound very exciting, but I just wanted to share that with you.

I decided to spend the weekend with my host family in düsseldorf instead of going away for the weekend. My sisters also flew in this weekend because we are going to travel in italy after the program. They were overwhelmed by the trains and German speakers like we all were a month ago, and they were impressed that I was so comfortable getting around düsseldorf. I'm sad that I'm about to leave düsseldorf and I'll probably never see my host family again, but I'm also really excited to see Berlin and Italy and looking forward to going home. Yesterday we walked around Benrath to see the beer festival and then we took my sisters to the alstadt. It was really hot and crowded so we didn't stay long. Today the Erps are taking us all to Köln to see the Dom again, the Chocolate Museum, and some kind of medieval festival that's going on there this weekend. I don't like having to think about leaving because it is so hard to imagine being in real life College Station again, but I feel like the program has been a good length and it's time to leave. Hopefully Berlin will be a good note to end on.

Au Revoir Paris!

I loved Paris! Well, except for the public transportation system and our hotel out in the boonies, which took us a good two hours to get back to each night. Thank goodness there were couple of very nice French people that we asked for help along the way. We didn't really experience the whole rude French people thing. But we did get scammed on the first night on the way to the Champs Elysses and I ended up with a 4 Euro bracelet made of string that I haven't been able to get off, oh well though.

I think we covered a lot for such a big city in a day and a half. We went to the Eiffel tower both nights and went up to the second floor on Saturday night. We went to the Louvre Saturday morning and its size was pretty overwhelming. We tried to hit all the high points the rest of the day, the Notre Dame, the Palais Royal, the operahouse, and we saw a lot of other beautiful buildings but weren't sure what they were. And of course, we shopped as much as our time and money allowed. My favorite was definitely the Eiffel tower, and I'm pretty sure I took way too many pictures of it. It was so cool to see it glitter and the view from the second level was amazing, and let us see how much we walked. This was a great trip for the last weekend, and I am glad we are getting back in the early afternoon to Dusseldorf because just a day and a half in Paris wore me out. So if I can just finish my paper then I can enjoy our last two days in Dusseldorf!

Last weekend in Dusseldorf...

Well its my last weekend in germany and so I decided to spend it in dusseldorf with my host family. Friday I just spent working on my paper most of the day at the AIB and then I in the afternoon laura and I went to the Aldstadt and met our host mom there. She showed us some of the good shops and we bought a few souvenirs, including a garden gnome from a garden store :). We got some ice cream, which is something ill miss about germany. Satuday laura's sisters were coming into town and were going to stay ith us for a night. It was nice though because I was able to sleep in and read a little harry potter. But for lunch, my host mom made the pancakes, which I love! And I watched her make them, hoping I might be able to make them that pretty when I get back home! After we ate with laura's sisters just us girls went into benrath, where we live, to the beer festival and walked around there and tried some of the beers. We even walked across the street to that castle in benrath that we saw one of the first days we were here. It was cool because by now we knew about it and could tell them about it. I also realized how accustomed to living here in general that we've become because seeing her sisters, completely unused to all of this public transportation, and its just like second nature to us now. We are all easily able to get around by now and so it was relaxing to spend the day in dusseldorf and showing someone else around for a change. We went into the aldstadt and just walked around and showed them the rhine. It was a fun day and I'm really glad I stayed in town this weekend. Today we are all going with our host family to a medieval festival near cologne and then we are going to spend the afternoon in cologne going to some museums and just walking around. It should be fun and a good memory with our host parents!

Paris was amazing, but
I think Germany is better than France. The metro was very unorganized and hard to figure out. Plus, hostelworld lied to us about it taking 10 minutes to get from our hotel to the center of Paris...it took 2 1/2 hours!!! Last night was funny because as soon as we opened the door to our floor at the hotel, we heared these loud screams...a couple was having a good time (hint hint) and wanted to share it with the entire floor!!! Then the man walked out of the room, while zipping up his pants and then asked us for on on cigarette. It was gross, but so funny. Paris was amazing though. We spent all morning in the louvre and it was amazing to see so many works that Ive been learning about since high school.

As usual, Im happy to go back to dusseldorf. My goal is to finish my paper today so that tomorrow we can have the whole day to finish up in dusseldorf. My host family wanted to take me to a lake near the netherlands today, but I would kind of rather relax in dusseldorf.

