Last two days

Okay it has taken me a little while to get back on to post about the last two days of the trip. I have had to adjust to the whole going to school thing again. On Friday night we went to the opera. It was the first time I had ever been to the opera. I thought it would be similar to musicals that I have seen but it was nothing like it. I kept getting thrown off by the girl playing the part of a boy. In my head the whole time I kept thinking that this should be a guy. Overall the performance was pretty incredible, even though I didn't really understand a word of it.

The next day, the last day was one of the easier days of the program. We took a walking tour of the city with Dr. Wasser and afterwords hung out with a student named Anna that goes to medical school in Vienna. She had spent time in Texas so she able to understand out version of English which was pretty cool. That night we had the farewell dinner and I ordered really good. I think I might have eaten the best meal of the entire trip that night. The next morning the trip was over as we all left to fly home. I have to say I had a great time and I would definitely go back, maybe in the summer next time

Goodbye

I can’t believe I get on a plane back to the states in less than 10 hours; these past three weeks have flown by. I’m already planning my next trip back to Germany. It has been an eventful last week abroad. Vienna, Austria is my second favorite place we have visited on this trip and is such a beautiful city.

The visit to Stephen’s Cathedral and the catacombs was very interesting. It is crazy that below where so many people worship there are sitting thousands of skeletons. It was creepy to see the mass graves of people who died from the plague. It is unbelievable that thousands of people were wiped out from one viruses.

Another very interesting place we visited was the wax models. They were so real and depicted the parts of the body, organs, and lymphatic systems so visibly. Although, something Dr.Wasser and the guide pointed out that was very interesting was that 90% of the models are male. The only time women are shown is in the OB section or the different parts of her body that are absent in males.

The Tower of Fools was kind of insightful, creepy, and sad all at the same time. The lady explained to us that what we were going to see were extreme cases, but even so these parts of skeletons were once upon time real living people. The part that captured my attention the most  was the first case of skeletons she showed us. There were two small skeletal bodies not much longer than my forearm. She explained that these were two sisters who were in there 20’s when they died. They had the disease rickets, which is now easily cured by vitamins. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like to have lived like that, or how much pain they must have been in. Even though it was an incredibly sad place, it is also very uplifting that most of the cases no longer exist because medicine has evolved to help or cure most them.

Meeting Anna and visiting their medical school was really cool. It is so hard to comprehend that she is one year older than me and is in her 5^th year of medical school. I really wish that the U.S. would model their educations system more like theirs.

Heart Surgery

 

    Today has definitely been my favorite part of the trip so far. We went to the teaching hospital, where we were allowed into the operating theatre to observe a surgery. In America something like this would never be allowed for either American students of foreign students. 

    I was in the second group, which went to the operating theatre in the second half of the day. First we were given a lecture by a researcher. It was very interesting, although he lost me after about 5 or 10 minutes. He kept my attention though, because he was so passionate in what he was talking about. I really hope with whatever I choose to do, after 30 years I can still be that passionate that I am making a difference some how. Next we went and viewed their telemedicine department. Before this trip I have only vaguely heard of telemedicine. I didn’t really know anything about it, just merely had heard the word before. I believe that it is an amazing new technique in medicine. Their telemedicine is mostly based on cardiac patients. They receive a small circular disk with pads that attach to their chest. After they attach their pads they press the start button on the disk and it provides an ECG that is then transmitted by phone to an on-call doctor. This can provide comfort to the patient that they are okay, or the Doctor can tell them they need to come in immediately. I think it is remarkable, and can’t wait til it becomes more popular in the U.S because I think it can be a tremendous help to older patients who are often times worried about their health constantly.

   After lunch we headed to the operating theatres. We wondered through the hospital and then all of sudden we were there. It was just a hallway that looked like all the others in the Hospital. If we hadn’t been escorted there I would have definitely passed it up. A lady popped her head out of the door and asked all the girls to come in the room to get ready to go into the operating room. We were given scrubs, both top and bottom; along with a cap, mask, and rubber shoes. After this we were allowed to enter the operating room. It still surprises me that we did not have to scrub down or sterilize. It just seems unsanitary to me that a person is cut open and we didn’t even have to wash our hands. Janelle and I went into operating room 1 where an older woman on dialysis was receiving a bypass. After about 15 minutes we were allowed up on the platform with the anesthesiologist to observe the surgery. The surgeon explained to us what was going on and told us that it was a special case just for the “Texans”. It was special case because she was receiving a quadruple bypass, which he said was not very common. I thought seeing the chest separated, or the heart lying there visible would make me uneasy. However, I was amazed more than anything. I was always told that heart was about as big your closed fist. This was definitely not true for this lady, her heart was bigger than three of fists and was all white (fat). It was amazing to sit there and watch an actual visible heard contract and beat. The surgeon was confident and cracking jokes while cutting on her heart; they are by far the most talented and gifted people. He explained to us how he inserted the grafts. He first put what he called “the octopus” on her heart, which looked like a big U with 6 suction cups on it. This stopped the movement of the heart where he placed that octopus which the allowed him to insert the graft.  We were only able to see him do one of the four bypasses before we had to leave. But it was definitely one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. How the body works and how medicine has evolved to fix problems is just so extraordinary. 

Bonjour

So, this morning we got back to the hotel at 8:05, 25 minutes to spare. It was quite an adventure from the very beginning. There are so many trains that were able to take us from Hannover to Paris, but we finally decided on the direct overnight train that left Hannover HBF at 10:15 and arrived in Paris at 9 in the morning. We all went out dinner then headed home to pack before leaving for the weekend. I looked at the clock and realized it was 9:50, which meant our train for Paris was leaving in less than 30 minutes. We scrambled the rest of our things together and sprinted to the train station. We arrive at Hannover HBF at 10:12, barely on time. Our train wasn’t there yet, but we decided to wait up on the platform just in case. However, we soon find out that Joanna left her eurorail pass back at the hotel. So she runs back to get it and makes it back to the train station in under 15 minutes, which I might say should be a record time. We’re really confused because I stayed up on the platform and the train never came. So we decide to go talk to the DB help station and he says RUN the train is about to leave from platform 4. So we do exactly as he says, we run to platform 4 hop on the train and soon as I get the suitcase in the train takes off, we made it barely in time.  So, we’re finally on the train but we have no idea where to sit because we didn’t make reservations. A train man comes walking down the hallway and we ask him where to sit and he said, “ Do you have reservations”, we say “No”. He then repeats “No reservations” and we reply, “No.” He was very confused but definitely the nicest train person we’ve met. He explained to us that to ride on the overnight train you have to make a reservations, however he told us we could just pay him and he would let us sleep in the cabin.

    We finally arrive in Paris and go drop off our luggage at the “Aloha Hostel”.  Then it was time to go explore the city. We started our adventure at the arc de triumph and then pretended we could go shopping down the street champs de elyss. After lunch we decided to go see the Eiffel tower, which I must admit I was most excited about. The Eiffel tower is the iconic image every person thinks of when they hear of Paris, France. We get off the train and maneuver our way towards it. There were street people everywhere following us, beginning us to buy their souvenirs. Unfortunately, it was really icy and cold so they only allowed us to go the first viewing deck of the Eiffel tower. It was still an amazing view, something I definitely will never forget. The next day we went and toured The Louvre,  It is an immense gallery of art that would take someone a week to actually read and see every masterpiece.  However, we only had two hours to tour so we hit the highlights, the winged victory, mona lisa, and a few others. After we were done at The Louvre we headed to the train station to catch a train back to Hannover.

  Well to keep it short the train station hated us. Even though we had a eurorail pass they told us there was no way we could make it back to Hannover or Koln that day. So, we ended up buying a 74 euro ticket just to be able to leave France and go back to Koln.  From Koln we took the train to Bonn. However, our train didn’t leave from Bonn til 1:30 in the morning. So we decided to make the best of our night and headed to our favorite place in Bonn, Billa-Bonn. 

Vienna Vienna Vienna

(originally written 17/01/2010)

I can’t believe I will soon be departing from Austria after spending three marvelous weeks throughout Europe. Austria is by far different compared to the German cities I’ve visited. I must say the people are exceedingly unfriendly and the town seems very “antique”…if that make any sense. Being sick for two days while visiting didn’t help adjusting to the angry environment.

I enjoyed visiting the Medical University of Vienna, however. Professor März’s presentation on medical education in Austria was quite interesting considering my recent acceptance into medical school. Our education systems are so different; it’s intriguing. Unlike Texas medical schools, Austrian medical schools do not interview applicants, review essays or ask about the applicant’s motivation. Austrian students also only have to pay about 16€ per semester. There are even more differences in the grading scale and testing system. Makes me question the comparative quality of American physicians versus international physicians. There seems to be no such comparison.

I also enjoyed the Freud Haus Museum. I find it amazing to have stood in the house in which Freud lived and carried out his practice, especially with my minor being psychology. However, the ultimate highlight of my stay in Vienna was our visit to the State Opera. What an experience! I enjoyed every minute of the 3 hour performance. “Le Nozze di Figaro”, the name of the opera play, was composed my Mozart. The music, the settings, the plot, the actors and actresses…I loved it all. The State Opera building is a true beauty: high rise seating, golden painted figurines, huge glowing chandeliers. I felt like royalty. I plan on visiting more operas within my lifetime. I find pure bliss in the elegance associated with the atmosphere.

A "Heart" Stopping Experience!!

