Thursday, March 10, 2011

So now it's really over

I guess us writing these posts means the class and trip are really over. As I sit here at 3:30 in the morning, with 2 tests tomorrow and an assignment due, I can't help but think back to our trip. I read through a lot of the posts already and I can say that I echo the feeling of relief that many felt in Germany. It was a great break from the constant stress of being in biomedical engineering, and looking to even more difficult things in the future. I think that all of us are going to look back at college as kind of a big blur of school and stress, with a nice little break in the middle where we went to Europe. That is definitely one thing I was hoping to get out of the trip, and I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed.

To say the least, all of the trip activities exceeded my expectations. I had no idea so many different activities could be planned so intricately to fit into three weeks. I feel like we really got a look at a lot of different things. I had no idea that observing the surgeries was going to be so thrilling. I had figured that we'd be up in a gallery like in House, kind of watching but not experiencing. The fact that we got to put on the masks, scrubs, and the weird rubber shoes and stand literally right there was amazing. I think we got a good taste of the thrill that surgeons say they get when performing surgery. The idea of stopping the heart, putting it on bypass, fixing it up, and starting it back up again is just amazing. The surgeries were definitely one of the highlights of my trip.

The places I visited and the things I saw were great, but all of it would have been nothing without the people that were there with me. I honestly did not expect to become such good friends with the people on the trip. Once we all opened up and started to get to know each other, it felt like we were all old friends out having a good time. I cannot thank Nils and Dr. Wasser enough for all of the hard work and planning that went into making the trip happen as smoothly as it did. They really made it a unique and memorable experience.

Thank you everyone for a great time, and such good memories. I hope we continue to have reunions and keep up with each other.

Nicole ended with Disney, so I guess I will too. This one's for Luis.

We must be swift as
the coursing river
With all the force
of a great typhoon
With all the strength
of a raging fire
Mysterious as the
dark side of the moon

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