Im looking forward to this week, but am getting sad that its ending!!!

Last Post Till Back in the States

Alright, so the way things are laid out for me, I leave early Wednesday morning, which means after the weekend all I am left with is essay writing, turning the essay in, turning in the camera, the crackberry, etc. Berlin will only consist of me travelling there, and a bike tour and dinner, so hopefully not much to tell in that department, although it would be cool if something interesting/funny/exciting happened.

So this weekend has been nice to hang out and relax again. Flight to Venice, train to Florence, day and a half in Florence. Tomorrow back to Venice early to spend a good part of the day there and fly back to Dusseldorf. The art at the museums has been alright, but my concept of art is different: architecture and the female body (in all seriousness). Other than that Joey and I have just wandered around, enjoyed the sites, great food and shopping. Venice should have some handmade glass, or so I've heard and some markets, after which we'll head back to the airport. Of course all train/airplane rides entail me handwriting my paper until I can type it on Monday.

Unless anything interesting happens that was unexpected this will be my last post till we get back to the States. I have to say though, Europe has been interesting, travelling fun, but now that we've been gone so long I'm ready to go home. I'm not homesick or anything, but I love my family, my dog, my fish camp and Texas, and they all happen to be in the same place... and they are what I'm used to. Oh, that and my dog understands more English than some people here so it'll be a nice change to return to our normal.

At the beginning of this I said this would be the beginning of the new us, and for me at least I think that statement was correct. I have changed, not necessarily in the way anyone would have thought, but changed nonetheless. Adios.

Edit: Forgot to mention we met a random white guy from Japan with a Maroon Out 2001 t-shirt, no clue what Texas A&M or Maroon Out is. Sad day. Also we made pasta for about 5 and our guy at the hotel laughed at us. Good times.

ESSAY: Turned in, although I felt rushed at the end and it felt pretty crappy since the topic felt rushed too. Oh well, I'm figuring Musser/Wasser are looking that we actually did the research and we looked at a topic we had an interest in and went with it. We'll see what happens. So I guess this is it until I post back in the states.

Last Full Week

Alright, since I'm leaving Germany two days early the layout of things for me will be a little different.

This past week was sort of boring for me. The veterinary facilities were great, but I'm not pre-vet so it wasn't particulary my thing. The baby animals were cute though. Also, the fraternity finally gave me the opportunity to socialize with a larger group of younger, English-speaking Europeans and to actually get an insight into them and their lives.

Bayer was also interesting, but I got bored a bit because I like the biomedical engineering/chemistry idea, but in all likelihood I will probably end up working with biomedical engineers/chemists rather than develop a drug myself. I'm more into the finding out of what causes a disease and then working with those guys to cure it or treat it somehow.

Also, this week I naled out the research portion of my essay. Good deal.

Interlaken

So this post should be really short, not because Interlaken was lame, but because it was me. Simple. Great scenery and tons of outdoor activities.

We arrived and basically did this: Ate at Hooter's the first night and attempted to eat cheap at the grocery store (Coop) thereafter; signed up for white water rafting, tried to find the lakes before rafting, went rafting, went out both nights and had lots of fun, walked around tons and avoided Swiss Army knives, and then finally founds the lakes after rafting, hiked to some ruins we saw, and napped a few times.

I loved it so much. It was beautiful and fun, and made me realize how much I miss outdoor activities since I've been at college. I'm going home, buying an old Jeep to fix up, getting a nice kayak and travelling to rivers/coasts one weekends with my dog. I love it, and it made me realize Texas is just that awesome too.

Bavaria

A little behind, but late is better than never.. Bavaria was AWESOME. Monday we went through some ruins while it was lightly raining and it was interesting to see how such great architecture just slowly fades out into the nature around it. At Nurenburg the next day we had a walking tour culminating at an attempt to lecture at some restaurant tha took a while to get to, but it would have been too noisy for the locals. Instead a few of us took off witth Musser to a microbrewery where we tried four types of beers and had a truly authentic, but delicious Bavarian-German meal.

Next up on our week trip we went to Munich and toured around with an awesome tour guide, a genious to boot in Lederhosen named Marc. The tour of Dachau was amazing and moving, but was sort of ruined by a couple making out on the steps of the museum. I have to say though that it is a tragedy that people could ever be convinced to do such things.

For the weekend we headed off to Interlaken, Switzerland which will be another post of its own.