(originally written 12/01/2010)

WOW!! Today was awesome!! I just left an operating room where I saw a 65 year old man get an artificial heart transplant. All I can say is WOW!! Although I was unable to actually see the whole procedure, I was lucky enough to see the doctors attach tubes and machine to the patient’s heart and then stitch the patient’s chest back together. A million things were running thru my mind. Why did this man need the transplant? Was he married? Did he have a family and if so, where were they? How much pain would he be in when he woke up? My brain was in analysis overload. At first, I thought the sight of an open chest and blood would be mind boggling, especially the smell. But my stomach didn’t turn at all. I enjoyed every moment of the surgery. I find it amazing how long the doctors operate on the patient without breaks or time to spare. I was only in the operating room for 2 hours. The operation had to have been at least 6 hours long. I could go on and on about this experience. I wasn’t in an observation room. I was actually in the OR! A once in a lifetime experience…at least till I become a doctor myself.

It took me by surprise that the doctors joked around and laughed while performing the surgery. I thought doctors were supposed to be serious during those times. I guess when you know what you’re doing it doesn’t matter as much. I wish I spoke German. I’m still a little confuse about what all happened while observing the operation. It would have been so helpful if I knew what they were saying throughout the procedure. It sucks not being able to speak German and communicate effectively with natives. There were at least 7 people in the room at each and every moment, and surprisingly each one of them was needed for a particular task. Medicine is so amazing! Now if only I could understand the telemedicine concept. Dr. Roussel and Dr. Wasser both believe it will become increasingly important during my duration of practicing medicine. Not too sure how I feel about that. Guess I’ll cross that bridge when I stumble across it.

Doctors, Animals & Towers...Oh-My!!

(originally written 11/01/2010)

What a day! Unfortunately, I had to visit a German eye doctor today. I consider it the perfect way to end the day after learning about the German healthcare system. According to the doctor who presented the healthcare lecture, the German healthcare system is just as flawed as the healthcare system in the states. However, I do believe there is one advantage to their healthcare system: everyone has healthcare insurance. But back to my visit. There’s nothing really wrong with me besides the fact I have a huge stye on my left eye. It doesn’t hurt at all; just itches really bad. A pharmacist insisted that I see a doctor when I tried to buy stye ointment.

Week 2 has come to an end. Five more days in counting. The veterinary events of this week were really interesting. Animal medicine seemed like a nice career path until my fellow classmates stuck their arms up a cow’s rear-end. Not my cup of tea so I’ll just stick with my interest in human medicine. I find it intriguing how the Germans care for their dogs as if they are human beings. It seems as if dogs have more privileges than humans: dogs can come in restaurants and malls, dogs wear clothes, and so much more. It’s too cute. Even Olaf has what I call the “German dog-fetish syndrome.”

This weekend was marvelous. A group of us drove to Paris! What an experience. The trip in itself was pretty expensive. Buying food was actually depressing. But I was able to take pictures from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Can you believe that? I would go back in a heartbeat. But I plan on waiting until I’m better financed.

So far, I’ve had a tour guide and a saleswoman laugh at our group for visiting Germany in the month of January. If only they knew I’m enjoying every moment of it. Yes, it is mighty cold but to be submerged in what I consider a “winter wonderland” is worth every shake and shiver. Dr. Wasser says this much snow is unusual. So I’m going to enjoy every moment of it before I depart Sunday.

vienna

Vienna was a great city to end on, although I feel like I was so exhausted that I didn't get to enjoy all that it had to offer. To start out the trip, we had to get up at 4 in the morning to make our flight. It was alright though, because we were able to get about a two hour nap in once we got there. The sightseeing bus was different since I am used to walking the entire city, but it was nice to just be able to sit in the warmth and enjoy the city. The Wien Museum was very interesting and set up a precedent for all of the historical background that was put on us later, which really helped. It was amazing to see all of the specimens that the josephinum and Narrenturm had to offer, especially because they were all wax. We followed up seeing the spanish riding school, which was interesting, but unfortunate that we could not see any performances. The Freud house was very interesting, especially the fact that everyone, including the British apparently, does not know that most of his furniture and collected artifacts are in England. The opera was amazing and really topped everything off with a cultural bang that won me over. The last day was kind of sad knowing that it would be our last day in Europe, but in a way I am ready to go home. I am just thankful for the experiences that I have had on this trip and the great people that I have come to know.

Vienna...The last couple days

The last few days in Vienna were another experience in itself that I don't the program would have been the same without. Getting to see the St. Stephens Cathedral and the catacombs was extremely interesting, every step feeling like a step back into history. The catacombs were beautiful and a little frightening at the same time, especially considering the original bones of the graves were left at the site. The tour with the chartered bus, however, I must say, was not quite as great as I had hoped it would be. Although I know there would have been no other way to take a tour of the city so quickly, I almost wish we could have stopped more places and spent time getting to know the sites.

The next day at the wax museum was very enlightening concerning medicine and anatomy. The models were much more realistic than anything I could have imagined, and I could easily see why they would be used in the teaching of the anatomy of the human body. The most interesting ones in my opinion were the ones depicting human birth, congenital diseases, and abortion. Though controversial and even inaccurate at times, those wax models were great at demonstrating the birth process, the early methods of abortion, and even the early understanding of multiple births. The entire experience was another addition to the amazing time I've had on this trip.

The Sigmund Freud Haus, however, was the highlight of the time we spent in Vienna. I quickly found him extremely interesting and quite the role model in the field of medicine. Despite his problems with addiction and developing healthy relationships, you can't help but admire the talent, intelligence, and guts that he constantly demonstrated. I can't wait to get his book concerning dreams and start reading his genius!

Lastly, the opera proved to be so different from what I was expecting, an event that has encouraged me to start learning Italian. The language was so beautiful that almost had a hard time deciding which I appreciated more--the orchestra or the singing. Mozart's genius was uniquely complemented by the lyrics and song, and I can't wait for another chance to see something so beautiful.

All in all, Vienna was one of my favorite cities--the beauty and size both a little overwhelming and humbling at the same time. This whole trip has been an experience that has encourage to learn like four new languages and definitely to spend at least another semester abroad. I can't wait till my next study abroad, and I hope that everyone else feels the same way.

Last Days in Vienna

So its 2:30 in teh morning...i need to leave for the airport in about 3 hours. The last few days in vienna have been packed with culture and medical education. We got to have a city tour by bus that showed us all the historical locations of the city and the amount of history in this city is amazing. At the Vienna medical center, we were able to see an incredible and totally unique collection of anatomical wax models. They were incredibly deteailed and accurate. The collection cost over 15 million dollars to create. We were able to see part of the pathalogical wax model collection as well. Last night we were able to go to the opera and see "The Marriage of Figarro". The opera was definitely better than i thought it would be. It was incredible to be able to see an opera in the of the most beautiful opera halls in the world in the music capital of the world, Vienna! I would definitely see another opera. It was great getting to kiow Dr.Wasser and Dr.Rousseau and Olaf on this trip. Im sure I will see Wasser and Rousseau around, but unfortunately I will not have such access to Olaf, who did such an excellent job coordinating everything. I am excited to come back to Europe again now that I am more cultured, but for now I must say goodbye to the beautiful places of the world.

Bad Oeynhausen

Our day trip to Bad Oeynhausen was one of my favorite days of the program. We visited the Heart and Diabetes Center. When we arrived, I got to see an open heart surgery, which was my first ever surgery. I has to dress in scrubs and crocs and wear a hairnet and a mask over my face to enter the operating "theaters." Then I got to see them prepare the patient and begin the surgery. I got to stand behind a screen with the anesthesiologists. They cut open the chest and then used a saw to get through the breastbone and then when they got to the heart, they used this big metal clamp to hold the chest cavity open. It was pretty intense. They hooked the patient up to a Heart and Lung Machine (HLM) and so they eventually stopped the heart and it was pretty eerie. No one in the room seemed to care though. Afterwards, we had a lecture on artificial hearts which was really interesting. Then we went upstairs and met patients who actually had them. One patient had a laminar flow heart pump so he had no pulse. It was a really interesting day.

Surgery

The open heart surgery phillip and I got to experience was almost unreal. The case was a man with coronary heart disease and an enlarged aorta. We got to see the surgery from beginning to end and it was definitely the highlight of the trip. At first I found the OR a little intimidating, especially not being able to understand what anyone was saying or doing, but the fear quickly turned into anxiety. I was getting nervous about them cutting open a man's chest in front of me, fortunately not something I experience everyday. Soon enough, though, I realized that the blood and the body didn't phase me at all, especially considering all I could think about was how awesome the human heart and this disease were.
What the surgery encompassed was taking a collateral vein from the patient's leg and then replacing part of the coronary artery with it and then attempting to fix the dilated part of the aorta. The great thing about the surgery was that we were finally getting exposed to a real life situation without holding anything back. We got to experience the adrenaline rush of a life or death situation and the pressures and responsibilities that come with becoming a doctor. I won't forget anything about that day and how I would feel about medicine after that. I can't wait to get into the more detailed stuff concerning medicine and start studying this kind of stuff. This surgery has reaffirmed my love for medicine and becoming a doctor.

Austria is a Different Country!

Wednesday, January 13: Today, we woke up at 4:00am and was out the door by 4:50am. We all slept during the flight from Hannover to Vienna. It was really sad to leave Germany, but Austria is just as nice (cold). We toured the St. Stephens cathedral and the catacombs. I personally dislike spending more than two seconds around graves, but I managed to pull through the entire tour. The bus tour was amazing and very relaxing. It was nice to tour the city without walking as fast as I can and hearing Schnell every five seconds from Olaf. Wednesday night, we decided to go karaoking. I have never experienced singing in front of people. People tell me that I was good, but those same people also say that Janelle was good.

