Bittersweet

So, it's been a month and a half since we got back from the Fatherland. Time has flown like crazy since then, and I hardly even remember February. College life is so fast-paced, and even though we never really caught a break in Germany, the whole trip felt like one huge roller coaster ride. And I love roller coasters.

Before I left for the trip, I mentioned that I was a little nervous about going. I didn't know what to expect, or what the people would be like, or what the food would be like. I only had one of my weekends planned and didn't know what I would be doing the second weekend, and also wasn't sure if I had enough money for food and souvenirs and such.

But now that I've been there, I can't wait to go back, and I wouldn't be nervous at all. We all learned how to navigate a train station quite effectively, which is almost a skill unto itself. I now know what to expect at hotels, hostels, restaurants, museums, reisezentrums, hauptbanhofs, and new year's eve bathrooms. I am so glad I went on the trip, and I can definitely say that going to all the trouble of obtaining old medical records so that I could get a new social security card and taking an online drivers ed class so I could get a Texas driver's license so that I could get my passport was well worth it.

I have so many memories from the trip, some wonderful, some sobering, all of which I am incredibly grateful for. Eating fried donuts on the walk back down from Neuschwanstein. The incredible view from the Neuschwanstein. The Hofbrauhaus and the Augustiner Keller. The Euro youth hostel. The Prague Castle and the indoor jousting room. The Jewish quarter in Prague and the synagogue honoring the murdered Czech Jews. The old world feel of Prague. Ali Baba's in Berlin, and his 2.50 Euro Doner and 1 Euro beer. The new year's eve festival and singing the war hymn. The artificial heart implantation. The aortic valve replacement. My first beer in Germany, the Weizen dunkel. Our first dinner in Bonn at the beer garden after we had been up for some 20 hours. The anesthesia museum. The pathologic anatomy museum. The operetta in Vienna. The veal schnitzel and apple strudel in Vienna. Listening to street musicians in Munich. The medical center in Vienna, the Josephimun and its wax figures, and the Pay-as-you-Wish hippie restaurant. The beautiful city of Dresden. The city of Cologne and feeling of awe when I first saw the cathedral there. The chocolate shop in Berlin. The memorial to the Jews in Berlin. Sachsenhausen concentration camp. The gelato in Cologne, henceforth no other gelato will compare. The night train to Vienna. The cool bartender at our hotel in Hannover, I can't remember his name. Running into people from California, Colorado, and Brazil at our first hostel. Listening to Vivaldi at a rip-off concert in Prague. The Charles Bridge. The discussion we had in Berlin at the Charite with one of the doctors about the pros and cons of socialized medicine. Cramming on to the trains in Berlin during workdays like sardines. Following Dr. Wasser and Nils like ducks in a line. The incredible Otto Bock facility and its sorting machine.

I could go on.

But I think I've made my point.

The trip changed my perspective on the world. I thought I had a "big picture" before I went. But it wasn't until I got there that I realized how fully I was wrong. There is a whole other world on the other side of the Atlantic. I always knew it was there, but it always seemed distant and foreign, almost like a fairy tale. But it's so real, and its history is so rich and complex. And yet the people, despite the cultural difference, are really not that much different. We all look up at the same sky, breathe the same air, like to go out and have fun, enjoy good food, enjoy good friendships, and listen to Ke$ha. And David Hasselhoff. I don't know why I was ever nervous about going overseas.

I would like to extend the following thanks:

To Dr. Wasser - There is no faculty member who I'd rather have lead the trip. I am always impressed by your depth of knowledge and wealth of experiences.

To Nils - I couldn't have asked for a better program coordinator. Thanks so much for all the hard work and for ensuring that everything always ran smoothly.

To the 15 students I had the privilege of sharing this experience with - I couldn't have asked for a better group. Y'all are awesome. I didn't know many of you before the trip, but I'm really grateful for the friendships that formed.

To my parents - for helping me finance the trip. I couldn't have done it without you, and I am incredibly grateful for the experience.

Ending this blog is kinda bittersweet. It's the last class assignment for this trip, and it feels like the trip is finally and officially over. It's good being back in the states. Free water is great, HEB is great, Texas is great. But Europe still lingers in my mind daily. I can't wait to go back to Germany, and I really can't wait to go back and see the rest of Europe. I definitely plan to.