Thursday, January 14: This morning was mostly full of wax. We saw wax models of everything from naked blonds with their internal organs showing to the foot and mouth disease found in animals, which everyone should know is different from hand, foot, and mouth disease. The tower of fools, the first building world wide for the accommodation of mental patients, was an interesting visit. I enjoyed the architects’ theory that when the patients do leave their cells and wonder around, because the building is circular, they will eventually wind up back to their own cell. In the afternoon, we visited the “Spanische Hofreitschule,” the famous horse riding school in Vienna. Amazingly, the school exists in the center of the city, where performances are given as well. The school takes three new students each year and trains them longer than medical students. After the school tour, we had the most delicious sweets and coffee in the world at the famous Café Demel.

Friday, January 15: Today, the group experienced the Vienna Medical School and got some hands on experience with some dummies. Dominique drew blood. Samy installed a urinary catheter, and I got my heart examined. I could not stop laughing when everyone was touching my chest. In the afternoon, we visited the Sigmund Freud Haus, the museum of where Sigmund Freud lived and practiced medicine in Vienna. Without this man, psychology probably would not exist today. Finally, Friday night, we went to the opera and watched Figaro at the State Opera. Being a music fan, I had already learned the overture by heart, so it was interesting watching the opera that went to the music I had loved for so long. My phone was turned off in my pocket, but the way my hands were resting in my lap turned it on. I was very embarrassed when the entire floor hissed at me. After the opera, we all ate with our classy clothes on at McDonalds, the only restaurant in Europe that stays open past 11:00pm.

Opera

Tonight was the opera. I didn't really know what to expect because I'd only been to plays and musicals (all in English) before, and I was a little weary about how it would turn out. It was a lot more exciting than I expected. We got to sit in a box seat and had a very good view. I had no trouble understanding the songs because there were translator boxes in front of our seats. The performers were extremely talented. They ran around stage while maintaining perfect key. The opera was by The Wedding of Figaro by Mozart and was very comical. Not only was the opera good, the opera house itself was exquisite. Like all the buildings in these countries, it was ornately decorated with sculptures and gold designs all over the walls and ceilings. The whole experience was great. I'm very glad I got the opportunity to have the experience. I can't wait to go to another one, hopefully a tragedy. We leave in a couple of days to go home and start the spring semester. I'm not really looking forward to start school again or leave Europe, but it will be relaxing to be back home and back to the routine.

Hannover and Vienna

Monday I was back in Hannover and back to the program. On Monday we went to the medical school in Hannover and learned about dialysis from one of the doctors there. The next day we traveled to Bad Oeynhausen and went to a teaching hospital there. There I was lucky enough to be able to go into an actual operating room and watch an open heart surgery. The patient was having his second bypass done. The skill and speed at which the procedure was done was amazing and by the mood in the room you would have never guess they were operating on a heart. However I guess when you do that sort of thing everyday it just becomes routine. After watching the surgery we learned about artificial heart assisting devices visited some the patients who have had them implanted. Today was on off the more fascinating days of the program.

The next morning we left very early to our last stop in Vienna. During the day we visited the St. Stephens Cathedral and the catacombs. The catacombs had an eerie feel to them. Today we visited several museums in Vienna at the medical school. Afterwords we wen and visisted the famous Spanish riding school and went to the famous Cafe Demel. There I had one of the best pieces of cake and cup of hot chocolate that I have ever had.

HDZ

The HDZ center in Bad Oeynhausen was an enlightening experience into the world of cardiovascular medicine. Watching an open heart surgery, just inches away from the patient, is something I never would have imagined possible. I thought that seeing an open chest cavity would affect me more emotionally than it did because my dad died of complications from a heart transplant. He had a genetic disease called cardiomyopathy. They say an ECG at the age of 16 can tell if you have cardiomyopathy, fortunately mine was normal. Having a genetic cardiovascular flaw in my family makes me very interested in cardiovascular medicine. The surgery I saw was an implantation of an LVAD. I arrived in the operating theater late so I mainly just watched them clean and close the chest cavity. The man had several tubes sticking out of his chest connected to machines. I couldn't help but wonder what his quality of life would be after the surgery. Is going through that much pain and suffering really worth an extra couple of years? Then I started thinking that he might be hanging on for his family. I know my dad exhausted all his options for me and my sisters and I am very grateful for the extra 6 months that the heart transplant gave him. Looking back I wonder whether or not he was glad he went through with the procedure because he suffered immensely. I hope one day heart transplants or artificial hearts can give patients with cardiovascular diseases not only life but a good quality of life after the surgery.

Paris

Our trip to Paris started off pretty good. We planned on taking an overnight train but didn't make reservations because we were told we didn't have to. Once we boarded the train we found out we had been lied to. In the end everthing worked out. The train man gave up beds to sleep in for half the price! Upon arriving to Paris we were well rested and ready to explore the city. Unfortunately Paris didn't live up to my expectations. Maybe it is because I had such high expectations after years of people raving over it's beauty and uniqueness. While I did enjoy touring Paris and seeing the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triumph, and the Louvre Paris just wasn't what I had invisioned. I would prefer to go in the summer when I could actually go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The second level of the Eiffel Tower was still breathtaking despite the bitter cold. I was amazed by the Louvre and want to go back one day when I can spend several days touring it. The statues and paintings fascinated me. Seeing a piece of art always makes me wonder what the history of it is and what inspired the artist to create such a time consuming masterpiece.

Our hostel in Paris was much nicer than the one in Prague. We ended up having three roommates from Brazil. At first I ws a little uneasy about the situation but they endd up being very nice girls. One major problem with the hostel was that the showers had only cold water and I enjoy steaming hot showers so I ended up not showering for three days! Needless to say I wasn't very happy.

Heading home from Paris was an entirely different story from arriving. We ended up paying 75 extra Euros because they said our Eurail pass would not work. This really made all of us mad because we paid over 350 dollars for the pass. We arrived at the Paris train station around 1:00 p.m. but didn't arrive in Hannover until 8:05 a.m. that next morning. As one could imagine 19 hours of traveling by train durring the night making 5 different change overs was NOT pleasant. I was very thankful to be back in Germany after the Paris experience.

Tomorrow we leave for Vienna. I've been told great things. I can only hope tha tI am not disappointed once again!

Hannover

The second week in Hannover was mainly visits to the veterinary school and medical hospitals. The anatomy institute at the vet school was similar to the one we saw at the Cologne medical school, except with fewer specimens. We then made our way back to the cattle clinic, except this time we just took a tour of the facilities and didn't participate in any hands on activities. Afterwards we made our way to the nephrology department at the MHH. Our day ended early which was nice because it gave me some time to catch up on sleep from the past weekend in Paris.

On Tuesday we went to the Heart and Diabetes Center, which was about an hour outside of Hannover. Once we got there I got to see an open heart surgery, which was amazing. It was so cool that I was pretty much right next to the surgeons as they worked and at the the head of the patient with a perfect view of everything that was going on. It was a really great experience and it lived up to all of the pre-trip hype. We had a quick lunch and listened to a short lecture on artificial hearts and some of the history behind them. Then we had the chance to visit patients and actually see the artificial hearts we just talked about in the patient. The MRI lecture, although we had heard a similar lecture before, was pretty interesting.

I am not looking forward to waking up at 4 in the morning tomorrow to make it to the airport for our flight. However, I am excited that we are going to Vienna and wrapping up the program.

That's how you get the air out

Yesterday we went to the Heart and Diabetes Center North-Rhine Westphalia and saw a double bypass/aortic valve replacement surgery. I was really excited to get to see a real surgery up close and personal like the actual nurses and doctors do. I was inspiring to listen to the staff talk about their jobs and hear how passionate they were about the work they were doing. We got to take a tour through the hospital where the patients allowed us to look at their artificial heart implants. I could not believe how much of the actual implant was sticking out of the body and how generous the patients were to show us their devices. The hospital atmosphere was exceptional. The patients and doctors seemed to work closely together and know eachother on an individual level, not just broadbased medicine. It made me rethink my deicision about not going to medical school. During the surgery, I was surprised by the doctor's stress-free attitude. The cardiologist at one point grabbed the sides of the opening in the patient and shook the heart making a sloshing sound. He then looked at our astonished faces and laughed saying, "that's how you get the air out." I thought that was quite comical. I would really enjoy going back there one day. Today it was bye, bye Germany and hello Austria. Although they almost speak the same language, I think Austria is a lot different from Germany. Tonight we're doing kareoke, should be exciting!!

Russian Romance

Saturday, January 9: Since I did not go to Paris like mostly everyone else, I got to catch up on my sleep. I woke up at 10:02 remembering that the hotel stops serving breakfast at 10:00. After running downstairs into the dining room, the nice lady let me eat. I was very happy.

Sunday, January 10: Today, I woke up at 8:00am to shower, eat breakfast at a reasonable hour, and to catch an 11:31 train back to Berlin. I arrive an hour early just to be safe at the train station to see that the train will be 20 minutes late (ca 20 minuten spa"ter). Deciding to sit out in the cold ant wait, I realized that the train ended up being fifty minutes late. Sitting in the warmth of the train now, I am excited to be going on a date with a foreigner!

Monday, January 11: My date with Anastasia lasted until Monday morning. We ate at a fancy café house and then went to the ballet. The performance was very modern, but still had a few ties to classical style of ballet. After leaving the opera house, she invited me to her apartment for some tea. It was the best tea I’ve ever had. Arriving back in Hannover at 3:40 am, Ryan and Phillip were sitting outside the room smoking cigars discussing religion. After sleeping for 2 hours, I went to a hospital and learned about dialysis. It’s interesting how the risk for a heart attack increases by 500 times if one is placed on dialysis. The machines throw clots and place extra load on the heart.

Tuesday, January 12: Today was the best day of the trip. We had to wake up really early and catch a train to the Heart & Diabetes Center North-Rhine Westphalia. The teaching hospital specializes in cardiovascular surgeries. I witnessed the implantation of a Heartware LVAD! I watched as the anesthesiologist prepared the patient. I witnessed the sawing open of the man’s chest, how they burned away tissue to make room for the LVAD, and even the redirecting of the vessels to the cardio-pulmonary bypass. The doctors prepared the LVAD (made sure it worked), and implanted it. After these quick 4 hours, Olaf came and said that we had missed lunch and it was time to go. The afternoon was awesome as well. I got to see other kinds of VAD’s and even a new experimental total heart replacement!

Hannover/Paris

The visit to the Max Delbruck Center proved quite interesting. I especially loved the discussion we had about the stem cell research that was currently going on, including both the political and medical sides of the topic. It's also quite impressive how young these German doctors have been that have given us these lectures and learning experiences. I was really expecting people much older to be in this program, but I've come to find (with appreciation and much liking) that most are quite recent graduates of medicine.
Hannover, however, has proven to be really different from the other cities we've visited. There seems to be no important history in any of the buildings or monuments, but maybe that's because we really haven't taken a tour of the city. The veterinary clinic, however, has been anything but dull. Although the clinic had a few instances where I did a thing or two that I otherwise would never have done (e.g. stick an arm up a cow's ass), I found everything to be interesting. I especially like how nearly everything there was a hands-on learning experience instead of lectures. Though I probably won't end up becoming a vet, I can definitely see the applicability in learning about animals and how they're anatomy and physiology can relate to a human's.
Taking a break this weekend from the lectures and tours, however, wasn't quite as relaxing as I had hoped. The trip to Paris was a long one and we continually felt obligated to try to get as many experiences into 24 hours as possible, but I regret none of it. The city was beautiful and its history proved to be one that lived up to the expectations. The amount of art that could be found in the city, from the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower, continually amazing me. Everything seemed to tell a different story of the city and the country, none of which were dull in any way. I'm really glad I got to spend time in the city, though it may not have been as long as I would have wanted.

Blah to Yay

(originally written 06/01/2010)

It’s 1:30 in the morning and I should really be asleep now. Today was one of those days. It started off horrible…like really really bad, BUT ended on a very pleasant note. This week went by so fast. It’s already Thursday of the 2nd week. This program will be over before I know it. Kind of anticipating going back to the States though. Miss my family and friends, and American food. Keeping up with these blogs are not fun. I am having so much fun I forget to transfer my journal entries to the blog. So please bare with me Dr. Wasser.

Hmmm…so what should I blog about? I guess I’ll start with my weekend in Prague. I am proud to say I walked the city of Prague in one day…or at least that’s what it felt like. I’ll bet 100€ I walked at least 20 miles on Saturday. I took so many pictures. We visited the Prague Castle, the Astronomical Clock, various churches, the Charles Bridge, and so much more…not to mention the Jewish Cemetery. Another notable experience was staying in a hostel…Chili Hostel to be exact. There were people from everywhere there: Brazil and Italy just to mention a few a places. I must admit, the hostel was pretty rowdy and a little dirty (luckily I brought my Lysol), but what an experience. Maggie, Ryan, Jen, and Phillip made the experience one to remember…what awesome travel buddies. A word of advice we can all give…STAY AWAY FROM CZECH RUM!!!

The class went on a city tour of Berlin the Monday after our free weekend. It was so cold outside. I think the temperature was like -2°C…burrrrrr!!! I learned a lot of interesting facts. For instance, I’ve visited 2 of the 3 most famous German buildings/attractions: the Brandenburg Gate and the Cologne Cathedral. I just need to see the “Disney Castle” now.

There was another city tour scheduled Tuesday. The class took a train to Dresden. What a beautiful city with lots of history. The Hygiene Museum was interesting. I had to do a presentation with Samy on the Sexuality Room, one of the seven rooms within the museum. I found it to be a pretty easy topic to discuss since I took Human Sexuality last semester. The night ended with a phone call from a friend and my mommy. In a nutshell…no better way to end a night.

Then there was today, or yesterday technically. Blah…yeah…that about describes it. I didn’t really enjoy the events planned. They tailored more to the biomedical engineering students. Telemedicine and prosthetics are way over my head and involves too much physics…I HATE PHYSICS!!! The funniest thing today was washing clothes in a German laundry mat. An adventure in itself! Had to use my German-English dictionary to translate how to work the machines.

But…I did have something very important and exciting happen today!!! I got my medical school match!! I will officially be a medical school student at UTMB Galveston starting Fall 2010…CLASS OF 2014!!! Yayyy. Can’t wait to celebrate with family and friends!!

I LOVE EUROPE!!

(originally written 05/01/2010)

I came to Germany not exactly knowing what to expect. But now that I’m here, I can truly say I am overwhelmed. The cities, people, language, public transportation, history…there is so much to learn, yet so little time. A week has passed now and I’ve visited 3 German cities (Bonn, Cologne, and Berlin) and another European country (Prague, Czech Republic). If I had to describe it all in one word, I would say such a word doesn’t exist.

Wednesday, the day before New Years Eve, started pretty early. We caught a train to Cologne from Bonn to visit the Cologne Medical School. Not a long train ride at all…literally took only about 30 to 45 minutes. Olaf, our German program director, taught us what he calls the most important German word…“SCHNELL”…which literally means “fast”. It’s so funny because in Germany you literally have to walk fast or be left behind or get ran over by large crowds of people. So when Olaf yells “SCHNELL SCHNELL”, the group literally runs to catch the train or tram.

We took a tour of the anatomical collection at the medical school. The collections were very interesting. My favorite was a preserved pregnant woman cut in half so that you could see the baby inside of her. Sad story behind her death. She comitted suicide during the 7th or 8th month of her pregnancy for unknown reasons. Next was the city tour. Don’t remember too much of what was said except that the city of Cologne was highly damaged during WWII. Biggest eye catcher of the tour was the Cologne Cathedral. What a magnificent piece of art…mystical. I believe our tour guide said it took about 600 years to build it; and if you saw it you would understand why.

New Years Eve started with an interesting lecture by Dr. Wasser addressing the Nuremburg Code. What an awesome professor. I’ve never been so interested in learning more about history and WWII in particular. I find it astonishing how much influence Nazi Germany had on the current health care policies in Germany now and all the events during that time that shaped the lives of many Germans till this day. Being in Germany has definitely made me appreciate history more than ever before. I want to learn so much more.

The day ended with us flying to Berlin. There were pillows of white snow everywhere. I thought to myself, “Finally, a real white winter!” The snow was so beautiful. It’s a pain chugging luggage in it…but I don’t mind. I consider it an even trade. We brought in New Years on the Brandenburg Gate. What an experience. Lots of people, food, and festives. Even ran into some Aggies!! Only disadvantage…I couldn’t feel my toes, fingers or face…it was that cold!!

Well…guess that’s my week in a glance. Probably left out a lot of other crazy adventures but there’s so many I’m having a hard time keeping up with the program. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m falling in love with Europe.

Tscüß!

A day at the hospital

Today was the most exciting day of the trip so far. We visited a hospital where we were able to observe whatever surgeries were being conducted. This would be a unique experience because instead of being in surgical observation domes we were able to be right above the surgeon, only about a foot away from his skilled hands. I was especially fortunate because instead of just a bypass surgery which is fairly common, I was able to observe the implantation of a left ventricular assist device. i got to see a surgery today
i got really lucky cuz usualy its just a bypass, but today i got to see the implantation of a left ventricular assist device. The pump was an intracorpeal Heartware pump. The inflow conduit attaches to the left ventricle and the pump helps the weakened ventricle circulate the blood by propelling it through to the aorta. I was already familiar with this pump because it is one of the ones we do post explantation pathological analysis on in the lab I work in back at A&M. It was cool to see the implantation and installation of the device instead of just the post explantation analysis. Throughout the procedure I stood next to the anasthesiologist, until the patient was on pulmonary bypass and hsi job was essentaially done. I was able to ask the assisting surgeon good questions throughout the procedure, as my knowledge of medicine allowed to to generate at least a slightly intuitive understanding of what they were doing throughout the procedure. I was also able to throw around key words that implied at least a basic understanding of the physiology behind the procedure and they seemed to appreciate that. The surgeon performing the procedure was very skilled, and uppon hearing my comment abou this the assistin surgeon told me that this surgeon has performed more heart assit devices than anyone in the world...about 800. Obviously an irreplacable experience. At one point the heart stopped beating and they had to get these mini defibrillators and shock it back to its regular rhythm. After the surgeries we got a guided tour of the heart pump wards and got to see some extracorpeal heart pumps at work in live patients. We also got to see the clinical MRI machine used in the hospital along with a brief summary of the theory behind it. I was really surprised at the friendliness and willingness of the doctors to take the time to entertain and teach these foreign americans. There are not many hospitals in the US that would allow students to experience what we did.

Paris

I went to Paris this weekend! It was amazing and an adventure.

We picked up the rental car Friday night (i rented my first car) then we all took a nap and headed out that night. We drove through some snow but we were careful and arrived in Paris the next morning around 8. We parked at the long term parking at the air port and rode the RER into the city. The air port was VERY english friendly.

We did as much sightseeing as we could in one day. We went to the eiffel Tower, but there was so much snow that it was closed. THERE WAS SNOW IN PARIS. We were told that never happens, but I guess the Texans brought it. It made everything so pretty that I can't complain. We visisted Notre Dame and the Lourve. I got to see the Mona Lisa, but the Lourve is way to big to see in a few days, let alone a few hours. We also went to the arc de Triumph. We went up to the first deck of the eiffel tower at night to see everything lit up. it was gorgeous of course.

The next day we went to the eiffel tower during the day and were able to go to the second deck (the top floor is closed until february) we also visited the musee d'orsay. It was really awesome because it had impressionist art that I really liked.

We drove back sunday night and returned the car and I am excited for my last week of program!

Paris

I am very suprised that the trip to Paris was such a success, considering we decided to rent a car and take a road trip through Europe. Obtaining a rental car was so stressful and it came down to the night before we had to leave to actually get one. At first we didnt think that it was going to be possible because the company that we had planned on renting the car from had no automatic cars that somebody under 21 could drive, but miraculously the company next to the one we were using had one for half the price. So, we headed out late Friday night towards Paris with a Micheal Jackson cd that had to last us about 7 hours, which was pretty interesting. If you didn't know the words to a lot of his songs, after that trip I think you would be set.

We made it to a white Paris around 8 in the morning on Saturday and went right to work! First we went to the Eiffel Tower, but because the third deck was closed we decided to go back to Notre Dame first. From there we went to the Louvre, which was the biggest building I have ever seen. It would take over a week to go through that entire place and actually be able to see the art and not feel rushed. A few hours later we made our way up the Champs de Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. Then we made our way back to the Eiffel and actually went up to the first deck this time. We wanted to go to the third, but apparently it is closed until February and the second deck was closed due to the snow. The next day we made one more visit to the Eiffel to go up to the second deck and to get day light pictures. From there we made our way to the Museum d'Orsay, which was cool because it was a lot of the more modern artist and it was cool to actually know stuff about the paintings and their artists. I think the best thing about Paris was not only how beautiful it was, but also the fact that I knew what I was looking at and I knew some of the historical background which always makes it more interesting.

Hannover

Hannover is gorgeous! It is nice to be in a smaller city again after bustling Berlin. It is not as small as Bonn, but it is still very quiet compared to Berlin.

There is a lot of snow in Hannover! The wind can be pretty chilly, but I'm still loving my jacket and leggings. We've done a lot of tours in Hannover. The vet school was really interesting, because I've never been inside a large animal hospital before. A surprising amount of engineering goes into caring for horses and cows. Our visit to the cow reproduction facility was especially interesting. I now know more about a cow's backside than I ever wanted to know...

The Hannover Zoo was great! We got to see some animals adapting to the cold, and a lot of the other ones were in inside facilities. Whenever we walked from outside to inside, my camera lens fogged up, but they had nifty heating fans to dry them. The zoo also had ride down the snowy hill. We got to ride in innertubes through a track down the hill. It was really fun and a first for me. I've never seen this much snow before. Everything still looks gorgeous and I can't stop taking picutres...

The spell check is in German, so it is ineffective at editing this post, so I apologize for any misspellings. Also, the z and the y keys are switched, because i'm on a german computer. just fyi.

Bon Jour?

This past weekend we road tripped to Paris. And when I say road trip, I mean it in every sense of the word. We rented a car and made the 7 hour drive to Paris, through snow storms and all. We had to drive throughout the night, but it wasn't too bad because we took rotations sleeping. WE made it to Paris at about 8 in the morning and got lost at the airport trying to find a parking spot. After we found a spot to park, we made it to the trains and started our Paris adventure. I didn't think it was possible to hit up the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Arc de Triumph and Louvre in one day, but we did it! We only brought backpacks so it wasn't too hard to "shlep" them around all day. I made the mistake thinking that Paris was going to be significantly warmer and didn't wear my boots. Not a good idea. It was surprisingly snowing in Paris, and my feet are just now thawing out from the freezing. Paris was so pretty covered in snow. The fountains were almost completely frozen over, and there was snow everywhere you looked. Everyone said it was really rare to see snow in Paris, so I'm happy I got to witness the rarity. The only bad thing about the weather was that we could not go all the way up the Eiffel Tower because of the snow. I want to go back in the summer sometime to actually spend sometime and see Paris. Although we had a pretty restricted time frame, I think we covered as much as possible. We also managed to do it fairly inexpensively, which is almost impossible to do. Inexpensive is not a word in the french language. Because we drove, we saved a lot of money, but it wasn't an easy task organizing everything and actually driving. Today we went to the medical school in Hannover and the cow and horse clinic again. It was cool to see the medical techniques they use and listen to the doctors/professors talk about their occupations. Tomorrow we travel to Bad Oeynhausen to visit the heart and diabetes center of North-Rhine Westphalia. I'm looking forward to watching open hear surgery while being in the actual operating room.

Berlin and Dresden

Dresden was really cool and I liked how the city is trying to preserve the history that they had before the war. The church of our lady was amazing and the effort and skill put into rebuilding the structure according to the original plans was amazing. I liked how they were able to salvage some of the original building and incorporate it into the new model. Traveling into the underground prayer room was a sobering experience, as you could still smell the stench left from the bombings. It felt kind of rushed though and I wish I would have had more time to travel around the city and see more things. However, traveling to the top of the church and being able to look out over the city was worth it by itself. The hygiene museum was unexpectedly a lot of fun and I loved how interactive everything was. At first I wasn't sure what it was going to be like but it was really cool. It made going through a whole lot more interesting and was a great contrast to the many other museums we have been to while here in Europe.

Traveling to the Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine was really cool and all of the projects that they had going on were really cool. It was also interesting that they used the same building as Nazi euthanasia programs. I found all of it very interesting coming from a biomedical engineering background and I was interested in the international program that they offer and I may look into that when deciding what I want to do after obtaining a bachelors degree. The Otto Bock center was really cool and it was also a very interactive experience and it was cool how it kind of put you in the shoes of somebody with a prosthetic. Overall I thought that Berlin was a good place to go with a lot of history, but it felt more modern and a lot like America with more expression. I think because of this it gave off a different vibe, which is not a bad thing at all.

Berlin/Dresden

The "tour" of the Charite skill training center was extremely interesting. Being able to participate in the demonstration of the types of training the doctors received at the center was quite intense, especially since I was the one called on to save the manikin's life. The anesthesiologist that gave us the tour was quite fascinating, yet the thing i found most interesting was how young he was to already be the head of his department. The experience of learning how to save a life in critical situations felt quite overwhelming, and i couldn't help but thinking how i could have gone so long without learning these basic steps in human health.
The next day in Dresden was completely different from Berlin. I could see how different Berlin was from any other city we had visited yet. The history of Berlin was so much more recent and still fresh in every other one had a history that focused on a past much longer ago. Dresden was a city built on a completely different type of culture, full of beautiful buildings, especially the Protestant Church that we got to see. That church was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen, something I don't think I can ever forget. Though the time we spent there was short, the city of Dresden left a pretty big impression on me that won't soon be lost.

Weekend in Hannover

Everyone left this weekend to Paris, but since I had been there before the program started, I decided to just stay in Hannover and relax. It was nice to finally get a good nights sleep and I will be rested for Tuesday when we go see teh surgeries. On Saturday I had lunch with Dr.Wasser and Dr.Rousseau. I went out with Daniel later that night and we explored the inner city of Hannover. On Sunday I took subway to the park in the north west of Hannover. I walked the length of it and just took in teh beauty of everything covered in snow. The river that flows through it was frozen solid, so I walked on water for the first time in my life. There were many children there skating on the river and sledding on the hills. Later that night I went with Dr.Wasser, Dr.Rousseau, and Olaf to a nice restaurant. The meals were reasonable priced for the atmosphere of the restaurant. I ordered the Ostrich along with some cous cous and palm hearts. It was all very good. Had some ice cream for dessert. Can't believe its the last week of program, bu tlooking forwrd to teh surgeries and going to Vienna!!

The Zoo and Switzerland

Friday was my first full day in Hanover. In the morning we went back to the vet school and saw a gynecology clinic for cows. I won't go into detail about what happened there but lets just say that it was an interesting experience. After the vet school we took a tour of the veterinary pathology clinic. After a pretty good lunch at the vet school we headed off the the Hanover zoo.

Due to the winter weather and some construction not all of the animals were available to see. But we did get to see all kinds of primates, penguins, seals and hippos. There were no lions but we were still able to see leopards and tigers. The tigers were surprisingly large, I had never seen any that I could remember.

Today I awoke really early in order to catch flight to Switzerland. I just took it easy today, but I did go sledding. It was the first chance I have really had since I had been over here to play in the snow. It sure beat walking around in it all day. Tomorrow I am going up to Lake Lucerne and into the Alps.

Hannover

Hannover was an interesting city. It's nice how the city can be smaller than Berlin but still have so much stuff to do in it. The people of Hannover are extremely nice. When I lost my hat and glasses, the restaurant owner spoke little to no English but we still managed to communicate. I found my glasses outside, but my Czech hat is no more.

Experiencing the prosthetics in Berlin was very fun. I especially enjoyed the learning how far androids have come. I remember a few years ago, robots balancing and walking was unheard of. Seeing a robot walk so smoothly was so exciting, almost frightening.

Tomorrow, I take a trip back to Berlin to see "Tschaikowsky", a ballet by Boris Eifman with a student I met in Berlin. I am nervous about travelling alone, but if I drink some Coke Zero, I think I’ll be just fine.
I am actually getting used to the cold. Everyone else is bundled up very tightly, and I now rarely zip up my jacket. One week to go. I am really going to miss this country.

-Daniel Grunden

Never in my life!

Thursday after many obstacles we finally made it to Hannover. Our first visit was to the large animal clinic. Growing up I lived in the coutry and rode horses almost daily. However, my dad did all the behind the scenes work taking care of Spice (my horse) when she got sick. So it really interesting to see the facilities and what they do in person. It was amazing to me to see how they transported the horses for room to room in the operating theatre. Next we recieved a tour of the small animal clinic. Sometimes I really wish I could be a Vet but after visiting the clinic I know I definately made the right choice not pursing that dream. It makes me so sad seeing those poor animals helpless and in pain. Is is bad that animals sick make me feel worse than people who are ill??
Today was definately one of the craziest days of my life. Never in my life did I think I would preform a cow rectal exam, but I did. It was actually really cool to be able to get so hands on at the clinic. It is definately not somethings I would want to do as my job, taking care of cares but it was definately a really cool experience. Later we got to visit the Winter Zoo!!! I love Zoo's, however it was kinda sad that so many animals were not able to come out because it was SO cold. I did get to see two of my favorite animals which were the tigers and penguins. I know strange combination! Also, going tubing down the ice was a BLAST!
Well off to Paris later tonight, can't wait! It has always been a dream of mine to visit paris and the eiffel tower. In less than 24 hours my dream will come true :)

Hannover

I am currently sitting in a hostel in Paris trying to blog on keyboard that I am NOT used to and it is really starting to frustrate me. Please excuse any mistakes :)!!!

Hannover is a beautiful city! I really enjoyed the vet school, especially the large animal clinic. I must say that in my life I have seen a few cow rectals but I never imagined doing one myself. It was a unique experience, one I am very glad I had, but I doubt I ever do it again! Being a vet would be quite a fun job but I just do not think it is the one for me.

The zoo was fun as well. While I have been to several zoos in my earlier years, I have never visited one in the winter nor have I ever been able to snow tube! The first time I went down I raced Olaf to the bottom, and contrary to what he might say, I won!

I have been thinking lately that it would be very beneficial for me to learn a second language. While I would love to learn German, I think I will start with Spanish since I already have some background in it. It amazes me that so many people in Europe are bilingual or even trilingual and I only know English! I had the opportunity in highschool to learn a second language but did not take it seriously because I really did not think it would ever be beneficial. I was wrong. When I get some free time, whenever that may be, I am definitely going to try to learn Spanish!

Berlin and Dresden

So far, this trip has been amazing and it seems like each day gets even better. When arriving back in Berlin, the city tour was amazing! It's crazy to me how each city is different in so many ways. My favorite part was being able to see the Berlin wall that is still standing. Though I'm not part of the generation that experienced the Berlin wall, learning about how bad it was and then seeing it in person made me appreciate it a lot more. After the tour was the visit of the medical school. Learning about their "reformed" way of teaching was very interesting and I think that it should be offered this way back in the states as well. Everyone learns differently, so having different options of teaching styles would probably make for better doctors.

On Tuesday when visting Dresden, I was blown away by the Church of Our Lady. The fact that people took so much time and donated so much money to reconstruct it is amazing to me. It just shows that with a lot of support and help, people can come together and do really good things in this world instead of all the bad that goes around. I enjoyed seeing the recovered cross and the new underground where people can go to pray. This church is truly beautiful and it's crazy to think that it was ever blown up and was still ruble nearly 5 years ago.

Another part of this week I enjoyed was on Wednesday visiting the MDC Center for Research. Hearing the researchers explain their projects and seeing their enthusiasm and how much they cared about it made me very exciting about getting involved in the research field. I feel that if I can find something to be excited about like the one researcher we met was about crystallography of proteins, my future would be great. I'm so ready to find that subject, but I know it will come in time. Seeing all the other cool gadgets and projects being worked on was truly amazing. There are so many smart people! I can't wait to see what the rest of this week brings and am excited about Paris this weekend!

It is only Wednesday night and I feel like I have already done SO much this week. It has definately been my favorite week so far.

On Monday we recieved a "walking tour" of Berlin, and of course it was by far the coldest day ever. However, it was an incredible tour. The best part is when we saw the monument of stones in the city center for the jews that were exterminated during the holocaust. It is definately a site that will bring tears to your eyes, it is such a moving place. Later on Monday we got to visit the hospital where the "reformed" medical student track classes take places. It was very interesting to understand their process. I definately like their system a lot better. I think having to recieve a four bach. degree and then goes to four years of medical school on top of residency after that is just too much of school. I also liked that as soon as they began medical school they also started clinical rounds. The Doctor that gave us the tour pointed out that students are more able to retain what they are learning in the books if they also see it in practice. I thought this statement was very true. Another very surprising thing I found out that I definately wish the U.S. did is that medical students do not have to pay tutition. Can I live in Germany please??
Tuesday started off with a very early morning train ride to Dresden, although it was nice to get an extra few hours of sleep. I loved that the sun was shining when we got to Dresden. (Definately can't wait to be back in Texas where it sunny at least some part of the day.) The city tour of Dresden was very informative. It is a beautfiul city and I especially like the Prostant Church alond with the film of how they rebuilt it. The rebuilding of that church had to bring that town so close together and bond over such an amazing event. After the city tour we visited the Hygiene Musuem. The hygiene musuem has defintely been my favorite musuem so far, I could have spent hours in there. I liked that they had interactive activities to help you better understand the concept they were talking about.
Today we went to the MD center for Research. I thouroughly enjoed the speaker on stem cell research. It such a fascinating topic that brings so many new ideas to the table. Although the second speaker spoke about protein crystals, which I must say does not sound that exciting to me. I love his passion and enthusiasim for what he did. I hope one day with whatever I choose to do I can love my job and get as excitied about it as he did for protein crystals. We also got to visit where they made devices to help surgeons in the operating roomk see things 3D and devices to enable telemedicine better. The devices were unbelievable, and so cool to see and play with. Lastly today we got to visit the Otoo Braun Center for Prosthetics. I really enojyed visiting this musuem because it has special meaning to me because my mom has polio, therefore she has barely any muscles in the right side of her body therefore making it very difficult to walk or pick up her right foot. So seeing these innovative devices to help people with problems like hers is amazing, because I know she definately had a hard time growing up with people making fun of her. So there is definately hope for the future as these devices become more widely known.
Well that is all for now can't wait for tomorrow we leave for hannover!!

Did I Really Just Do That?

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about writing a blog for this week is how I had my arm inside a cow's body! Though I know I want to get into the human medical side of things, I've really enjoyed learning about the animal teaching hospital and touring all the different clinics. Our first stop at the equine clinic was very cool to me because of my background with horses. I started riding horses when I was about 5 and competed for about 10 years and took care of my horses at home (with my dad's help of course!). Though I've been to a horse vet many times, it was interesting to see their facilities and I was very impressed by its cleanliness and high tech tools! It was also interesting to learn about different horses because most of my horses have been American Quarter Horses, which they don't have in Germany. The small animal clinic was also interesting though I didn't enjoy seeing the sick animals, especially the sad little Westie! By visiting these facilities, I now know for sure that I could never be a veterinarian. It may sound odd, but I feel so bad for dogs and cats and other animals when they're sick, especially because they can't tell you what's wrong with them!

To get back to how I started this blog, visiting the clinic for cattle was by far one of the most interesting and exciting experiences of my life. As I said before, I've been around horses a lot and gone to many large animal vets, but I have never been able to give a rectal exam to a cow! To think that I performed a task that a 5th year vet med student does just blows my mind away. I was so nervous about doing it but I'm so glad I did. Lena the cow (I think that's how you spell her name!) was very nice and I was so surprised it barely phased her that 8 other students gave the exam as well. It was so cool learning about the reproductive system of cattle and then getting in there and actually being able to feel it. I was able to feel the uterus of a cow!! I truly appreciate this opportunity and will never forget it!

Hanover!

I am in Hannover now, we left Berlin yesterday. Berlin was pretty fun. Monday was so tiring because got back from Prague to the main station in Berlin at around 12 AM and then the trains werent running frequently so we decided to walk back to the hotel, which was a terrible idea since it urned out to be more than 3 miles away and there has been a high of -6 Celsius here. So this week was pretty exciting, we visited the medical training facility in Berlin and learned how to properly resuscitate someone. This week we also went to the Max Delbruick research center in Berlin, whcih is one of the best research centers in Germany. The stuff that they have developed is incredible...but i wont go into detail now. We also went to the Otto Bock Scicnce center, which is the biggest creater of orthopedics in the world. They have some pretty col stuff too. Our train to Hannover was canceled, so we had to get the next one and I ended up sitting in a random spot since we didnt have reservations for that train. I talked the whole two and a half hours with the guy next to me who is a Historian, focusing on Eastern Europe. It was an excellent conversation...we talked about european culture vs american, american history, bush and obama, european perspective of the united states, the role of the united states in the world...among other things. It was fascinating talking to him because he provided such a unique perspective to the conversation being a historian.

Berlin

Monday the program started again, which meant no more sleep and long days. The day started with a guided tour of Berlin. Fortunately this was the coldest day yet and we were outside for the tour. Luckily the tour guide did a good job of finding time to talk to us inside when he could. Also I had all ready taken my own tour of the Brandenburg gate, Reichstag building and Holocaust memorial, which was good because the tour wasn't able to spend much time at these places. After the tour we went off to visit a medical school. They teach the alternate curriculum, which is focused on problem based learning. In fact we got to do a little hands on learning ourselves.

On Tuesday we got up early in order to travel to Dresden. Some of you may know this town from the Kurt Vonnegut book "The Slaughter House-five". During the was this city was firebombed and much of it was brought to the ground. In the time since then the old part of town as been reconstructed in its old fashion. After the city tour, we went to the German Hygiene Museum. The museum was very interactive. I wish I was able to understand everything in it because I feel that I miss out on a lot of the exhibits because of the language barrier.

Wednesday we were back in Berlin and had a tour of the Max Delbruck Center for Research and the Otto Braun Center for prosthetic's. The work that goes on at both of those places is amazing and it is incredible what they are able to accomplish.

Today we left Berlin to make our way to Hanover. After battling through a train cancellation and overcrowded train, we made it to Hanover. Once we made it we toured the new facility of the Large Animal Veterinary hospital and then had a tour of the small animal teaching hospital.

I'm off for the night, next time I post it will be from Switzerland.

I love Germany.

Yesterday we went to the Hygiene Museum. I honestly had no idea what to expect but it was a surprisingly fascinating place. I love hands on interactive museums and this was definitely one of those. My favorite part was watching Olaf and Ryan race around in the old people gear. I must say that was very entertaining! The motion exhibit was also interesting and is the one I had to do a presentation for. I learned that motion can affect a person both physically and mentally. Overall I thought the museum was a success.

Dresden is a beautiful city! The old buildings were breathtaking. One of the things that caught my attention was when the tour guide told us about the King's mistress. I realize back then that they simply married for political reasons and not for love, but I still can't believe that the king was publically allowed a mistress and that it was considered normal! This concept is so strange to me. I guess it is a good thing that I was never a Queen in that time period!

Well we arrived in Hannover today. It is yet another beautiful city in Germany that I can't wait to explore, but before I am able to do that I get to go to Paris! Traveling to Paris is something that I have wanted to do my entire life. It's the city of romance! By Saturday morning I will be strolling through the streets of Paris and just might be the happiest girl alive!

Adventures?

Prauge was an interesting place, not at all what I thought it was going to be. The hostel we stayed in was an adventure in itself. There was no real check in place, we had to go in a restraunt where they kept the keys inside a hiden cabinet, then to get to the hostel we had to go up four flights of stairs and the lights would go off everytime before we could make it to the top, and then to top it all off when we got to our room it was TRASHED so we had to go switch. Also, there was no heating so it was FREEZING so we slept in our clothes, boots, and coats. It definately made me appreciate my home a lot more.
On Saturday we explored the city. Prauge is full of beautiful buildings, towers, cathedrals, and castles. My favorite building was the "dancing building". It was built after Fred Astaire and it looked like two people actually dancing. I danced all throughout highschool and have always heard about Fred Astaire so it was really cool seeing a building after him.
Lunch was probably my favorite part of prauge. We ate U Flecku, local cz food which tasted wonderful. The atmosphere was wonderful they people who came around table to table singing and playing instruments. As soon as we walked in the waiter sat beers in front of us and then two seconds later another waiter came around with a tray full of shots. This seemed so crazy to me, since it was only noon. In my home town, Rowlett people would look at you like you were crazy if you took a shot at resraunt in the middle of the afternoon.
Since it was so cold in our hostel we decided to go out saturday night and then catch the 3:30 am train back to berlin. We went to an Irish pub, where we met an England Band called the paperboys who were on a tour in Europe. It was alot of fun. The pub closed at 1 but they let us stay til about 2:30 then we headed to catch our train. We get to the train station and they don't open their doors til 3 am so we had to hang out outside in the cold, then finally at 3 we head inside only to find out our 3:30 a.m. train is delyed for 70 minutes. We finally get on the train and there were absolutley no seats on the train so we had to sit in the hallway. It was an adventure. I am glad I got to see Prauge but I was definately happy to be back in Berlin.

Living the Dream!

After arriving in Prague, the group decided to eat at a classic Czech restaurant. Other than the food taking 2 hours to be cooked, it was a nice experience. On Saturday, the touring began. Walking through the beautiful city, I stopped at a small sandwich shop and ate both a sandwich and a Belgium waffle. The waffle was so good that I got another one. After site seeing all the landmarks on the map I picked up from the hostel, everyone decided to experience hookah.

Sunday, we had a bit more site seeing. I did not tour the Jewish Cemetery. I am not Jewish and cemeteries freak me out. I did meet a couple from Rome though in Starbucks. They recommended visiting Berlin more so than Prague. They thought Prague was too small comparably to Rome.

Monday was a cold day in Berlin. Snow was everywhere during the morning tour. The most interesting fact I learned is that the Disney castle is a replica of the Neuschwanstein Castle from Germany. The afternoon was more interesting, because we practiced CPR. It brought back memories from when I had to learn CPR in Boy Scouts. After dinner, we stopped by a truly Bohemian building where squatters sell their fantastic art.

Free Weekend in Prague

On New Years Day, we took a train to Prague! It was our first free weekend and our first time doing stuff all by ourselves. When we arrived in Prague, the train station was a little overwhelming. Not very much was in english, but we made it to the hostel all by ourself. We stayed at the Chili Hostel, where we got exactly what we paid for: a bed. It was fine with me. We ate at a traditional Czech place and then on Saturday morning we walked around Prague. The old buildings were gorgeous especially with all the snow. We saw the astrological clock and the changing of the guards at the castle. On sunday, we visited the Old Jewish Cemetery which was really cool. Then we took the train back to Berlin. We arrived pretty late, so some of walked back to the Hotel, but it was all good. It was actually a relief to be back in Germany because I am more comfortable with the german language just because I can say thank you and excuse me.

We've done so much in Europe so far, but its hard to believe the program is almost halfway over. I'm excited for Paris next weekend.

ps. Happy Birthday Nick!

HERE!!!

(originally written 29/12/2009)

Oh man!! I'm exhausted, but in a good way...I assume. My head is full of information...so much so that I doubt I can regurgitate one fact that I learned today, but I'll try my best.

I'' start with yesterday, Monday, December 28th. I arrived in Frankfurt, Germany and had to catch the train to Bonn. The train ride was calming yet adventurous. Ryan and I accidentally sat in first class and luckily weren’t kicked out. There was a German lady in the booth with us. She was so friendly (at least when compared to the mean Germans I had to sit by on the plane for nearly 9 hours). Although she didn't speak much English, she tried her best to tell us stories about the towns we rode through. Unfortunately, I only remember one story semi-well. It was about a woman named Lorily (forgive my spelling) who played music from the strands of hair on her head. The music drew men to her which led to tragedy...their ships wrecked. Interesting, right? Along with these interesting German stories was the beautiful German scenery. Sadly, there was only a small amount of snow left from the night before. However, the mountains, the Rhine River, and the historic little cities were amazing. Definitely eye-catching. There were even castles...real castles. Had to have passed at least four of them.

It was gloomy and rainy when we arrived in Bonn. Not too chilly. All the staff at AIB seemed nice. The dorm is comfty and my roomie, Maggie, is sweet. Having internet in the room makes everything much better. I was able to e-mail and chat with my family and friends, which is awesome. Dinner at a traditional German restaurant was different. The menu was in all German of course, making it all the more "interesting" to order. I was happy with my choice however. I had some kind of spinach chicken and a fruit sauce with ice cream for dessert. Wish I could remember the German name of my meal...but I doubt I would even be able to spell it. The serving sizes here are huge!! I was definitely stuffed by the end of dinner.

Today has been hard for me. For some reason I'm truly tired yet I slept well last night. maybe it's the time change. Got a lot of good pictures though, especially during the tour of the city center. Most exciting part of the day...eating a döner. Different yet kind of tasty...although not my favorite.

It's only my second day here and overall...Germany is amazing. This trip is off to a great start. Funniest thing I've learned so far...stare your neighbor in the eye when making a toast or you'll have 7 years of bad sex...YIKES...lol.

Oh my Lanta!

This past weekend we travelled to Prague. Besides getting lost in the train station of a brief period, the trip went pretty smoothely. The first thing you notice about Prague is how beautiful it is. Everywhere you look, you want to take a picture. Word for the wise: "Camera batteries are NOT everlasting, despite what the little pink bunnies might tell you." But locals are happy to sell you batteries for only 100 Kc a pack. Another plus about Prague is you become excessively wealthy as soon as you cross the Czech boarder. You take out $50 and get 1000 Kc!! An American's dream. We stayed at a nice little hostel called "Chili." It was about 15euro a night, decently clean, but nothing too spectactular. You got what you paid for. But the staff was friendly and extremely helpful, and all the guests there were in the 20-25 year age group so there was always an adventure to be taken. We mainly just walked around the entire city hitting the main touristy attractions and stopping whenever we saw a cool shop. We walked all day/night, but it was well worth it and never seemed to get tiring. Prague was a really amazing experience. Tonight we are back in Berlin and oh my lanta, it is freezing!! We have, yet again, an early morning, but should be exciting. We are going to lab tours at the Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine. Can't wait!

Praha

As I sat on the train on my way to Prague, I couldn't believe how beautiful the scenery was outside. There was snow covering all the houses, buildings, and little town squares. What i saw is nearly indescribable. I was slightlz nervous about being off on our own in another country with a different language, but so far Caitlyn, Joanna, and I have been able to get around well and not get lost. After New Years Eve the night before we decided to sleep ini and take the later train, so we arrived in Prague at about 5:30 and just walked around Old Time Square that night.

One of the things I will probably never forget about this excursion is the hostel we stayed in. It probably wasn't the worst one we could have gotten, but it was so cold that we had to sleep in all our clothes at night- our coat, jeans, and many many layers.

The next day was extremely better. We ate at the most amazing restaurant called U Fleku, founded in 1499. It was great Czech food-I had roasted pork with the most AMAZING bread and potato dumplings. We were also served some great Czech beer and some cinnamon-y shots (yes, at lunchtime!) as well as being able to listen to three guzs playing the accordian and trumpet. This was probably my favorite restaurant yet and would go back in a heartbeat.

We spent the rest of the day enjoying the scenery by going to see Charles Bridge, Powder Tower, Prague Castle, The Dancing Hall, and a ton of other beautiful buildings. Everywhere you looked in Prague was pure beauty especially with the snow! After our day, we decided to not stay in our hostel again and took the 3:30 train back to Berlin so we could have the day to rest. We spent our time waiting for the train by hanging out at an Irish pub and met and English band named The Paperboys (maybe someday they'll be famous!!) and some other people from Luxemborg. I would love to go back to Prague, but only if I got to stay in a hotel and it was a bit warmer. Also, the people weren't as nice and we all missed the people of Germany.

Prague

Prague started off as a disaster. We arrived at our hostel around 7:30 and it took us 30 minutes just to get our keys. Once we had the keys and our room number we started the long treck up four flights of winding stairs to our hostel. When we opened the door we found our room trashed, beds slept in, and windows open. The room smelled like a cigarette. They let us exchange our room for another one that was at least clean, but the beds still weren't anything to I'd look forward to sleeping in. After this experience I'm not sure I ever want to stay in a hostel again!

After a rough nights sleep we up still tired, sore, and hungry. We wanted to eat original Czech cuisine so we asked around for a suggestion. U Fleku was the restaurant we decided to try. The food and beer were amaying! Right when we sat down they handed each of us a one of their famous beers. It tasted even better than German beer to me, which is something I didn't think was possible. I had beef tende and bread dumplings to eat. Unfortunately the food was so good I cleaned my entire plate. This meal was by far the best I've had on the trip. They also had a band playing that would walk around and serenade different tables. The music they played was a little odd but I stil enjoyed it. I loved everything about this restaurant, the food, the waiters, the beer, the entertainment, and the atomosphere. It just might be my favorite restaurant in the world!

Satuday night we decided to go to an Irish pub. It had great music and good beer. We met several people from different places around the world. Including a band from England called The Paper Boys. I hope they become famous one day so that I can tell the story of how I met them!
We left the pub around 2:00 and boarded a 3:30 a.m. train back to Berlin. We thought it was a prettz good idea at the time but the train was packed and we hadn't made reservations because the lady at the train station told us it wasn't necessary. We had to sit on the floor by the bathroom for nearly 8 hours. It should have only been a 5 hour train ride but it was 8 hours due to a 3 hour delay in Dresden. Needless to say we weren't very happy. We arrived in Berlin around 11:00, ate some lunch at the hotel, and passed out in our clean warm beds.

I've had so many wonderful experiences on this trip and cannot wait for more to come. We have the city tour of Berlin tomorrow. Everyone better bundle up because I'm sure it is going to be a cold one!

The weather has gotten really cold compared to Bonn and it was tough to get used to at first, but once you learn to put on a lot of layers it isn’t that bad. The busy schedule has already started to take a toll on me, we see so much in such little time and are constantly travelling. It is amazing how ordinary buildings in Europe look so much better than they do in the US but I guess that goes with the amount of history behind everything. It is weird how none of the natives really pay much attention towards any of the historical landmarks, but that makes sense because that is all they ever really see.

I have tried a lot of new food and drinks and I would say I have mixed feelings about them. The food is really good, but I miss American food and I miss knowing what everything on the menu actually is. The thing I miss the most though, is ice. None of the drinks over here ever have ice and it didn’t bother me at first, but after a week I just want my drinks to be cold and stay cold through the entire meal. Also, I miss American soft drinks because they actually taste good and the soft drinks here taste funny.

Overall, I am having a great time though and I am very glad I decided to go on this trip. I have met so many cool people and had plenty of unforgettable experiences and its only been one week. I can’t wait to see what happens the rest of the trip.

Prague

So I am in Prague right now and I think it is me new favorite city. It is just so pretty everywhere you go, from the buildings to the scenery, from the castles to the bridges. We walked everywhere today just taking it in. First we went to the castle. It took us forever to walk there because we all stopped every few seconds to take pictures. The main bridge across the river is awesome. There are statues every few meters with incredible detail, as well as musicians playing. This one violinist was playing ave maria and it was so beautiful. The castle was cool. We got there on the hour so we could see the changing of the guard which was very interesting. The cathedral inside was so beautiful. I know i said that the one in cologne was amazing, but this one was right up there with it. It wasn't as big, but the artwork and architecture and stuff inside was amazing. So after that we went to the astronomical clock tower, which is this beautiful tower with this huge clock that i cant read because its an astronomical clock, but its beautiful. We stayed for the hour change because on the hour these statues come out and circle around it and bells ring. There was a church next to it that we went in after that. This one was a lot smaller than the other one, but the amount of art per square foot along with the beauty of the sculptures surpasses both of them. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside because it would damage the art, but i could have stood in there all day admiring it. I would say that so far Prague is my favorite city that I have been to.

Berlin and Prague

Though I was only there for one day, Berlin was an amazing city. The amount of culture and excitement that everyone there felt was intoxicating to say the least. Every German there was enthusiastic and downright proud to be a German. There was one experience, though, that really stood out in Berlin. Maggie, Phillip, and I met a Berliner and his daughter while we were waiting for the tram to take us back from the new years party. We got into a conversation concerning Americans, Germans, and the corresponding relationship. The man talked about how he felt a slight resentment and distrust for the American government. It was amazing the amount of intelligence he displayed concerning the subject while speaking in English. He talked about how the past only points to the future and how studying America´s history demonstrates the a trend for the future. But he did allow for us to make points concerning the change we hope for in Barrack Obama, and he even agreed with us, saying that he hoped our generation would bring about a new America, a better America. It was quite an experience seeing and understanding how the world felt about America through the eyes of this man.
Moving on to our trip to Prague for the free weekend, the city is gorgeous. I really wasnt expecting the types of churches and buildings that we saw here. We took our own little tour of the city, visiting the castle, watching the guards change post at the wall, checking out every church we saw, seeing the astronomical clock change hour and even going up to the top of the tower for a breathtaking view of the city. The food here isn´t quite as good as Germany, but everything else lived up to and surpassed expectations. If I had to choose one city as my favorite so far, it would be Praha.

New Years Eve and Berlin

When I last left off I believe I was packing everything up and preparing to leave Bonn. Well when we got to Berlin there was snow everywhere. After making the trip to the hotel we set out to go to the party mile at the Brandenburg gate. That was a New Year's party like one I have never been to in my life. There were thousands of people. I even met these guys that graduated from A&M in 2005. The bands there really liked to play American music and apparently the Germans are big fans of it. One the way back we got a little lost due to an issue at the subway station. Looking at the map first in this case would have really helped our cause.

After the long night I looked forward to sleeping in on Friday which was accomplished. I kept it simple for the day and just went to the Alexanderplatz to eat and take some pictures. I did meet some Australians while I was eating lunch. They were a fun group to talk to. Other than that nothing really eventful happened just took it easy and took pictures.

Trip to Prauge!

The train to Prauge was a a four hour ride which gave us a lot of time to think and talk. One of the things that was so surprising to me was the lecture Dr.Wasser gave on T4 because it was something I had never heard of. It was intersting when Dr.Wasser poined things out making it more surreal.For example that I could have possibly survived only because I had blonde hair and blue eyes. I can't wrap my head around what it must have been like to live in Germany during those days, worrying about someone capturing you and putting you in a camp all because of what you looked like. It was alaso surprising to me when Dr.Wasser showed us propaganda that the Germans posted and they put the U.S. flag to support their cause because at one point we implemeneted a sterilazation program for people who we felt should not be able to procreate.
I am excited to visit prauge, I have heard it is a beutiful city with lots of things to see and do. Til' next time.

and more thoughts...

After being in Germany for a few days I definitely miss the practice of chivalry.  Everyone around here seems to truly believe in equality.  Which I guess isn't  entirely bad.  I'm sure women are paid the same as men here and hold just as many high postion jobs; however, I'd prefer a little of both worlds.  I'd love to be considered an equal in all situations and also have my doors opened for me!  

The trip to the Body Worlds exhibit was interesting to say the least.  I've never experienced anything quite like it before.  I've always said that when I die I want to donate my body to science, but after seeing the exhibit it frightens me.  I know it is a great learning tool but when I saw the bodies all I could concentrate on were who the people were.  What was their name?  How did they die?  How would they feel about their body being displayed this way.  I thought the exhibit was a wonderful contribution to science but I'm uncertain where I stand of the morality of the exhibit.

Well my stomach is growling so it is time to grab some original Czech cuisine!  I'll let y'all know what I think!

Today is only day 5 of the trip and I have already had a blast. I was looking forward to this trip, but wasn't to sure how much I would like Germany. I was expecting to have more fun on the free weekends visiting Paris and Prauge. However, it really surprised me that I fell in love with Germany. I love and the rich history, beutiful scenery, and helpful people. I have really liked taking all the city tours, it is in interesting to know the history behind everything. Learning about Germany history during World War II is so different from the states. It makes it so much more real when your standing in the city center and they explain to you that this huge cathedral was the only thing stading after the city was bombed, it is truely uncomprehensible.
Being here with two of my Best Friends has also helped being comfortable and not becoming to overwhelmed. When leaving the states I knew I was going to a country where they didn't speak english (although many do) , however I was still overwhelmed riding the subways not understanding a word that came overhead or any of the signs. Surprisingly we came with familiar with the subway system quite quickly, however we used the color systems for stops than the actual name for them. However, I know really want to learn German. Everyone we met knew at least 2 or 3 languages, I felt so ignorant only knowing English. In bonn we had a blast experiencing the night life, which is a lot different then in the States. All the food and drinks were amazing. The people we met were also wonderful, in Germany chilvalry isn't dead.